What follows are thoughts on popular music as both a reflection of gender identity and roles, and the possibility for songs to act as vehicles for social change. Three sources are the focus, and each are insights into the status of both men and women of their era. First is a rough outline of each source, and this is followed by an overall commentary on issues such as sex, power, and youth.
The first document, Lesley Gore's "It's My Party" (and
sequel "Judy's Turn to Cry"), may tell us much about gender identity in the early 1960s. Like many mainstream pop songs of the era, it was written by middle-aged men and directed at baby boomers--by now teenagers with buying power unmatched by previous generations of adolescents. The song describes the dashing of a young girls romantic hopes at the worst possible time. Johnny, the object of the singer's affection, has reneged on his promise of a ring and even left the party with another female. She is left to throw a tantrum and directs party-goers to continue their festivities. The live performance* has Gore in front of several back up dancers, young females complete with handkerchiefs at the ready.
The second video, Fiona Apple's "Criminal," also brings gender issues of the mid-'90s to the fore. Written by Apple herself, the song describes the female narrator's inner conflict between love and lust. She must process her choices at the same time she attempts to rationalize her behavior. The official video release seemingly projects this discomfort and turmoil upon the viewer. Remnants of a binge of food, cigarettes, and alcohol is the backdrop for the sexual orgy that took place the night before. Yet here, Apple herself is both the voyeur and the sexual object.
The third source is Lil' Kim's "How Many Licks," and may suggest how far gender issues have evolved since the second half of the last century. Also written by the artist herself, the song is a riff on how the narrator has become the object of sexual desire for countless men. She gives a cursory outline of her sexual history and even the sexual qualities and attributes of those men. The video shows Kim as the template for a series of dolls, the subject of a racy pictorial, and the focus of a dance routine that spotlights her desire for oral sex.
Each of the sources give unique perspectives on how women and men interact in each time period.
The overall theme of the videos is a struggle for identity that ultimately stems from control. From Gore to Kim, power seemingly has shifted as females have more often exhibited domination over men as time passes. On the surface, one may assume that women were devoid of strength in male-female relationships. Yet, this power manifests itself in a variety of ways. In "It's My Party," the narrator (recall that they are middle-aged white men) has allowed the male object of her affection to irrevocably ruin her special day. It is Johnny's blatant disregard for both the singer's feelings and party etiquette that that drives her to tears. Clearly it's Johnny who determines
the well-being of the singer and the course of the evening. This apparent command over her culminates in the ultimate symbol of possession--Judy wears a ring originally intended for the narrator. The listener/viewer is left with the bad news, that is until the sequel. In "Judy's Turn to Cry," the singer gets her revenge on both when she "kissed some other guy." This provokes a violent reaction by Johnny, and she gets her man and the opportunity to relish in Judy's heartbreak. What's more, we get an update on who really controls the relationship in "You Don't Own Me," a Gore release the following year. By now, the singer's role has evolved is to stand up to a would-be abusive boyfriend. Themes of personal freedom, women as trophies, and projecting change on your partner stand in stark contrast to crying over Johnny. In fact, the men remains nameless. In "Judy's Turn," the other guy is an object she uses to exert control over the other three characters. The Gore trilogy clearly demonstrates the leaps and bounds women--even as teens--have taken since the days of the "Tennessee Waltz" and "A Guy is a Guy." Possibly, these trends regenerate and emerge in the 70's with Carly Simon's "You're So Vain".Identity as control is reflected in the other sources as well. In "Criminal" and "How Many Licks," the control exerted by the female narrator is even more blatant. Fiona Apple's take on the issue shows a young woman torn between her heart and her body. Hers is a '90s take on groundwork laid by Madonna throughout the '80s in videos such as "Express Yourself". She has gone beyond Gore's standing up for herself and acted on physical needs that don't fall in line with her emotions. She also demonstrates total control over the "one [she's] sinned against" as he is blind to her affairs with other men. He is possibly her soul mate, but nameless and faceless in song and video. She expresses remorse, but will she stray physically again?
The theme of gender and control has Lil' Kim turning roles completely upside down in "How Many Licks." A '00s update on Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It," Kim makes her message clear: men are objects--not of sexual desire, but of sexual function. Men are referred by their sexual attributes and how they serve Kim. Though the video's theme is Kim as a product, make no mistake that she runs the operation and we are responsible for keeping her happy. Marketing herself as a doll and a pin-up model is merely quid pro quo for the satisfaction we give her. Here, of course, is the female take on hip-hop stereotypes of the degradation of women as simply sex objects, as in 2 Live Crew's "Me So Horny."
Sex as control is a recurring theme in the documents. As time passes, sexual messages that begin as merely hints require no decoding by the time one gets to Lil' Kim--but they still suggest themselves in the earlier eras. After all, what were Judy and Johnny while absent from the party? Moreover, Gore uses physicality to prompt Johnny's reaction. In the '90s, blatant sexuality is the theme of Apple's "Criminal." The viewer is even confused by the nameless and faceless bodies that litter the dirty apartment. She has used sex to dominate as she reflects on self-loathing; after all, it's a "sad world when a girl will break a boy just because she can." Apple even controls the viewer as clothes are put on and off with each cut. We are left to reconstruct the previous night as clues emerge in waves. How far did she go? How many? Is she bisexual? Etc. Kim's use of sex as control requires less analysis on the surface. This is a woman who demonstrates blatant honesty in the quest for sexual satisfaction. She has one thing on her mind, all others need not bother.
Youth as control is a final theme here. From Gore to Apple, we see young women evolve from unable to control their emotions in front of their peers, to those who hold the soul of men in the palm of their hands. In fact, the theme in "It's My Party" may evoke in the listener the desire to pacify the narrator and ease her pain. The viewer of "Criminal" still struggles to make sense of the singer's actions. At the same time, one wonders if control has extended to this youthful character in the form of physicality. This author, for one, felt discomfort as many scenes alluded to the age of the narrator. In one, a stuffed animal was present, in another, she removes clothing and reveals her small frame. The viewer remains confused--and one point mortified--that they believe they see evidence of more than just sexual indiscretion. As for Kim, her youth is preserved for posterity as her youthful looking body is recreated in plastic form. She need not worry about aging, and neither do her suitors.
Each example, and countless others, may act as a barometer of how gender roles have developed over the last half century. What's clear is that as time passes, more blatant expressions of the seemingly endless competition for control between the sexes manifests itself in our music.
No comments:
Post a Comment