Ever have a moment where you realize you’re sort of getting older? I’m only 31, but was recently introduced to what is arguably the biggest pop single of the summer, Blurred Lines, via NPR. Subscribing to Spotify is both a blessing and a curse (I can listen to the same ten songs over and over and over again but am not introduced to new music unless I know what I’m searching for) and since I don’t listen to the radio anymore, I’m out of the loop. As I’m listening to people my parents age discuss a pop song and it’s come-and-get-it lines and video that objectifies women and erases all of the work women have done for equality, I’m feeling ancient. I should be telling these people what’s hot, not the other way around. But, I digress.
I dial up the song and am immediately hooked- to the point where I’ve listened to it probably 30 times today (I did already admit to being slightly obsessive and repetitive with my music). While the song lyrics are controversial, the video is even more so. If you’re not humoring me and clicking my hyperlinks, I’ll fill you in. The song (which samples Marvin Gaye’s Got To Give It Up) is chauvinistic and refers to a woman as a bitch while the video shows nearly nude women parading around, purely for enjoyment.
I like it.
Sometimes it’s fun to be sexy, to have attention because of your physical appearance, and to walk into a room and have eyes on you. It feels good to look good. It’s empowering, not degrading. And yes, sometimes we, as women, “want it.” We all do. We’re humans, after all. We have sex, and most of the time for fun. It’s what we do on Saturday nights, or Sunday mornings, or while we’re waiting for the dryer to stop running or the kids to wake up from their naps. We do it with our spouses, our boyfriends, and yes, we do it with strangers via one night stands after partying.
Yes, I understand the critics who express the concerns with this song and video. The women are nearly naked in the unrated version, scantily clad in the safe for work one. The men are fully clothed. These women are here for fun, clearly. But why is that always bad thing if you’re a woman?
Women should always be in control of their power and their sexuality and unfortunately, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes lines do get blurred to dangerous results. But sometimes the lines are blurred because we want them to be- we want to be beautiful but smart. We want to be flirty but intelligent. We want to look good and feel good. Blurry lines aren’t always a negative. We, as women, blur them ourselves because we can. We have that power and we have that control. And that makes us for sure the hottest bitch in the place.
Copyright 2014 Anne Mathay