Alexis Williams | Staff Writer
Hasn’t it always been said, “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” Well, in the feminist parody of “Blurred Lines”, called “Defined Lines”, a few women speak out against this old time saying by proving that words in fact have a greater impact than actions at times.
When I first came across the Feminist Blurred Lines Parody I originally thought they were trying to fight against the actual “Blurred Lines” song, but if that was the case then I think they did an awful job; however, I think their aim was more to address the stereotypes of women in the media in general rather than just how Thicke portrayed women in his video. The main point of this parody is to fight the media in how they continuously degrade women, and they are successful in doing just that.
Although the video may go to extremes with gender roles and stereotypes, many of the points are valid because they prove to be present in media today. The first example they give that I find very prevalent in media today is the idea of grinding. This seems to be becoming more and more popular in today’s culture, but it is true—not all of us want to grind. As many of us experience first-hand, grinding seems to be the most common form of dancing when it comes to pop and R&B music, especially with the new concept of “twerking” (that I have still yet to master).
Secondly, they bring up the idea of household chores and sandwiches. I’m not sure what our generation’s obsession with sandwiches is, but I’m not going to get on all fours, symbolic of bowing down, to please any man. They also mention men asking women to drop their size, and I couldn’t agree more when they say if you expect us to be perfect you better show me a six pack and some amazing pecs. Women are far more than sex toys. Although women may exude sexual attraction, women are intelligent, strong, and respectable. I feel the parody successfully communicated all of these points with the language used and their choice in wardrobe.
All in all, I feel that females are held to a much higher standard than men without a real reason behind why except that “it’s always been that way.” This parody exemplifies a lot of the stereotypes that women face in today’s society, and it addresses how ridiculous or crude these stereotypes are. It also puts males in a position outside their typical comfort zone, which begins to give them a taste of what the media does to women on a regular basis. The watch the parody, click here. There is strong language adult content in this video.
