Eat Your Heart Out Bill O’Reilly : Country Music’s Misogyny Is Right Out in the Open
Many of the lyrics to today’s modern country songs would get the respective artists immediately fired for sexual harassment in most of America’s workplaces. The amount of filth that finds itself onto country radio either through innuendo or direct language is something that has been on the dramatic increase over the last few years, an non-coincidentally has paralleled the virtual eradication of female participation in country music playlists aside from the few pop outliers. Don’t preach to me about the intrusiveness of political correctness in society, I’m just making a point here by drawing parallel examples.
There is a time and place for everything. Words exchanged in a honky tonk aren’t necessarily appropriate for the 9 to 5 world. Some artists in country music may employ salty language as a form of performance art or creative expression (see Wheeler Walker Jr. et al), but that doesn’t mean that material should be broadcast out on the public airwaves owned by the people, and that are meant for a family-appropriate audience.
Sometimes it’s hard to define the line of demarcation between decency and debauchery, especially when innuendo is applied. But at other times it is all spelled right out in language that would be legal grounds for termination in most any place of employment. If you told a co-worker “Get your little fine ass on the step, shimmy up inside” like Chase Rice says in his hit “Ready, Set, Roll,” something tells me that would not looked fondly upon by superiors.
Right now Sam Hunt’s current single “Body Like a Backroad” is poised to become the biggest country hit of the summer, a massive crossover success in pop, and could go on to be the longest-charting #1 song in country music history if form holds. How would a phrase like this be looked upon by the HR Department?
The way she fit in them blue jeans, she don’t need no belt
But I can turn ’em inside out, I don’t need no help
Got a hips like honey, so thick and so sweet
It ain’t no curves like hers on them downtown streets
The duo Florida Georgia Line are the kings of sliding inappropriate lines out in modern “country” songs, phrases like “Stick the pink umbrella in your drink” from the song “Sun Daze,” or “Let me stay inside your drink” from “Bumpin’ The Night” are just a few examples of the scores of lines from current country songs that could get you 86’d from your job, but seem to be just fine to put out there on what used to be the most family friendly spot on the radio dial. How about the line “Free Fallin’ into your yum yum” from Steven Tyler’s foray into country music, “Red, White & You”? The line was Tyler’s effort to fit into country music’s current misogynistic trend; to be like Florida Georgia Line and others.
Though this trend is more prevalent now in country music than it’s ever been before, that doesn’t mean that country music was devoid of of such language in the past. Look no further than some of Conway Twitty’s biggest hits, like “Tight Fittin’ Jeans,” or the line for Waylon Jennings’ #1 hit “Luckenbach, TX” that says, “The only two things in life that make it worth livin’, is guitars that tune good and firm feelin’ women.” What a terrible line from an otherwise great song, by the way.
Yet through the era of Conway and Waylon, and even way before that with Kitty Wells and Loretta Lynn, the female perspective on life was also represented in country music, and so was their music on the radio. Culture is the reflection of the times, and vice versa. The misogynistic perspective toward females in country music has become sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy where women are now being systemically downgraded and seen as second class. The progress to re-introduce the female perspective on country radio has been mostly symbolic, isolated to a few artists like Kelsea Ballerini who are not country anyway, and aided by guilt instead of a true appetite to make sure all perspectives on life are represented.
Right now in the Billboard Country Airplay Top 40, there are a total of three songs from solo females, and none in the Top 5. That is 7.5% representation. If you had that type of discrepancy in a workforce, especially for a job that isn’t naturally inclined to be favored towards one gender over another, that would be grounds for a class action discrimination lawsuit in itself.
And it’s also worth pointing out that many of country music’s most inappropriate lines are coming from artists in their 30’s and 40’s, about females in their late teens and early 20’s.
The truth is we have no idea why Bill O’Reilly was fired from the most prominent seat in cable news commentary. The allegations against him could all be false claims from money-grubbing hussies looking to take advantage of his celebrity by blackmailing hush money for completely false accusations.
But in pop country music, the way women are looked upon, and the way they’re spoken to is spelled out right there in the songs. This isn’t a “he said, she said.” No witnesses are needed to testify. No hidden cameras or recording devices are necessary to catch the accused red handed. Just turn on 98.1, and give it a listen.
April 20, 2017 @ 8:50 am
SCM has jumped the shark.
Inappropriate and gross lyrics from creepy folks is a common element with pop/hip hop music, and why those “artists” are a joke.
But “country musics misogyny” is an overreach dependent upon a too common buzzword. There’s enough social commentary in this world to last ten lifetimes as it is.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:19 am
Are you seriously complaining about social commentary concerning this website? You must be new.
