Drugs, Sex, Rock 'N 'Roll, and
Drugs, Sex, Rock 'N 'Roll, and Romance? From Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Frank Sinatra and Brittany Spears, music has always been sexual. Pop music and Rock and Roll are especially sexual. Popular music in recent years has perpetuated sexism in young people by showing women as more submissive and sensitive than men. While it may be argued that women have a more dominate place in the music industry then ever before, the same perception that women are more romantic and submissive than men holds steady. Brittany Spears is one female artist that adds to the continuance of sexism in popular music. By means of her provocative manner in her dress and lyrics, she becomes a symbol of sex as a transitory pleasure, much like a prostitute. Simon Frith in his essay "Rock and Sexuality" states, "The prostitute can be treated with a mixture of condescension and contempt, as someone without an autonomous sexuality" (264). In that sense she becomes the man's desire without any fluency of her own. Therefore according to Frith, "Sex as self-expression remains the prerogative of the man; the woman is the object of his needs and
These songs propel sexism by their vulgar subjects and lyrics-making women commodities and showing them as the objects of men's sexual desire. Songs resembling these are found in abundance in popular music and can be heard constantly on the radio. Despite the fact that women are becoming more prolific in the music industry and trying to express their sexuality, it is still the men who are revealed to have the sexual freedom. Other songs, for example "I wanna lick you" by Ludicris, are solely about sex. Sex and hate can also be seen in rap music today. "This one's going out to the strip joints. One effect of women trying to break the chains of their sexual oppression is the male movement towards more violent forms of sexual power such as rape. 10 grand let me see you shake it like you got no bones in your body. Frith, Simon, "Rock and Sexuality," from Sound Effects: Youth Leisure and Politics ofRock and Roll (New York: Pantheon Books, 1981). " He further states that, "Such polluted sources issue in a muddy stream where only monsters can swim" (251). This may be one reason that women are hesitant to join the musical scene, due to "the three great lyrical themes [in popular music]: sex, hate, and smarmy, a hypocritical version of brotherly love," according to Alan Bloom in his essay "Music. Popular music has perpetuated sexism in young people in recent years. Nevertheless, the possibility that music could be against sexism has been opened.
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Acceptance Essays
