Misogyny in music: So much more than rap and hip-hop
By Adrienne Blaine
People often talk about misogynistic rap lyrics. But as some have pointed out on Twitter, other genres of music have misogynistic lyrics too. Those artists may just malign women in a less obvious way.
Take indie folk, which is almost never characterized as a misogynistic music genre.
The lyrics below are taken from the song “The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment” by indie folk artist Father John Misty. (His real name: Josh Tillman.)
…of the few main things I hate about her, one’s her petty, vogue ideas
Someone’s been told too many times they’re beyond their years
By every half-wit of distinction she keeps around
And now every insufferable convo
Features her patiently explaining the cosmos
Of which she’s in the middle
Oh my God, I swear this never happens
Lately, I can’t stop the wheels from spinning
I feel so unconvincing
And I fumble with your buttons
She blames her excess on my influence but gladly hoovers all my drugs
I found her naked with her best friend in the tub
We sang “Silent Night” in three parts, which was fun
Till she said that she sounds just like Sarah Vaughan
I hate that soulful affectation white girls put on
Why don’t you move to the Delta?
I obliged later on when you begged me to choke ya…
Father John Misty describes in detail how much he detests the woman in the song — of the few main things I hate about her, one’s her petty, vogue ideas — but that doesn’t stop him from having sex with her — And I fumble with your buttons. Some argue this song is a critique of misogyny, but that argument just makes Tillman’s hatred seem clever and edgy, without subverting its message.
In discussions about misogyny in music, the topic of race also comes up — but only sometimes.
When Kanye West said in an interview with Showstudio that “rap is generally misogynistic,” he set his explanation of music within the wider culture of misogyny in the African-American experience. He linked the violence toward women in rap lyrics to frustration that stems from racism and a lack of opportunities for black men in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Father John Misty’s interview with Pitchfork went in a different direction.
Explaining the last line of the song, I obliged later on when you begged me to choke ya, the singer told Pitchfork, “I thought, ‘I am f*cked, I am done, I am going to good-person jail forever.’” In a later interview with the Guardian, the interviewer seems to let Father John Misty off the hook because of his charming “combination of [candor] and self-mockery.” Father John Misty goes on to analyze his troubled relationship with his mother in the interview, concluding, “My wanting love from her affects everything about me.”
Neither singer’s explanation excuses the misogyny, but while West feels he must answer for the entire genre, Father John Misty — as a white indie folk singer — just doesn’t have to.
And then there’s Taylor Swift.
Who could forget the scandal over Kanye stealing Swift’s Grammy moment, and the (perhaps premeditated) debacle that resulted from his “Famous” lyrics:
I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex
Why? I made that bitch famous
Father John Misty hasn’t faced the same public backlash for his opening lyrics in his song “Total Entertainment Forever”:
Bedding Taylor Swift
Every night inside the Oculus Rift
While both references to Taylor Swift are sexual, Father John Misty wrote his lyrics from a third-person point of view. His storytelling explores the future of virtual reality and its transition into the banality of everyday existence. While this is far less direct than Kanye West’s first person declaration, one could argue Kanye is also inhabiting a character for the sake of creating his own myth. Both techniques have their own merits for social commentary, but at what cost to the representation of women?
And as a side-note, Father John Misty also seems to have hijacked Taylor Swift’s music for his own amusement. He recorded this cover of Swift’s “Blank Space,” in the style of the Velvet Underground’s Lou Reed, while benefitting from the publicity it received.
So the next time you hear misogyny linked to rap, remember that it exists in many genres of music. We often just apply different standards.