April 20, 2017 @ 6:58 pm
And you must be a dolt. See how blind assumptions work?
I’m “complaining” of the constant need Trigger seems to feel about making a statement and ringing the bell for one cause or another. Be it women in music, or “misogyny,” or whatever under the sun, Trigger feels some unknown impetus to make a routine social commentary. I don’t know his motivations, nor do I care, but this latest one is off the deep end and a bit tone deaf to his audience. There was no need or call for a more rational viewpoint in this (e.g. Beyonce at the CMAs or Female representation at Texas festivals).
I check this blog daily to see if there’s a new artist I need to check out. It’s what he does the best, and I pray he never stops.
April 20, 2017 @ 7:22 pm
My assumption was anything but blind: literally every single article on this website concerns itself in one way or another with the social environment that country music has found itself in, whether that be 2017 or 1957. If you happen to scroll up to the top of the site, you might notice a static quote:
If you can read such text and still come away with the impression that Trigger is venturing outside of his wheelhouse with social commentary, I’m really not sure how to help you. That quote is Saving Country Music’s thesis statement (not to mention being social commentary in and of itself), and finding the life in independent music is only half of the concern. The other half is pointing out why the mainstream is deficient, and often it involves much more than a half-assed hip hop beat and no twang.
It may have been boorish of me to reply to your comment as I did, but my point stands. The current political climate has made the average citizen hyper-sensitive to any and all issues, and I’m personally sick of loading up standard articles from a site I’ve read and loved for years and suddenly seeing a bunch of “this site has gone off the deep end” comments that have no basis in fact or the history of SCM. You talk about social commentary as if you have a grip on the subject, yet in your own comment you provided some commentary of your own concerning hip hop and pop. Art is a reflection of the culture it is created within, hence why country music fans don’t like seeing their music appropriated by outsiders and turned into something it’s not. There’s literally ZERO way to have a substantial conversation about music and NOT include social commentary. The lack of steel guitar and fiddles on the radio today isn’t just because of a disdain for those instruments, you know.
April 20, 2017 @ 7:28 pm
Off the deep end?
That seems a little alarmist. There’s no men in white coats coming to get me, at least not yet.
🙂
April 20, 2017 @ 9:23 pm
Well I hear they’ve traded in their white coats for tie-dye, so keep an eye out. Besides, it’s more likely that Queen Bey’s army will get to you first.
😉
April 21, 2017 @ 12:26 am
I’m with the patriots on this one; Acca, Trigger, you know who.
And no, this is not real music on the trend these days, it’s weaponized psychological operations. It’s too much to go into but I’ll try and lead in for the criminally cynical as best as I can: radical leftist / or the ossified right (GOP- Gay Old Pedophiles), same-same, have historically dreamed the dreams of maintaining and enforcing the machinations that keep them well off — either by the classic Roman client-patron model, or just straight annexing that ass and taxing it for all that its worth.
This pacification campaign is no different; garbage lifestyles, mismanaged brains by fashion, diet, injections, and injunctions. I like to go back to antiquity and notice the some 1,400 year Roman period, and how that revolts, upheavals, killed emperors / new emperors, naked scheming intrigues of self interest, and even some good and admirable leaders were nothing new.
I think much of it is to suppress any coalition that may form to endanger the delicate balance we’re now in in what normally would be a decline — from petulance, the different demographic gaps. One tool is tower of babeling everything. Some of it is twisting you sexually, and much of it is denying and stealing the symbolic capital — be it recognition, a kind word, or the limelight — humans are regularly prizing more than money itself. So you incentivise the sick games and rackets for them to play in to get them their fix, you promote and offer shelters to that makes them weak, you spread around the monkey see monkey do a lot alot and you have an echo chamber of people keying off each others EMOTIONAL CONTAGIONS, and MIRROR NEURONS, you get a $3 billion dollar DOJ slush fund to appoint operatives with their orgs and NGOs and Priuses, to give you their non-threatening schpeal about why they’re doing it for your own good, then you will know what it means to SING DIXIE.
April 20, 2017 @ 10:09 am
Hip Hop lyrics and Rap lyrics are the gigantic elephant in the room when it comes to sexism and demeaning women. Positively makes country lyrics look like the Brady Bunch. Then there’s Lady Gaga, Beyonce and that world, look at those lyrics through the same lens.
Ask female country fans why they like Luke and Sam. Hint : nothing to do with song lyrics….isn’t that objectification?
April 21, 2017 @ 7:20 am
Women have no problems being treated like or sung about as sex objects as the long as the guy is “hot” and sings songs they like whether they wrote said song or not.
