Benjamin Taylor - "Wicked Way"

I happened across the video for the song "Wicked Way" by Ben Taylor last week and I was really taken aback by the lyrics. The song is basically from the perspective of a horny and mildly predatory, albeit very honest, stereotypical male figure who laments about just wanting to have no-strings-attached sex with a beautiful woman who won't pester him the hassle of commitment, emotions, or conversation. The lyrics are listed below, read on and you'll see what I mean:

I just want to take you out and get you drunk

So I can have my wicked way with you

I'm just being honest 'cause I know the other guys

Are thinking just the same way too

And I'm not gonna lie and say

That I will take you out to dance, there's just no chance

'Cause I don't even like the same music you do

I just want to have my wicked way with you

Girl, don't you fight it

Don't knock it till you tried it

Just show me some skin, I might bite it

I want to have my wicked way with you

I'm not gonna come over and meet your mom and dad

They know that I was bad

I don't want to meet your friends

Oh, just pretend I like you

I don't want to talk about what happened

On your favorite TV show

I just want to get you close enough

So I can take off all your clothes

I don't want to make you cry or break your heart

Girl, we don't have the time

I'm just thinking of three hours or more

So I can have my wicked way with you

Now, don't you fight it

'Cause I know you're gonna like it

Show me some skin, I might bite it

I want to have my wicked way with you

I was definitely surprised upon hearing this the first time, and I initially thought that Ben was writing from his own perspective, because he prefaces the video by saying that he started writing this as a way to "express his freaky sexuality," whatever that means. He does say that the resulting song ended up becoming a joke, but in any case, there are some really interesting contradictions at work here. First of all, if you were to read the lyrics without hearing the song, you would probably assume that it's a really beat-heavy, overly-produced song that you might expect to hear in a seedy club. Surprisingly enough, it's actually a very simple, acoustic guitar-driven, folksy sort of song that seems to contradict the dirty lyrics with how sweet it sounds. And I think that's the point. 

If you were to listen to the song without paying attention to the lyrics, you might assume that it's a sincere love song that would likely follow the formula in the "Love Will Steer the Stars" Bader article. (Ben Taylor is, after all, the offspring of 1970s folk-rock icons James Taylor and Carly Simon.) However, the lyrics contrast the genre by flying in the face of the all of the characteristics of an idealized love song. Instead, lyrically, the song sounds more like a frank confessional by the type of guy we discussed before and after viewing Spin the Bottle: Sex, lies, and alcohol. That is, men who use alcohol as as strategy to lower women's inhibitions and make them more sexually permissive. Whether this is Ben's critique of that idea, an attempt to say "Hey, I'll be blunt if no one else will," or just a joke remains to be seen. But I'd encourage you to listen to at least part of the song, if for no other reason than because it's weird and because it's such a stark contradiction between words and music. 

"Does this car make my penis look big?"

Ah, the proverbial vehicle-as-panty-dropper phenomenon. I'm gonna go ahead an chalk it up on the list of things I don't understand, right up there with economics and Mary-Louise Parker's strange ability to somehow evade aging. Mysteries, all. But I digress.

This BMW commercial was brought to my attention last week. In it, a boy picks up his date for prom, who I'm assuming they intended to look out of his league.
After performing typical "nice guy" actions (presenting her with a flower and opening the passenger door for her), he walks around the back of the car and does a quick celebratory victory-dance, involving outlining an imaginary "hourglass" female figure and spanking that imaginary figure. Once he gets in the car, he realizes his date, looking at him angrily, saw the whole thing on the car's rear-view camera. However, much to his surprise, she grabs his face and aggressively kisses him. Watch below:

Now, there are a variety of messages that could be presented by this girl's reaction. 

1. Catching this boy celebratory dance is embarrassing, and therefore endearing. (Possible, but I'm not buying it, if for no other reason than the fact that endearing, mildly nerdy teenagers don't sell $50,000 cars.)
2. His driving a BMW automatically makes him more attractive.
3. His driving a BMW makes her okay with being objectified.
4. His driving a BMW prompts her to unleash her sexually aggressive side before they even leave the driveway. 

There has been a long-standing idea in society that cars are symbols of power and, oftentimes, masculinity. Is it any wonder that in Holz-Ivory et al.'s study of gendered relationships on television, one of their coding categories for dominant acts was "drives a motor vehicle"? It would appear that, in this case, the BMW as a symbol of power and dominance certainly heightens this fellow's appeal.

