Musical Double Standard | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

Musical Double Standard

Let's flip the gender of a few songs and see how the world reacts.

70
Musical Double Standard
Bandwagon

Music is one thing that most people hear every day of their lives. The difference between people is the way that we interpret songs and the way that we react to song lyrics. There are many songs that are deemed offensive, rude, or discriminating towards certain groups of people, but what would happen if we flipped the gender of the artists that were singing those songs? Would people still interpret them the same?

1. Meghan Trainor - Dear Future Husband

When this song had its debut, everyone and their mother was in love with it. It was an upbeat song by a woman who knew everything that she wanted out of her husband. Seems like she has her priorities straight, right? Trainor is telling her future husband everything that she wants him to do for her, along with everything that she won't be doing. Everyone was so happy with this, they were practically saying "YAAASSSS girl! You tell him! Make it known what we want and will do!!!!!!" Cool, but what if it was a guy singing about his future wife? Oh no, everyone would throw a fit. Imagine him singing about what he wanted his wife to be doing for him everyday, on his birthday, their anniversary, etc. The world right now would throw a fit, because to them it'd just be "another man having misogynistic lyrics" and then they'll say "Ladies, you don't need to deal with this. Get yourself a man that will treat you right and not EXPECT things from you!" So please, tell me why it's perfectly okay to have a song sung by a woman, listing out all of her expectations for her husband, but the second it's flipped, it throws an imbalance in the force.

2. Ed Sheeran - Shape of You

Just the name of the song alone instantly angers people. This song from Sheeran's newest album has America up in arms because of what they interpret it as. People are angry because he is singing about how he's in love with the shape of a girl. Okay, and? What's wrong with liking the way that someone looks? Oh, because people believe that that is the only thing he likes about the girl because he sings the words "I'm in love with your body." They think it's another song about a guy just explaining how he only likes the girl because she "looks good." But what the people (who are angry) tend to overlook, is the fact that before the aforementioned song lyrics, Sheeran literally says the words "Although my heart is falling too.." and all the lyrics about them going on dates, but of course no one pays attention to that, because it's from a man. So let's flip this. Now it's a woman singing a song about a man. I bet you the world isn't as angry about this anymore. The reason being it's okay for this to happen. You can scroll through social media right now and see numerous accounts posting about how some guy "looks like a snack" (whatever that means), but again, those accounts are from women, so it's allowed. So if you can be upset with a man for just simply singing a song, then guys can be upset for women watching Magic Mike 100 times just because they like the way Channing Tatum looks shirtless, because honestly, what's the difference?

3. Justin Bieber - Love Yourself

Although this song is slightly older, the same can still be said for it due to the fact that I've seen it cause problems (whether that be from the lyrics or just because it's a song from Bieber, that's neither here nor there). The song is Bieber explaining how a girl in this relationship is all about herself, doesn't really care about him. She literally loves herself so much that she doesn't pay attention to him. So, because of this, Bieber ditches her and then explains that he's no longer interested in her, and that "if she likes the way she looks that much, she should go and love yourself." Now some people are angry with this, because they see it as Bieber being rude to the girl. "She's just trying to be confident in herself and show that she doesn't NEED Bieber there, but is still with him." And that him saying "go love yourself" is a play on words, that he really means "go f*%# yourself" because he's not getting enough attention. Now flip it, and make it a woman singing a song about a man who only cares about himself and all that. Wow, the world is different now and everyone is proud of her. She's getting comments like "YAAASSS girl!!! You tell him!" "You don't need a man! You're strong and independent!" "If he isn't going to pay attention to you, leave him!" How is that okay? It's the same thing, same concept, same song, but since it's sang by a different gender, it makes it strong and empowering. If this was sang by a woman everyone would be happy that she said the words "go love yourself" and meant "go f*%# yourself."

Although this is only an example of three songs, I assure you there are many more out there. Music is just simply music. It's not made for the audience that listens to it, I can promise you that. It's like poetry, it's written for the ones writing it. They put their feelings, their views, their emotions into every lyric, every hook, every chorus, every beat, because it's THEIR song. As a listener you have no right to be upset about something that they wrote, sang, produced, and distributed. How would you like it if billions of people criticized everything that you loved to do? You wouldn't be able to handle it, so stop doing it to them, because it's not fair. It shouldn't matter the gender of the singer, or the lyrics of the song, just listen to the music and move on.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Drake
Hypetrak

1. Nails done hair done everything did / Oh you fancy huh

You're pretty much feeling yourself. New haircut, clothes, shoes, everything. New year, new you, right? You're ready for this semester to kick off.

Keep Reading...Show less
7 Ways to Make Your Language More Transgender and Nonbinary Inclusive

With more people becoming aware of transgender and non-binary people, there have been a lot of questions circulating online and elsewhere about how to be more inclusive. Language is very important in making a space safer for trans and non-binary individuals. With language, there is an established and built-in measure of whether a place could be safe or unsafe. If the wrong language is used, the place is unsafe and shows a lack of education on trans and non-binary issues. With the right language and education, there can be more safe spaces for trans and non-binary people to exist without feeling the need to hide their identities or feel threatened for merely existing.

Keep Reading...Show less
singing
Cambio

Singing is something I do all day, every day. It doesn't matter where I am or who's around. If I feel like singing, I'm going to. It's probably annoying sometimes, but I don't care -- I love to sing! If I'm not singing, I'm probably humming, sometimes without even realizing it. So as someone who loves to sing, these are some of the feelings and thoughts I have probably almost every day.

Keep Reading...Show less
success
Degrassi.Wikia

Being a college student is one of the most difficult task known to man. Being able to balance your school life, work life and even a social life is a task of greatness. Here's an ode to some of the small victories that mean a lot to us college students.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

6 Signs You're A Workaholic

Becuase of all things to be addicted to, you're addicted to making money.

606
workaholic
kaboompics

After turning 16, our parents start to push us to get a job and take on some responsibility. We start to make our own money in order to fund the fun we intend on having throughout the year. But what happens when you've officially become so obsessed with making money that you can't even remember the last day you had off? You, my friend, have become a workaholic. Being a workaholic can be both good and bad. It shows dedication to your job and the desire to save money. It also shows that you don't have a great work-life balance. Here are the signs of becoming a workaholic.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments