It is worthy of noting that discrimination can take multiple forms that cannot be detected easily. The colonial past of countries has led to the emergence of this negative manifestation. Discrimination is a state in which one caste, group or category of people considers themselves more privileged than other social or cultural groups and instills a feeling of inferiority in these people. Gender discrimination is one of the ugly forms of this phenomenon that roots in the depths of history (Evans 11). The purpose of this paper is to analyze and dwell upon manifestations of women’s discrimination that can be traced in rock and roll lyrics.
Background Information and Topic Description
In order to understand the essence of the problem revealed in this writing, it is necessary to clarify the main points regarding the musical genre called rock and roll. This direction of popular music originated around the 1950s in America (Hall 13). Later, this musical movement evolved into rock. The genre is characterized by a fast tempo, freedom of musical performance, and a wide use of slang. The leading instruments in rock ‘n’ roll are bass, drums, electric guitar, and piano. This genre arose at the junction of several musical directions such as boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues, gospel, and country, which gave a new sounding to this musical style.
Experts in the industry argued that rock and roll was a fundamental style not only because of its sounding but also because of its social and cultural implications. In particular, both white and black artists performed in this style to their fullest capacity. It allowed reducing the existing social tension and avoiding racial discrimination. Researchers believed that this genre was beyond politics (Hall 101). Despite these statements, it is crucial to note that the issue of gender discrimination persisted and could be clearly traced in this musical direction in spite of its revolutionary nature and the orientation towards social justice. The current work provides arguments to validate this statement through a close analysis of rock and roll lyrics.
The popularity of this direction gained momentum rapidly; however, rock and roll quickly lost its position after the deafening success. The style got a new breath starting from the mid-1960s with the arrival of bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and it retained its popularity for many years (Hall 210). For this reason, in the current paper, an attempt is made to analyze the lyrics of the most popular teams and performers of this epoch to illustrate that the trend towards gender discrimination can be clearly traced in this style.
Discrimination of Women
In order to avoid misconception, it is necessary to explain the way the concept of gender discrimination is interpreted in the current work. This term refers to the infringement of women’s rights in any aspect of life and humiliation of their dignity or personal worth (Shastri 28). Also, discrimination against women implies a lack of equality during any form of their interaction with the opposite sex (Evans 17). In addition, discriminatory treatment of women means any sexist remarks aimed at lowering the feeling of self-worth in females.
Texts by The Rolling Stones
The lyrics under analysis have been composed at different times by several songwriters. They have been selected to reveal that the texts used by this band carried either clear or hidden discriminating remarks about women. The Rolling Stones being a world-famous rock and roll band had a strong impact on the culture of countries and affected the worldview of many individuals (Hall 132). Nevertheless, at the time of their popularity, they were not criticized for encouraging or depicting pronounced sexism in their songs.
The lyrics of the song “The Last Time” reveals a discriminating attitude towards women. In general, in this song, the narrator addresses his partner stating, “I told you once and I told you twice” (The Rolling Stones 134). The man is dissatisfied with the fact that his girlfriend does not respond to his needs in the proper way, so he says, “You don’t try very hard to please me” (Beviglia 44). A belief of the man that his female partner should be subservient to him reveals an idea of male superiority. Notably, the lyrics end up with an assumption that the woman should pay the price for her improper behavior. It exhibits a man as someone who has the right to punish a woman for her misconduct.
The text of another song called “Play with Fire” also reveals an oppressive attitude towards women. The song is about a well-off woman to whom the narrator says, “Don’t play with me/ Cause you’re playing with fire” (Beviglia 85). The person proceeds saying, “Now you’ve got some diamonds and you will have some others/ But you’d better watch your step, girl/ Or start living with your mother” (The Rolling Stones 204). It can be assumed that the narrator believes that the woman should be satisfied with the material possessions she has. Notably, he exhibits resentment toward the woman and her values and feels like abusing her.
The lyrics of the song called “Stupid Girl” also reveal misogyny. The entire text is built on the enumeration of disadvantages that can be met in women or features that can be mocked in them. For instance, the narrator criticizes the way the woman in the song behaves herself and the values that she has. According to the lyrics, she is “the worst thing in this world” (The Rolling Stones 257). This message is reiterated several times throughout the text, which reveals a strongly negative attitude towards the central figure of the song who is a woman. Notably, the entire song is built on the feeling of misogyny, which is one of the manifestations of discrimination.
