,Anyone who knows me knows that I hate most country music. I hate the forced twang, the banjo solos, and the tired repetitive references to whiskey, blue jeans and tailgates. That's just my personal preference, and I respect that country fans will listen to my R&B playlist and have similar sentiments of distaste. To each her own.
I do, however, think it's important that country fans objectively recognize the problematic nature of this type of music, regardless of how much they love it. A lot of modern country lyrics are sexist by nature and we shouldn't blindly accept that.
I similarly wrote about misogyny in hip-hop in my first Odyssey article. Regardless of how much I love rap music, I still think it's important for all fans to be critical of their favorite artists and songs. Music is a part of culture and has a tremendous impact on society; we shouldn't be proudly reciting lyrics that can be toxic to young listeners who are prone to adopting similar mindsets.
So how is modern country music sexist? For one thing, it's constantly objectifying women. Artists like Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and Cole Swindell are credited for contributing the subgenre known as "bro-country," a term describing modern country music which often includes rock and electronic undertones with references to partying and hot girls. More often than not, if a woman is being described in a country song in 2017, her physical appearance is portrayed more than her personality or actual worth as a human being.
Just think about Luke Bryan's "Blood Brothers," where Luke recalls the years of "Shootin' bad booze outta Dixie cups/Chasin' every girl that wasn't fast enough." Gotta love that blatant refusal of female consent! Or Florida Georgia Line's "Get Your Shine On," which consists of the guys encouraging a nameless woman to dance sexually for their benefit and depicts only physical parts of her, rather than a holistic image. And the music videos are only worse. The women in them are almost always half naked and portrayed through the male gaze.
I'm tired of hearing how tight these obscure girls' t-shirts are and how tan and long their legs seem. These are strong women who have names and live full lives! They're not pieces of meat existing for bros to write Top 40 songs about.
Country music has never been about promoting progressive messages, but in this day and age it's inexcusable to be portraying women like this. Especially in a genre that is so male-dominated, we can't just swoon at these artists and ignore their faults when they're demeaning women. Instead, we should support the messages of country singers like Maddie & Tae, artists of "Girl in a Country Song," which directly attacks the misogyny in bro-country music. Even though I hate the sound of country music, I'd proudly add that song to my playlist.
