Interesting. It's strange that anyone would fail to notice the misogyny present in a lot of (maybe even most) hip-hop - but perhaps that only gets discussed in feminist circles. The fact that Blurred Lines has been such a huge hit has obviously made it a focal point - and really it is just a pop song. I'm pretty sure if it hasn't been for the accompanying video, it wouldn't have attracted anywhere near as much attention.
For the record, as a feminist, I don't think the song is necessarily that bad. It's easy to interpret "blurred lines" as meaning that the male protagonist assumes consent when it hasn't been given - but when you listen to the rest of the lyrics, it seems to have a slightly different meaning, and implies that it refers to the woman having a change of preferences after leaving a relationship (or something to that effect, it's quite early and I'm not phrasing it as eloquently as I could). So I don't really have a problem with it, although of course others might interpret it differently. The video is a different kettle of fish, and three fully dressed married men chasing around and manhandling naked or semi-naked dead-eyed models is not especially appealing to me. But if you're just talking about deciding whether to dance to a song in a nightclub, the video shouldn't be a factor.
God I love analysing pop culture. Miley Cyrus, anyone?...
chrismoyles.net