This commercial is especially interesting in light of the in-class lists we created of traits in an "ideal" boyfriend and girlfriend. It seemed that the general consensus in these lists was that men look for physical attractiveness first, while women look for success.  In a matter of 30 seconds, BMW touches on the main qualities that are sought after by the stereotypical male and female; The boy is excited to go to the prom on the arm of a girl with a good body, while the girl is excited to go to the prom on the arm of a boy with a nice car.

In closing, I'll leave you with the top two YouTube comments on this video's page:

Telling. 

Does thinking this is funny make me a bad feminist?

I thought Tuesday's discussion about gender stereotypes was really interesting, because they show up EVERYWHERE. It's telling that when it came to listing stereotypes of each gender, everyone agreed on the lists that were written, and it didn't take long at all for us to collectively compile those lists. As evidenced by the Fergusen et al. reading about representations of promiscuity and the Aubrey & Taylor study regarding priming through lad mags, we are bombarded on all sides by stereotypical representations of both men and women in the media.
The Fergusen et al. reading specifically talked about stereotypes regarding women's sexual behaviors, and how assumptions about those behaviors lead to judgements about their character, or minimizing the negative effects of sexual attention if they're perceived as promiscuous. Julia brought up in class that at least three blog posts (my own included) brought up situations of satirical hyper-sexualized TV and movie characters who, while over the top, could still provide a negative and lasting impression to the viewer. While the examples given in class and in the readings largely addressed negative stereotypes about how women present themselves physically, what about representations that satirize the way women present themselves emotionally? The Harvard Sailing Team is a sketch comedy troupe that makes fun of gender stereotypes in their video, "Boys Will Be Girls."

The video features four guys sitting around a TV watching The Biggest Loser while speaking in abbreviations and discussing stereotypical female topics, like their unhealthy dietary habits and complaints about not getting enough attention from their significant others. They aren't dressed as girls or pretending to be girls (a la the Shit Girls Say saga), but seem to find strength in how ludicrous it seems to have four straight men with female mannerisms, emotions, and behaviors.
I admit, I think this video is funny. Perhaps that's partially due to the fact that it was shown to me by five of my guy friends who lived together last year, quote this video all the time, and are self-proclaimed "besties with testes." Jokingly, but not really. In any case, this video is extremely gendered and heightens the contrast between men and women by having men act like women. Again, this is over-the-top, and uses the most obnoxious representations of stereotypical female irrationality. But if representations of satirized female sexuality can be a concern, and can lead people to think that those representations are authentic and typical, do satirized representations of female emotions carry the same concerns?

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Lindsay Bluth Fünke.

I love Arrested Development. I LOVE it. I love the storylines, the recurring jokes, the foreshadowing, the music, and especially the characters. The show has three female main characters, one Bluth woman of each generation, and they are all conniving and manipulative in their own way. I'd like to focus on Lindsay in particular (one of the middle Bluth children and the only female) because I could spend entire, separate blog posts on her mother, Lucille, and daughter, Maeby. In thinking about Lindsay, it's come to my attention that she somehow manages to embody every single negative stereotype about women.
She's lazy, spoiled, selfish, and entitled. She constantly asks her brother or mother for money, and any job that she has is extraordinarily short-lived and usually acquired accidentally. She always puts her own needs above her daughter's, and when she does spend time with her daughter Maeby, she usually uses Maeby as a pawn to get something she wants. Even though her once-rich family is in deep financial trouble, she still maintains a sense of superiority and is constantly seeking clothing, jewelry, and cars that she can't afford.
However, the trait that's perhaps the most in line with our readings is the emphasis that she places on her looks. As per the 1995 Ward reading, the female sexual role on television tends to be rooted in appearance. Similarly, as found in Kim et. al's discussion of courtship strategies, women tend to place their value in physical appearance. Lindsay follows this exactly. She becomes discouraged in her looks because her husband Tobias, the aspiring actor whom she only married to anger her father, appears to not be sexually attracted to her. Her way of remedying this is to still seek attention from other men through her clothing while still remaining married to Tobias- for convenience's sake.
In one episode in particular, Lindsay goes to visit her father in prison and is secretly excited at the prospect of all of the inmates giving her attention because of her looks. When no one says anything to her, she becomes disappointed and continues coming back to visit her father, wearing progressively more makeup and more revealing outfits in order to gain more attention from the men. When that doesn't happen, she becomes increasingly frustrated until her father tells her that he's going broke by paying off the inmates to not hit on her. At this point, Lindsay is appeased and flattered, saying that all she ever wanted was for her father to spend money on her.
Lindsay is certainly a caricature of a woman who's nearly a headache in every way, and her satirizing of negative female stereotypes makes them more funny because they are so over the top. However, while it's unlikely that a woman would actually wear the above outfit to a prison, so many do place their personal value in how they look. While many TV shows and movies do very little to dissuade that idea, I think that characters like Lindsay Bluth actually help put the looks-based mentality in perspective by making the shallowness of her character so ridiculous and exaggerated.

