enjoying misogyny

Be Hit

Every girl I've ever loved
Has wanted to be hit
Every girl I've ever loved
Wanted to be hit
Every girl I've ever loved
Has wanted to be hit
Every girl I've ever loved
Left me, 'cause I wouldn't do it.

Got some advice for you friend
Ba-ba-bruise 'em, you'll never lose 'em
Ba-ba-bruise 'em, you'll never lose 'em
Alright now

Seems my sensitive touch
Can be given by, any old shmuck
Alright now

"You sneaky fuck bitch, your ways and actions told it all
I fucked you while you was bleedin, held you down in malls"

And on the sand
Another man
He takes her hand
A smile
Lights up her stupid face
And well it would
I've lost my faith in womanhood

Hell hath no fury like a pretty boy spurned.

At least Bill Callahan's aware, unlike all that Rolling Stones "women are there to be used" crap. (And I know, songs are not necessarily a reflection of the singer's views, but I can't help feeling that both Bill and Mick are at least roughly approximating their real personalities in their performances).

I'm not being the annoying feminist here, because I do enjoy many of these bands (including the Rolling Stones and AC/DC) - I'm just really curious and it's a genuine question. Can we recconcile ourselves to misogyny in a way that we can't recconcile other hatreds or prejudices?

Although I will say that society definitely tolerates misogynist lyrics far more than racist ones. But then again, I'm not entirely unsure that society doesn't tolerate misogynist actions more than racist ones, either.

That's one of the things I was wondering when I started the thread. The difference, I think, is that songs about evil women that done ya wrong are a staple of blues and rock, whereas songs about black people that done ya wrong are not. There's nothing wrong with lamenting how your girl been bad to ya, but there's a fine line that some cross. Singing about how blacks or Jews been bad to ya is never acceptable, and never has been, in any quantity.

I think if you re-phrased it, yes. There have been plenty of threads asking how, as music lovers, we can love music that we find morally reprehensible. I've enjoyed a lot of music with themes of racism/misogyny, and it hasn't affected my ethics.

arr xpost

So why is this?

Is it OK to sing about women been bad to ya wanna kill em cause individual girls have been bad to you? If that were the case, we could find loads of cases of individual bad Jews or blacks to make casual racism OK.

Sorry for making you all have to think like this when I guess you just wanted a "Top 100 Misogynistic Songs!" Real thread-killer, me.

I like a lot of misogynist music, because it's much more honest.

And I can laugh at the dumber stuff because it gives me something to feel superior to.

I think racist music would be pretty honest coming from a lot of people, too.

Oh, now I see everything much more clearly.

Honesty... now that might be a better excuse. ???

The word "misogyny" refers to a hatred of *women*. People can't be misogynistic towards men, only women I actually don't know if a word for the hatred of the male sex exists...

Shit, no wonder he went to the crossroads to sell his soul to the devil.

Musicians get taken more to task about violence or unsavory acts listed in their lyrics more so than novelists or people making movies or tv. Every once in a while a writer or movie pushes beyond a certain point that raises hackles, but that line is often times further out than some song lyrics.

My argument boils down to: Women & Men have a long history of living together [mostly] peacefullly. Since the beginning of humanity, in fact. It's a pretty fucking complicated relationship, but in a different way than race, and I don't think your comparison upthread was very pertinent.

Don't forget Margo Timmons' spin on it from the Junkies cover, "I'm gonna beant my man...".

I thought it was called "feminism". *ducks*

Another point: "boyz suck" is as much of a seld-defense mechanism for females as "gurls suck" is for males, but are there that many female equivalents to "Under My Thumb"? Liz Phair is all that comes to mind...

Ahh yes, that "Hot White Cum" song comes (pun not intended) to mind...

Main Entry: mis·an·thrope
Pronunciation: 'mi-s&n-"thrOp
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek misanthrOpos hating mankind, from misein to hate + anthrOpos human being
Date: 1683
: a person who hates or distrusts mankind

Songs about staring at tits are not misogynistic. They are just gloriously dumb.

in other words, while there are modes of repression that are reserved for women, it has generally been expedient for the white man to exploit nonwhite women as though they were men.

prof. davis offers this only by way of introducing the subject. i think she felt racist attitudes had been deconstructed (in the academy) to the point where thinkers could begin to take on patriarchy (hopefully we are reaching that point as music listeners).

The anger & misogyny comes from fear, right? Men are being hurt by women and they're afraid of them. That's what these songs are about. The stakes are higher when love & lust are involved, which is why these pains are so deep & the resulting anger so intense. Comparing this stuff w/ racist lyrics doesn't quite work, I don't think, b/c the hurt that comes w/ love is universal.

That's pretty fundamental, I think.

was Lucille Bogan a hermaphrodite?

how about:

wait - for his bitch to leave
miss trina got a trick up her sleeve
open up the door i walk straight in the house
put your man down and put my cock in his mouth

from trina's "hustling"

I would posit that most of the lyrics being discussed here have nothing to do with "the hurt that comes with love".

sp - you could say that, or you could say our culture equips men with verbal weapons women don't have. just this week i heard dr. phil tell someone on oprah never to call men irresponsible, cause it feels the same as when a man calls a woman a bitch. what a load of bullshit!

No, I'll buy that one. Seeing as how it's men prescribed role to be breadwinners and such, and it's women's prescribed role to be nurturers and such, I can see an irresponsible-->bitch corollary. Your argument is that men feel no pain, because we control everything, and thus should shut the fuck up. And if we're talking corporate power, that's true. But not on a personal level. Not if you want to have a healthy heterosexual relationship.

On a more serious note, if your point is that sexism is as bad as racism, it would probably be best if you didn't create a situation where it looks like you are equating bringing up the fact that misogyny exists with using the word "nigger" as that tends to cloud your point and cause people to not take you seriously.

"The hurt that comes with lust", more likely.

I'd equate these things, if only in the way that they'd be equally dumb things to do, unless you've got a good point coming soon after.

Don't know anything about Scandanavian languages, but I have read an account of how in Louisiana "coquille" (scallop) was used to refer to the female parts, and that this was later shortened to "cock."

Also, can someone give examples of AC/DC lyrics that display a hatred towrds women rather than just an objectification of them?
From memory they're mostly just schoolboy tales of bawdy girls that do to females what (I imagine) mills and boon novels do to males, that is, pretend they're something they're not.

To put it another way many men must be turned on by women who look female but act like men.

How gay is that?

Frank, I don't know if you'll see this, but "misogyny" means hatred of women in general and "Pushin' Too Hard" is a guy annoyed at one particular woman for bugging him.

"...And when I told him I had been untrue
He hit me and it felt like a kiss
He hit me and I knew he loved me
Cause if he didn't care for me
I could have never made him mad
He hit me and I was glad"

the way "misogyny" gets promiscously tossed around by pop music critics has everything to do w/this.