Gender Roles in Music

By Cara Joy -
Since beginning this class, and I'm sure most of you can relate to this, I have been looking for ways that gender roles are infused into different aspects of everyday life. And one place that I find a ton of "women are like this, and men are like this" is in music--mainly in country music, since that's what my husband listens to and I tend to hear the most of. One song in particular came out recently and I think it is a perfect example of everything we have been reading about girls' pressure to be soft and classy and sweet, and a man's expectation of being strong, and steady and in control.
Here are a couple chorus lines from a song by Blake Shelton. It's on the radio all the time lately and it makes me laugh, just the blatant way that gender roles are laid out in black and white. I can imagine if Blake had written this song for a feminist, she would have thrown it back in his face. Enjoy!


"If you'll be my soft and sweet
I'll be your strong and steady
You'll be my glass of wine
I'll be your shot of whiskey
You'll be my sunny day
I'll be your shade tree
You'll be my honeysuckle
I'll be your honey bee

If you'll be my Louisiana
I'll be your Mississippi
You'll be my little Loretta
I'll be your Conway Twitty
You'll be my sugar baby
I'll be your sweet iced tea
You'll be my honeysuckle
I'll be your honey bee"

So pretty much, Blake wants this girl to be a sweet, delicate flower that he can pollinate with.

~Cara

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