Rape Jokes, Dark Humor, and the Sexual Double Standard

A little over a week ago, comedian Daniel Tosh caused quite a stir because of a distasteful rape joke directed at a female audience member. According to the woman's personal account, as a segue into the next part of his act, Tosh made a generalized statement about rape jokes always being funny. The woman in the audience retorted, "Actually, rape jokes are never funny!" Tosh paused and responded to her "heckling" by saying, "Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her..." The woman was so appalled and humiliated that she left the club immediately. (You can read her entire account here.) Jamie Masada, the owner of the club (The Laugh Factory in LA), had a slightly different account and has released a statement saying that, though he "couldn't really hear properly," Tosh asked the audience what they wanted to talk about, and someone said "rape." A woman in the audience said "No, rape is painful, don't talk about it." According to Masada, "Daniel came in, and he said, 'Well it sounds like she's been raped by five guys'- something like that."
My question is: does it matter? In either case, Tosh was making fun of a hypothetical gang rape, and at a single audience member's expense. And though the backlash regarding the joke has sparked outrage in other comedians, ("It was a joke! She was a heckler! He's a comedian! How dare anyone try to tell him how to be funny!") I personally believe that there is very good reason for eyebrows to be raised, and for this woman to be angry. Yes, comedy should be able to talk about terrible situations, but Tosh's attempt to do so was poorly executed, tasteless, and hurtful. What makes dark comedy (specifically rape jokes) successful is the ability to criticize the act itself, not the person victimized by it. In her article, "Anatomy of a Successful Rape Joke," Jessica Valenti speaks eloquently about how rape jokes can "subvert rather than terrify," and that they can work if they highlight the absurdity of the rationale behind rape. (Read the article here.)

The jokes that Valenti referenced as successful were only so because they were presented as blatant hyperbole. Tosh’s statements weren’t remotely funny because women deal with sexual harassment and assault every day. It’s a very real and prevalent problem, and blame is still all too often misassigned. Tosh wasn’t doing his part as a comedian to use laughter as a way to deal with or transcend a horrible issue; he was being a bully to an audience member for embarrassing him.

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about this situation is the response that it has garnered from Tosh-defenders. Some people (other comedians!) have been pitching a fit about free speech, saying that nothing should be off-limits for comedy, arguing that anyone who goes to a Daniel Tosh show should expect his brand of humor, and criticizing the woman for complaining about his response to her heckling. I think it’s important to note that many of these responses come from men. I’m certainly NOT of the school of thought that all males are misogynist pigs, but it makes me wonder about our culture’s tendency to be flippant about rape, vastly underestimate the statistics (1 in 4 women, guys!), and hold females responsible for a horrible and traumatizing crime committed against them. I think a lot of it goes back to the media’s portrayal of sex and sexual roles, especially evidenced through Kim et al.’s sexual double standards and Ward’s (1995) discussion of sexual roles. Men are expected to be sexually aggressive, and are often reduced to the sex that they have as the defining factor for their manliness. Women are expected to be alluring but passive and set limits. Meanwhile they’re judged for their sexual experience, while male sexual experience is lauded and seen as powerful. It may seem a bit of a stretch to connect these portrayals of men and women on television and movies to the current state of rape culture, but how often do we see examples of a woman being called a slut because of the way she dresses or her sexual past? How often do we see examples of a man’s decisions being driven by their penis? How often do we see one or both genders ridiculed by their peers for not being sexually assertive enough? It’s a terrible and misguided double standard that keeps making women the butt of the joke, and comments like Daniel Tosh’s are doing nothing to dissuade it.

Movie Analysis: The Princess and the Frog

Disney movies, though considered classics, have been (especially in recent years) credited with creating and perpetuating unrealistic portrayals of love, romance, and relationships. Many of Disney’s animated movies center around a princess figure who, in many cases at the tender age of 16, falls madly in love with a man upon meeting them, becomes certain that this man is THE one, gets herself into trouble with an evil villain on a power trip, finds herself needing to be saved by that man from that villain, and, in a brief yet triumphant exposition, rides off into the sunset to live a glorious and uncomplicated Happily Ever After with her savior/husband. Over the years, this storyline has garnered more than a few raised eyebrows by independent women tired of being reduced to a damsel-in-distress figure. Disney’s 2009 film, The Princess and the Frog, seemed to be, in many ways, an attempt to remedy that longstanding storyline with a strong, independent female character (as well as an attempt to make up for some prettay offensive past racial portrayals, but that’s another topic for another blog.)

While Disney was successful in creating a self-sufficient female to a degree, when all was said and done, they still ascribed to the traditional sexual roles for Tiana and Naveen, the two main characters. Tiana comes from a tight-knit but low-income family in New Orleans, and dreams of a future where she can do what she loves (cook) without having to worry about money. Her goal is to open her own restaurant, a dream initially held by her father, who died before it could be realized. She is highly determined and works two waitress jobs to save enough money, but she is met with condescension and ridicule by everyone around her who don’t believe she has what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Naveen is a prince from Maldonia whose parents have grown tired of his squandering of wealth and playboy lifestyle and have cut him off. The purpose of his visit to New Orleans is to regain riches by marrying a wealthy debutante, but an unfortunate run-in with a Hatian voodoo witch doctor turns him into a frog. (Evil villain on a power trip: check.)

At a costume party, frog Naveen mistakenly believes that a ball gown- clad Tiana is a princess and begs her to kiss him in order to return him to his human form. Tiana, desperate after her down payment for the building she intended to house her restaurant was out-bid, consents to kiss him only after Naveen claims to be "fabulously wealthy" and promises a monetary reward in exchange for her help (Del Vecho & Clements, Musker, 2009).

Naveen's imperative statement, "You must kiss me!" (Del Vecho & Clements, Musker, 2009) assumes that Tiana won't refuse and is directly in line with Holz Ivory et al.'s 2009 study of dominant and submissive traits in television couples. Naveen gives orders, makes sexual advances, and offers promises of being able to financially provide for Tiana (Holz et al. 2009). 
Not even self-sufficient Tiana is immune to Naveen's promise of money, but her kiss turns her into a frog instead of turning Naveen human because she is not actually a princess. Upon discovering this, instead of being apologetic for his role in turning her into a frog or grateful for her attempt to help him, Naveen is angered to discover Tiana's true, more humble identity. 

He takes pleasure in telling her that he's actually broke, and thinks nothing of the fact that he lied to her to get what he wanted. In this way, Naveen is only kind to Tiana until he discovers that she is of no use to him. Even though he has less money than she does (with no source of income), he still has a sense of superiority because of his background and social standing. This correlates with Kim et al.'s 2007 breakdown of courtship strategies. Even though Naveen is not courting Tiana at this point, he is still lording his power over her, which is indicative of the typical masculine strategy (Kim et al., 2007). He doesn't have any money, which is contrary to the typical script of a man's power being rooted in his income, but because of his title as prince, he still feels that he has the upper hand, and makes no attempt to hide that from Tiana. 
Finally, because this is still, after all, a Disney movie and because being transformed into amphibians, getting lost in a bayou, and meeting a jazz-loving, trumpet-playing alligator can only be a bonding experience, Naveen eventually falls for Tiana. Mind you, throughout this entire journey, Tiana has been fed up with Naveen. She finds him spoiled, selfish, entitled, lazy, and condescending, and she is still focused on opening her restaurant above all else. But when Naveen plans a romantic evening and decides to propose to her, her formerly goal-oriented mindset dies at the hands of flattery and sentimentality. 

(Speaking of, a proposal? Really? Not "Hey, you're pretty cool after all, maybe we should get coffee sometime when this all blows over?" They've known each other a matter of DAYS. But I digress. Again, this is Disney.) 
This once again plays into Holz Ivory et al.'s (2009) idea of dominant and submissive roles. Naveen's impulsive and decisive proposal, although it gets derailed, is typical of the "dominant" partner. Meanwhile, though this isn't shown in the clip, Naveen's advances make Tiana more confused about what she really wants. When Ray, her firefly friend, tells her of Naveen's intentions, she becomes willing to cast aside all prior doubt, dislike, and motivation for independence and assumes the more passive role. 


All in all, The Princess and the Frog seems to send something of a contradictory message. As far as Disney movies go, it's fairly progressive. I mean, the 16-year-old, free spirited, borderline certifiable Ariel (of The Little Mermaid) sold her voice to a sea witch so that she could have a pair of legs in order to get into the pants of a man she'd never met. Comparatively, Tiana may as well have been burning her bra. However, it seems like Disney's message through The Princess and the Frog was "We love independent women! We applaud them! Determination is great! But when it comes down to brass tacks, all women really want is the right guy to sweep them off their feet." It did challenge certain roles; Tiana is more hardworking, more street-smart, and makes more money than Naveen. However, other roles were reinforced, like Naveen's confidence in his sexual prowess, and confidence in his wealth, even though that wealth was based on reputation and prestige rather than actual earnings. Furthermore, Tiana becomes more passive and sentimental as the movie goes on. Once she knows that Naveen is interested in her, she becomes eager to be the wife of a man who, a few days before, she didn't even like as a person. Disney reinforces the idea that the desire for romance trumps a hope for personal and individual success.


Del Vecho, P. (Producer) & Clements, R., Musker, J. (Directors). (2009). The princess and the frog [motion picture]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures.


Holz Iovry, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J.D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12, 170-192. 


Kim, J.L., Sorsoli, C., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. (2007). From sex to sexuality: exposing heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157.

Female Portrayals in 30 Rock

I admit, in my spare time over the past week I've been watching an embarrassing amount of 30 Rock. What can I say? The episodes are short and Netflix is an enabler. In any case, it's a well-written show that pokes fun at a large number of things, and I can't help but be amused by their portrayals of gender, particularly women. The characters of Jenna (an actress on an NBC show), Liz (a writer for NBC), and Cerie (Liz's assistant) provide for a very interesting study in female stereotypes when compared and contrasted.
Jenna and Cerie seem to both embody the female courtship strategies found in the study by Kim et al.- even when they're not courting. Both of them strive to showcase their physical appearance and play up their allure, though Cerie is considerably more passive/ effortless in her approach to doing so. Though both are comfortable objectifying themselves, Jenna explicitly credits using her sexuality to get ahead (or at least try), while Cerie nonchalantly wears inappropriately revealing clothing to work- much to Liz's chagrin (and her male staff's delight.) An example of this is found here:

Not only does Cerie not understand why her outfits are problematic, she questions Liz's own decisions to dress conservatively and assumes that Liz only does so because she either has children (she doesn't) or "like, one of those body image things." 

Which brings me to Liz. 

Liz is the antithesis to Jenna and Cerie in nearly every way, but their contrasts are especially evident in the way they express their sexuality. The way that Liz conducts herself is essentially a contrary script to everything that we have studied about female sexual stereotypes on TV. As previously mentioned, Liz doesn't wear revealing clothing, a lot of makeup, or a complicated hairstyle. She loves food and unapologetically indulges in it, instead of trying to maintain a particular shape in order to attract men. She also makes references to not enjoying sex; when Jenna asks how her sex life is with her boyfriend Dennis, Liz replies, "Fast and only on Saturdays- it's perfect." 

Her decision to behave in a way that is not overtly sexual or "feminine" garners a lot of criticism from Jack, a network executive who, in the pilot, pegs her as a "New York third-wave feminist, college-educated, single-and-pretending-to-be-happy-about-it, over-scheduled, undersexed, you buy any magazine that says 'healthy body image' on the cover and every two years you take up knitting for... a week." Additionally, because of her behaviors, mannerisms, and gender-neutral clothing, he assumes she is a lesbian and tries to set her up with a woman.

While all of the women of 30 Rock can be seen as caricatures in their own right, having the goofy and unfussy Liz balance out the sexualized and empty-headed Jenna and Cerie gives the impression that having these different personalities is 30 Rock's attempt to provide a parody of traditional stereotypes of women. And an effective one, at that.