“Stray Cat Blues” is another example of a song with a discriminating tone to it. The main hero in the lyrics is an older man who intends to spend intimate time with a young woman. The main hero claims that he can see that the girl is “fifteen years old” but he assumes that such form of interaction with an underage person is appropriate (Beviglia 93). Importantly, the content of the lyrics is not only discriminating (because it exhibits women in a humiliating manner) but it also promotes illegal behavior in relation to young girls.
“Brown Sugar” is a song with the lyrics discriminating black women and all females in general. The song covers the topic of a sexual relationship with a young black woman. The narrator wonders, “Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good/ Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should” (The Rolling Stones 35). The tone of the text is rather sexist, and it degrades the dignity of women. Moreover, it contains racist assumptions about black females, which makes the lyrics discriminating in terms of not only gender but also race. However, it is also possible to assume that the lyrics may be about drugs and not women. Some critics believed that the narrator was not referring to black females but to heroin.
One of the songs that make strong sexist remarks about females is called “Some Girls”. It categorizes women by different features and characteristics. For instance, the narrator states that some women provide him with financial support while others can leave him with unwanted children. In addition, he assumes that cultural background determines some of the requirements that females can have. According to the narrator, “French girls they want Cartier/ Italian girls want cars/ American girls want everything in the world” (Chapman and Chinn). Therefore, apart from enumerating different categories of women, which degrades their feeling of self-worth and dignity, the lyrics also carry racist messages that discriminate females based on their cultural identity.
The lyrics under analysis have been written at different time periods. Some of the texts reveal hostility towards women and exhibit negative feelings towards them. Men in the songs also have harassing fantasies regarding different women (young, underage, rich, poor, and so on). Some of the lyrics not only carry humiliating messages that undermine the feeling of dignity in women and expose them in a strongly unfavorable light but also categorize them by culture, which is the evidence of discrimination based on racial differences (Evans 31). Some texts have a tone of violence and display the desire to punish women for their disobedience or misconduct, which reveals that females are considered inferior to men. Overall, the feeling of male pride dominates in the discussed texts while the protagonists do not have any doubt in the reasonableness of such judgment.
“Under my Thumb” by The Rolling Stones
To explicate the way discrimination of women can be observed in the lyrics of The Rolling Stones in a more comprehensive manner, it is necessary to dwell upon one of their popular songs “Under my Thumb”. It was released in 1966 when the band was almost at its peak of success (The Rolling Stones 267). The song was indeed popular despite its controversial and degrading lyrics. In general, the idea of the text centers on the relationship of the protagonist with his female mate. According to the narrator, the woman intended to make the most of their relationship while leaving the man devastated. However, he has been able to have her under his thumb. The man says, “It’s down to me, the way she talks when she’s spoken to…The way she does just what she’s told” (The Rolling Stones 267). The extract clearly reveals that the woman is submissive to the narrator, and this idea pleases him greatly. In addition, this way, the protagonist exhibits that his female mate is devoid of intelligence. At the same time, the main hero encourages a double standard since he can continue interacting with other women while his partner should belong to him solely.
Interestingly, the protagonist talks about his girlfriend as if he is referring to a dog or any other pet whom he has trained successfully. It is unclear whether the woman has to fulfill his intimate requirements or any other demands; nevertheless, it is evident that the protagonist harasses his partner socially. He regards the woman as “the squirmin’ dog who’s just had her day” and “a Siamese cat of a girl” (The Rolling Stones 267). Therefore, the main topic of the lyrics is the total control of a man over his woman, and the pleasure that he gains from such an abusive relationship. The subtext of the song is degrading as it demeans the dignity of women. Moreover, the lyrics chant the superiority of men over women.
“Run for your Life” by The Beatles
The Beatles were another popular band that performed in rock and roll and rock styles. One of their famous songs called “Run for your Life” faced controversy from the side of the general society due to the discriminating messages it conveyed. In general, the lyrics are about the love of the protagonist to his soul mate. However, it should be assumed that this form of love is rather difficult to understand. The lyrics exhibit the desire of the man to possess another person with whom he is obsessed (Evans 107). In the beginning, the protagonist tries to make the audience sympathize with him. The main hero and his female mate cannot reach an understanding; therefore, he wants to take full control of her. His intentions are violent, and he warns that he is “a wicked guy” and that he has been” born with a jealous mind” (McCartney and Lennon). Importantly, he sees nothing wrong in it and believes that the woman should accept him the way he is and be happy.