April 21, 2017 @ 2:19 pm
Same goes for everyday interaction. Many women tolerate garbage from good looking guys. If an ugly guy said the same garbage they would write angry blog posts about it. No guy should say that garbage to women but the double standard is infuriating.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:18 pm
The social justice aping is getting old. Bro country is bad enough that claims of misogyny and racism etc look like pandering to the ideologically monolithic social zeitgeist of the day. People who look down on rural folks aren’t going to change their minds no matter how much sucking up is done. Btw, I love this blog.
April 20, 2017 @ 8:53 am
I couldn’t care less about misogyny, in the news, or in music, but I sure am glad that self-important blowhard Bill OReilly lost his job.
April 20, 2017 @ 10:19 am
I dream of a day when I will read a comment from you on this Web site that is in any way, shape, or form constructive, non-divisive, and generally doesn’t make me cringe and admire the patience Trigger has in dealing with your attitude.
April 20, 2017 @ 10:40 am
Drop the mic!
April 20, 2017 @ 11:52 am
I just clutched my pearls when I read this.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:02 am
Excellent essay, Trigger! Dare I hope your observations might trigger a revolution away from this obnoxious and disheartening trend? I so wish it would, then I wouldn’t have to jump on the radio to turn off garbage like “Back Road” with a passionate loathing so intense those around me are amused by my immediate reaction.
I can’t help thinking of a line from the Maddie & Tae song “Girl in a Country Song” — “That ain’t no way to treat a lady”!
April 20, 2017 @ 11:39 am
Funny you mention Girl In A Country Song… And I never made this connection until now, but they mention “Conway & George Strait never did it this way…” And while George never did off the top of my head, just like Trigger mentions, Conway was widely known in his time for the innuendo in his lyrics. Kind of cheapens that song to me. I still enjoy the song, but looking back, they’d have made a stronger point by leaving Conway out of it. This may not add anything to the discussion at hand, but it was just something that crossed my mind.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:04 am
The reason those songs do well has more to do with women than men. If younger women realized that being talked about in that manner isn’t sexy or flattering they would stop buying and listening to the crap that is put out. But I find that a great many younger girls and women have no clue that they are being insulted. They don’t realize it because they think being sexy is empowering. That may be true for the girls on “Sex and The City”, but in real life men are like Don Draper, and you are just the object du jour. And the failure to see that both demeans you, and steals your time and money.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:11 am
B.I.N G.O.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:22 am
Hate to say it (as singling out women in an article decrying misogyny is very ironic), but you have a point. I’m certain they exist, but I’ve yet to meet a male fan of Sam Hunt in the flesh (for example).
April 20, 2017 @ 9:44 am
nailed it
if it’s misogyny, it’s the females who are buying it
April 20, 2017 @ 10:17 am
This is a great hot take — women are being demeaned because they like it.
…and they are being sexually harassed because they like it when men flirt with them.
…and she was sexually assaulted because of how she was dressed (aka, “she was asking for it”).
You’re going to protest that it’s not the same thing. But it is. It’s precisely this kind of thinking that perpetuates this bullshit.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:37 pm
chad, spare us. are they buying it or not?
April 20, 2017 @ 2:20 pm
…because if any woman buys a FGL album, it makes sexism the fault of all women. Sure.
April 21, 2017 @ 8:34 am
chad, you’re being intellectually dishonest. I never said that, and wouldn’t say that. What I am saying is that it is useless to pretend that consumers have nothing to do with this situation. It is bedrock reality to realize that you will get more of whatever it is that you reward. Right now, a lot of women are buying the songs that present them as merely sexual. As long as the purchasing continues, you will get more of whatever it is that’s selling. If women were to organize as a consumer bloc and boycott FGL and Hunt and all the rest, you’d see results. But bitching about it, and trying to shame those who point out the consumer side? No results. Unless you care about the result of all this making you feel more righteous. In which case, have fun looking in that mirror.
April 20, 2017 @ 8:08 pm
um, women like sex…that’s why they like to feel sexy. In the workplace though, women want to be seen as equals, not as eye candy around for men’s sexual gratification. And if a guy can’t be around a woman, wearing whatever she wants, without feeling the need to grab her/demean her. Sounds like he has a problem and needs help.
Anyways I don’t mind some songs about women’s bodies being hot, just like I don’t mind songs about men’s bodies being hot. The problem is when that’s the only representation of women, and when women aren’t represented at all.
April 21, 2017 @ 8:48 am
seak, I’d be more sympathetic with your concern if we lived in Plato’s cave.
We simply don’t. By now it should be obvious to everyone that commercial country radio is not the only game in town.
