By Colleen Kelly
This thematic series has begun to establish that female sexuality is an aspect of the music industry capable of crossing genre barriers. Country music has traditionally been labeled the genre with the least emphasis on female sexuality because of its socially conservative themes (Aubrey & Frisby, 2011, p. 477). I challenge this notion with my assertion that sexuality has always been present in country music but has undergone a change from a form of feminist liberation to a tool to objectify women.
In the history of country music, particularly visible in the 1990s, there is a long-standing tradition of female artists using their music to advance feminist ideals and reclaim their sexuality (Berlatsky, 2014). Let me be clear that I am not asserting that these musicians are the long-awaited saviors of women. Rather, these female artists utilized the media to challenge societal norms surrounding gender and sexuality. Shania Twain was not only one of the biggest stars of her generation, she was representative of a larger group of female country artists of the time. In the music video for “You Win My Love,” Twain challenges gender expectations by appropriating traditionally male experiences (Wilson, 2000, p. 294). The primary way she infiltrates the experience of masculinity is that the video is set at a racetrack, a sphere typically exclusive to men (Wilson, 2000, p. 295). Additionally, Twain is seen in the driver’s seat of the car, which symbolizes total control over her life, her body, and her sexuality.
Twain is merely one artist in a generation of feminist country music. A generation whose legacy continues to inspire contemporary female country artists to disrupt the “old honky-tonk girl or country bumpkin images” (Wilson, 2000, 301) that endure in society.
The country music industry has undergone a radical shift in the portrayal of women, most notably an increase in sexual objectification. The shift may be due, in part, to the decrease in the number of female artists in the genre creating a more androcentric culture (Berlatsky, 2014). A subgenre dubbed “bro-country” characterized by themes of machismo, beer, pickup trucks, and scantily clad women has emerged (Luscombe, 2014).
Bro-country has not gone unchallenged and was taken on by two pretty blonde girls via the medium of music. Female country duo, Maddie & Tae, were discontent with the misogynistic direction they saw country music headed. As a direct counter to bro-country, the duo released their single “Girl in a Country Song” in 2014, which quickly rose to the number one spot on the Billboard Country Airplay chart (Luscombe, 2014). This is an accomplishment for any musician, but it was made all the better by the fact that “Girl in a Country Song” overtook the exact bro-country songs it was parodying (Luscombe, 2014).
The song is a satirical criticism reminiscent of the feminist country era that challenges the sexual objectification of women. Sexual objectification can be perpetrated in a variety of ways, but one of the most obvious is through the exposure of body parts, specifically the chest, buttocks, and midriff, which are associated with sexuality (Aubrey & Frisby, 2011, pp. 479-480). In the “Girl in a Country Song” music video, Maddie & Tae invert bro-country’s imagery of provocatively clad women by instead depicting men dressed in the typical female uniform of half shirts and Daisy Dukes (Berlatsky, 2014).
This creative decision is the duo’s attempt to use their platform to drive change within the country music industry. The ultimate goal of the duo’s resistance can be seen in the line “Conway [Twitty] and George Strait never did it this way, back in the old days” (Luscombe, 2014). Not exclusive to this line, the entire song is a call for the return to the era of Shania Twain, when country music portrayed women as more than just sexual objects.
References
Aubrey, J. S. & Frisby, C. M. (2011). Sexual objectification in music videos: A content analysis comparing gender and genre. Mass Communication & Society, 14(4), 475-501. doi:10.1080/15205436.2010.513468
Berlatsky, N. (2014, December 12). “Girl in a country song” continues long tradition of twangy feminist critique. Ravishly. Retrieved from https://ravishly.com/2014/12/12/girl-country-song-maddie-tae-feminist-critique
Luscombe, R. (2014, December 13). Good ol’ boys in a sulk as country debut puts girls in the driving seat. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/13/maddie-tae-country-music-good-ol-boys-sulk
Wilson, J. (2000). Women in country music videos. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 57(3), 290-303.
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Colleen,
ReplyDeleteApart from errors with our house style, this is a first-rate effort.
The post fits neatly into the larger theme of women in popular music and makes an important contribution to this discussion via critical analysis of recent instances of feminist sensibilities emerging within a socially conservative cultural form: country music.
Your research efforts paid off handsomely. Not only did you locate relevant material to inform your post, you deployed this material in a thoughtful and incisive fashion.
Here, then, your attention to two discrete music videos that register and articulate the feminist sensibility you've identified makes this a short, smart contribution to our broader concerns regarding the politics of representation in media and popular culture.
One minor note: from a historical perspective, your post overlooks the "protofeminism" of female C&W artists such as Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, and Dolly Parton, to mention a few.
Nevertheless, this is a fine example of the sort of work we aspire to here in the Media Writing Lab. Keep up the good work.
28/30 pts.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI am impressed by your ability to portray feministic ties to country music, something that can be very misogynistic. I know absolutely nothing about country music however your blog post allows me to still understand and even connect to the over sexuality of women in general.
I also really like the emphasis on the transition from liberation to objectification. Including the example of bro-country really drives your point. Overall great job!
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI, for one, care very little for country music and have always looked at it with disapproval due to the very reasons that your blog addresses. However, you also shine a light on an aspect I was unaware of-- the work of Shania Twain and Maddie & Tae.
Women are constantly fighting to find a way to be heard in our society and acknowledged as more than a sexual object. While country might be dominated by this "bro country" sub-genre, the artists that are actively fighting against these messages (like Shania Twain and Maddie & Tae) and against this culture must be applauded, and I thank you for bringing them to my attention.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteI found your post very insightful. I wouldn't say that country music is one of my favorite genres, but whenever I do listen to country music I enjoy it.
Women being objectified in music and music videos is an issue that transcends genre and is an important conversation. I think the conversation surrounding the objectification of women has shifted in modern society because of the presence of feminism. A lot of feminists, myself included, celebrate a woman's choice to wear whatever she wants regardless of whether that means dressing extremely conservative or wearing almost nothing. When it comes to music videos I think that viewers tend to automatically assume that a woman is being forced to wear non-conservative clothing, and she may very well be, but I think it's also worth noting that maybe she chose to wear that clothing. Maybe to that woman, herons-conervative clothing choices make her feel beautiful and not at all objectified. Because of this dynamic, I would have liked to see you have a discussion on the difference between choice and objectification, but maybe in another blog post! Overall, great job.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteThis post is very interesting and brings about an issue that is not often recognized. I enjoyed how you focuses primarily on Country music because for me personally I do not feel like I fully understand it. I also enjoyed how you focused one very specific examples. This gave your post a unique twist that was also fun to read.
I feel like for another post you can possible explore other genres of music and how they portray women. This post is an excellent start and I feel like you can make this a trend.
Collen,
ReplyDeleteI found this post very interesting because I personally do not care for country music. It brought about a lot of interesting aspects that I didn't really consider with regards to this particular genre of music. I also like how you give specific examples as to how women are objectified in music.
The only critique that I would give is possibly addressing how women of color may be objectified in this genre of music so that you are thoroughly talking about how all women are affected by this. Overall, good job!