The protagonist is persuaded that his soul mate should be glad to be possessed by him. He refers to the woman as to a “little girl” (McCartney and Lennon). This way, he demeans her dignity and tries to make the woman understand that she has done something wrong. The lyrics are the evidence of the man’s desire for control and superiority (Shastri 28). Women are regarded as inferior and stupid beings who should be compliant and content with everything a man says to them. Sexism in the lyrics is illustrative of abusive relationships in which chauvinism is a norm (Evans 23). Thus, the analysis of this song additionally proves that the most popular bands tended to exhibit discrimination of women as a standard practice.
“Woman is the Nigger of the World” by John Lennon
The song “Woman is the Nigger of the World” has been selected intentionally to display the controversy of discrimination and sexism in rock and roll music. It is important to mention that, although the song belongs to the rock genre, the style of it is rock and roll. The lyrics of the work, as well as its title, have faced much argument due to the hidden messages they carried. Importantly, the song was banned by many radio stations when it was first released. It can be assumed that the content of the text strived for juxtaposing racism with sexism (Lennon and Ono). The systematic oppression experienced by the African-American population has been compared to different forms of harassment that women face throughout their lives. Nonetheless, this idea can be easily lost during interpretation and close reading of the text.
The title of the song stresses the privilege of the white population over other nations and cultures (Lennon and Ono). Thus, it is possible to assume that the author of the text recognizes the presence of male dominance over women. Despite the use of the allegory, the link between racism and discrimination of women can be easily misinterpreted. Apart from that, drawing a parallel between gender and race is wrongful. Black women and white women can experience different forms of discrimination, and black females frequently experience compound forms of oppression that cannot be fully understood by white women (and the reverse) (Evans 11). Therefore, the awkward comparison of struggles that are not mutually exclusive provides room for further discrimination of women.
Moreover, the text has other signs of discrimination. For instance, the protagonist says, “We make her bear and raise our children/ And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen” (Lennon and Ono). The author recognizes that women are being oppressed and discriminated. They face humiliation and lose the feeling of self-worth on a daily basis. However, the choice of words and the language used throughout the text is degrading (Shastri 28). Despite the intention of the author, the lyrics further support the abusive perception of women through the discriminating portrayal of them.
Key Insights
Based on the analysis of the songs, it is possible to outline different manifestations of discrimination of women in rock and roll lyrics. First, oppression can take the form of displaying females in their stereotypical gender roles (as in the example of John Lennon’s song in which women are viewed as mother hens who give birth to children and become unattractive because of it). Second, women are often regarded as inferior to men, and male domination is perceived as a norm (Evans 37). Third, in rock and roll lyrics, women can be viewed as sexual objects or they are appreciated based on the degree of their attractiveness.
Fourth, discrimination of women in rock and roll music can be traced when females are described using stereotypical representations (Shastri 28). For instance, when women are viewed as gold diggers, it should be considered a discriminating attitude. Fifth, a clear evidence of oppression in rock and roll lyrics is related to the portrayal of violence targeted at females (violent attitudes, sexual, physical or emotional harassment) (Evans 174). However, this criterion should be applied when violence is described or perceived in a positive manner. Importantly, rock and roll lyrics can frequently have a compilation of several forms of discrimination, which is evident from the analysis of the chosen texts.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that discrimination of women in rock and roll lyrics is a rather common phenomenon. It should be noted that not all the bands and artists performing in this style exhibited this feature. However, songs of the most famous bands and singers had been chosen on purpose to provide evidence that discrimination of women did take place in rock and roll texts. The analysis has provided sufficient proof to this statement. Moreover, a close reading of the lyrics has allowed outlining the five ways in which women have been portrayed in a discriminating manner in rock and roll songs.
Works Cited
Beviglia, Jim. Counting down the Rolling Stones: Their 100 Finest Songs. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.
Chapman, Michael Donald, and Nicholas Barry Chinn. “The Rolling Stones Lyrics.” Azlyrics. Web.
Evans, Mary. The Persistence of Gender Inequality. John Wiley & Sons, 2016.
Hall, Mitchell K. The Emergence of Rock and Roll: Music and the Rise of American Youth Culture. Routledge, 2014.
Lennon, John Winston, and Yoko Ono. “John Lennon Lyrics.” Azlyrics. Web.
McCartney, Paul, and John Winston Lennon. “The Beatles Lyrics.” Azlyrics. Web.
The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones: Best 50 Songs for 50 Years. Alfred Music, 2013.
Shastri, Andrey. “Gender Inequality and Women Discrimination.” IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 19, no. 11, 2014, pp. 27-30.