Because it is not the only game, alternatives exist and are proliferating faster than any single person can comprehend. Therefore, the response to commercial radio stereotyping should be creating those alternatives, and then pointing and laughing at commercial radio’s stupidity.
Problem is, not everyone is looking for songs to deliver the Truth of the Human Condition. I’d say most people are just looking for a good time, usually with sex and alcohol, — or alcohol and sex, — it gets confusing. For most people, Friday and Saturday night are not nights for philosophical reflection. They’re for partying. Dionysos. The whole irrational get crazy take your pants off kind of thing.
An interesting question that hasn’t been answered is: if women are buying the majority of what’s for sale in country music, why are they buying stuff that presents a reductive view of them? why aren’t they buying sensitive intellectual empowering folk music in massive quantities? why isn’t Iris Dement and Rhiannon running the table on these FGL clowns?
Genuine question.
April 21, 2017 @ 9:15 am
I think people are moving more and more away from country radio (I rarely listen to it), but radio is still the easiest entry point for learning about new acts, for many people, plus the whole in the car thing.
But I agree with you, people often aren’t looking for intellectual music, and that’s fine with me. As to why women buy Luke & FGL, well women are a diverse group, but like some men, that’s what some women like, a good beat, and easy to dance to, while feeling “country”. Oh and many people consider Luke cute (he’s not my type), and many women like watching cute guys shake their buts in tight jeans..for the same reason guys like watching women.
April 21, 2017 @ 9:25 am
@corncaster, I’m sure you believe you’re being completely reasonable and fair in your beliefs, and throwing around the meaningless term “intellectually dishonest” makes your argument sound better, in your reasoning.
I’m going to leave it at this: There is a culture of women being sexualized and marginalized going back to the beginning of recorded history. It is so institutionally ingrained, we have trouble taking a step back to see it. Sometimes, even the women fall prey to it, as they are conditioned to it by everyone from the broader society to their own family (men and women alike).
Sure, women are buying some of this stuff. But just like I don’t want to be blamed every time a white male commits a mass shooting, all women can’t be held accountable for the actions of a few (or even a damn majority). This is an attitude that needs to be changed on a fundamental, expectational level — your line of reasoning allows the issue to spin along in perpetuity. I want to be someone who puts an to it without requiring every single woman in the world to “get on board” upfront.
April 21, 2017 @ 11:21 am
chad, I appreciate your response and respect it fully. sorry about the crack about intellectual dishonesty. if we were all talking about general social norms, i’d agree with you about exceptions etc. but we’re talking about buying behavior, and that means we’re talking about aggregates and market “demand.”
my comments simply want us to point toward the phenomenon of women buying music, in sufficient numbers for it to matter, which presents them reductively as being of merely sexual interest
I’m not moralizing about it, though I find it sad. I’m actually more curious than anything else, because I have a daughter and I want her to sustain her strong distaste for FGL Hunt etc
April 21, 2017 @ 11:49 am
I agree with Chad, you can’t divorce historic societal norms when talking about present day behavior.
Also if you want your daughter to continue hating Sam Hunt, don’t joke about threatening her bf when he comes over to take her on a date….unless you’d do the same for a gf coming over for your son.
April 21, 2017 @ 1:55 pm
@corncaster, I’ll note one more thing that I think is worth adding, which was pointed out by my daughter (who likes some Dixie Chicks and has a soft spot for banjos among her generally pop tastes)…I would not argue that some large percentage of those buying country music are women. But statistically speaking, if it’s 45%, then that’s 45% of 25% (whatever the percentage of the population is that buys country music). It’s far from a majority by any measure. Certainly your point about the market being heavily influenced by women is true — what I’m trying to avoid is blaming an entire subgroup for the deeds of a few (like, not all of us Sturgill Simpson fans are bearded, flannel-wearing assholes, although, I am bearded, wear flannel sometimes and….oh, I see it now).
And @seak05’s second note above is also a good one. It’s hard to see all the ways we place expectations/limits on women (and many other subgroups).
April 21, 2017 @ 1:23 pm
Seak, I’m in agreement with you as far as most song lyrics go to a point. If Sam Hunt wants to celebrate his wife’s curvy body, I might roll my eyes because he’s so extra, but he can have at it and it doesn’t bother me. It’s more the “get your hot a** up in my truck, girl” type lyrics that I find questionable.
