Is "Blurred Lines" about rape?

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Simple question. Save the flamewar for the other thread.

Yes.

[Paul Kemp]

ugh...not again. You think this thread is going to be any different?

But yea probably but it wouldn't be the first hit song to be about something awful (as illustrated here). There's no solution; it's the artist's right to write about whatever they want.

You know what though? Maybe it's not. A song can mean something different to anyone, especially the writers.  

[Oakvale]

Death of the brah-thor?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Probably, though as Kemp said there have been plenty of hit songs with...questionable lyrics.

[nclib]

Check this out.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Check this out.

Saw this. It's awesome.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Who cares.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

I vote yes.

The lyics, if anyone cares:

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[Maxwell]

Some of the forumites have pointed particularly to the lyrics "I know you want it", which is a dumb argument because its not as if that's the first song to ever have those words.

[pugbug]

My God, R2D2, why can't you just let it go? You've mentioned this sentiment in at least two other threads, and I won't be surprised if you mention it in more. What are you trying to do? Prove how liberal and women-friendly you are? You just seem to be obsessive and neurotic. You started this thread because "no one agrees with you." Who cares if no one agrees with you? Well, apparently half the people who voted DO agree with you, so now you get to feel good about yourself and prove that you're not the only one who thinks it's about rape and just LEAVE IT. If any OTHER rape victims noticed how often you've mentioned rape and how you bring it up any chance you get, they may be triggered to remember something they don't want to, just like I was. I know that I can't expect the whole world to be sensitive for me, so I deal with it, but presumably you don't like the song because you view it as insensitive; therefore, to not be a hypocrite, you should not bring it up anymore.

TLDR: Speaking as a rape victim to a rape victim sympathizer, DROP THE SUBJECT.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

I only made this poll because Harry said no one would agree with me. Just wanna make sure.

[angus]

Not sure.  I'm pretty sure that the Tool song "Prison Sex" is about rape.

But I've been known to misinterpret lyrics.  For most of my youth I was absolutely convinced that "Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie" was about the Bay of Pigs incident.

[morgieb]

Well the line does seem blurred between what is sex and what is rape.

I think it does, though does it exactly promote it? A lot of hit songs have well....questionable lyrical content.

[7,052,770]

I only made this poll because Harry said no one would agree with me. Just wanna make sure.

I never said that no one on the forum would agree with you.  I said that very few people in the nation as a whole agree with you, evidenced by the songs' popularity and acclaim, and the lack of any real protest about it.

[President Tyrion]

I only made this poll because Harry said no one would agree with me. Just wanna make sure.

I never said that no one on the forum would agree with you.  I said that very few people in the nation as a whole agree with you, evidenced by the songs' popularity and acclaim, and the lack of any real protest about it.

"If this song was about rape, people would hate it." That's your assumption, is it not? Let me ask you this: why have so much faith in society's moral compass? We humans gave the world slavery, segregation, subordination, murder, exploitation, AND rape and had tacit acceptance of all those things at some points in some cultures (and even today in some). Does American society in 2013 have some perfectly tuned moral compass that we would be able to identify any immoral behavior? No, we, as a society, are simply not perfect.

^And do note that entire paragraph does NOT assume that the song is even about rape. Assume for a moment that we know for a fact that the song isn't about rape. Is America's acceptance of it a representation of the song's non-negative values? Why should it be?


But here, let's get down to the real question. Is this song about rape?

I'd say that I'm hesitant to answer "Yes" but I understand why one might. This song is obviously, obviously about a man's belief that he KNOWS exactly what a girl wants. If anything, he is lamenting the social construct that some women are not overtly sexual and underneath a more ambiguous exterior, really just want to "tug him". So it's not overt sexuality, but it's certainly covert. Now, I think this is a bit of hubris, and that's the ultimate downfall of the song. No man should believe that every woman "wants it." THAT'S the type of thinking that LEADS to rape. Do I think Robin Thicke wants to rape people? No. Do I think this song reinforces the idea that men believe they have the responsibility to come on to women and help them overcome their sexual repression through a unilateral expression of libido? Yes, and I think it's deleterious to American culture. Men should NOT believe that, and stuff like THAT leads to rape.

I don't really like the term "rape culture", but I have to say that this song is a textbook reinforcement of "rape culture." That doesn't make it "about" rape to me, but it's about rape culture, which is the next worst thing.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Pretty blatantly so, yes.

(I mistakenly voted no before fully reading the question though)

[Lief 🗽]

Whether or not it's about rape, the lyrics of the song are pretty gross.

[Beet]

It plays on the old trope that women play coy and it's men's role to bring out their sexual selves. Hardly anything that hasn't been played out hundreds of times before in popular culture and thousands of times in history.

Every man has to "guess" that the woman "wants 'it' "- otherwise no man would ever ask a woman for a date! When you ask her for a date, you're acting on the assumption that she wants it, even though you truly don't know. It's a leap of faith. In form, Robin Thicke isn't doing anything different with these lyrics: the only difference is how overtly sexual it is.

The issue is how much persistence is admirable and how much crosses the line. Personally, I found the boy in The Graduate a lot creepier than Blurred Lines. Particularly when he declares 'I'm gonna marry Elaine Robinson' taking her absent consent entirely for granted.

But it's not my feelings about it that matter. Here's a story from another perspective, of a woman who decided the song's lyrics were problematic:
http://www.ihollaback.org/blog/2013/10/28/bridgets-story-breakdown-blurred-lines/

[Kushahontas]

Even if not intended to be about rape, it is too triggering to let slide and too pervasive in everyday life to ignore. Voted no bc of intent, but that doesn't make it any less vile.

[badgate]

It plays on the old trope that women play coy and it's men's role to bring out their sexual selves. Hardly anything that hasn't been played out hundreds of times before in popular culture and thousands of times in history.

Every man has to "guess" that the woman "wants 'it' "- otherwise no man would ever ask a woman for a date! When you ask her for a date, you're acting on the assumption that she wants it, even though you truly don't know. It's a leap of faith. In form, Robin Thicke isn't doing anything different with these lyrics: the only difference is how overtly sexual it is.

The issue is how much persistence is admirable and how much crosses the line. Personally, I found the boy in The Graduate a lot creepier than Blurred Lines. Particularly when he declares 'I'm gonna marry Elaine Robinson' taking her absent consent entirely for granted.

But it's not my feelings about it that matter. Here's a story from another perspective, of a woman who decided the song's lyrics were problematic:
http://www.ihollaback.org/blog/2013/10/28/bridgets-story-breakdown-blurred-lines/

This, plus: http://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/ <-The song is a part of rape culture, a widely accepted status quo. Part of the backlash to this discussion, from those who voted "No" in the poll, is tied to the reaction many have upon their introduction to the reality of rape culture.

[Oakvale]

An awful lot of severe overthinking in this thread.

[Holmes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3YjIB4wspU

[traininthedistance]

An awful lot of severe overthinking in this thread.

Which is an awful lot better than severe underthinking.

[Oakvale]

An awful lot of severe overthinking in this thread.

Which is an awful lot better than severe underthinking.

They end up being about the same thing in terms of useful content.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Yes and it would still be a morally and aesthetically godawful song if it wasn't.