I find the representation aspect MUCH more problematic. Trigger’s comment about 7.5% being enough to cause a class action discrimination suit in any other field is spot on. It made me feel like laughing and crying at the same time. I feel like growing up in the late 90’s and early aughts, there were a lot more women who were successful on country radio (Faith, Shania, Trisha, Dixie Chicks, Lee Ann Womack, Martina McBride, Jo Dee Messina, etc, etc, etc…). Anymore, you are lucky if you hear one Miranda/Carrie/Kelsea song an hour, and Lord help you if you don’t like their current single. The investment from the industry is just not there.
April 21, 2017 @ 1:35 pm
100% agree, the representation issue is a real big issue
April 21, 2017 @ 9:09 am
In this day and age, it’s up to women to refuse to buy misogynist music, and associate with crappy men.
In our grandmother’s time, misogyny was overlooked, because ‘that was just the way things were.’ And women were mostly dependent on men for food and shelter, the men were dependent on their wives for their contributions to the home, and often, the farm, not to mention giving them offspring. Now the women are expected to contribute a paycheck, rather than hours in the field.
Society has in some aspects, evolved, at least a little.
Then again, boob jobs, plumped up faces, and see through clothing, are not helping women advance their cause much, are they?
Until our PC society accepts the fact that the sexes are Mars and Venus, the silliness will continue.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:15 am
Great read. Ironically, you go to these concerts and it is the women that are huge supporters and singing along line for line – like CraigR stated, they have no clue they are being talked down to because they think “being sexy” is more important. I just don’t get it but I’m praying this lyrical trend ends soon.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:17 am
Funny trying to act like this is new at all. Jimmy Buffett had “Why Dont We Drunk” as a parody of the ” Good ol Days”. Just the titles, not one lyric, were pretty out there. If I said you had a beautiful body, tight fittin jeans, slow hand, I’ve already loved you in my mind…
This dead horse is so dead it is reincarnated into another horse that has been dead for 20 years
April 20, 2017 @ 9:29 am
It’s not new, at all.
From the article:
“Though this trend is more prevalent now in country music than it’s ever been before, that doesn’t mean that country music was devoid of of such language in the past. Look no further than some of Conway Twitty’s biggest hits, like “Tight Fittin’ Jeans,” or the line for Waylon Jennings’ #1 hit “Luckenbach, TX” that says, “The only two things in life that make it worth livin’, is guitars that tune good and firm feelin’ women.” What a terrible line from an otherwise great song, by the way.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:31 am
Sadly, I agree somewhat with bwh. We’re drenched in the vomit of sociopolitical commentary on the web. It’s inescapable and here it is infesting (yet again) Saving Country Music. I have a wife, mother, daughter and believe in equality for all. I come here for the music reviews, not to have “Trigger” shove this crap (the essence of which I happen to agree with) down my throat. It’s the obvious, acceptable, easy and lame approach to take with a blog. That said, this site has turned me on to so many wonderful artists. Focus on that!
April 20, 2017 @ 11:07 am
The reason there continues to be hard ceiling above the success level of independent music artists, and specifically women is due to systemic biases and preconceived notions that have resulted in the automated downgrading of them in the music industry. Promoting artists is one thing, and I appreciate that folks respect my opinions so much to come here and read my reviews and features on unheralded artists. But ultimately we must break down the barriers that keep these artists from finding the success level their music and talent deserves. These misogynistic songs and artists are taking slots away from more worthy talent, while the songs they sing help cement the second-class attitude so many in mainstream country music take to the female perspective.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:41 pm
Fair enough. On a personal level, I grow very weary of the constant drumbeat of victimhood. At some point, I just cease reading it.
April 20, 2017 @ 7:07 pm
The “misogynistic songs” are achieving success because hoards of women love the beat, buy overpriced tickets, and are non-stop woo-girls at concerts. They are the ones targeted by the music, and the ones it is written about. Same ones who buy Feyonce, Gaga, and the rest. They aren’t targeting to most men. Women love the beat, love the good looks of Sam Hunt, and swoon. Labels market specifically to that.
Cody, Wade, Whitey and others lack the hot beat to swat your hips to, and the sex appeal that mainstream artists have in droves. You will never see one of their country songs come on the jukebox and have someone shriek “OMG THIS IS MY SONG!” You’ll get a few dudes nod their head going “hell yeah.”
Men aren’t driving this trend, record label execs are because women apparently lap it up.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:40 am
Interesting points. Although, it really comes back to the issue of crappy pop music taking over mainstream country radio. Sex, partying, etc. sells in pop music….it always has. People who have listen to pop music (mainly teens and 20 somethings) are looking for some sort of easy / cheap escape from reality that makes them feel good. Partying, sex, drinking, simplistic views of relationships, etc. play that role in most forms of pop music. This isn’t a phenomena that will ever go away, especially as people seem to be getting lamer and more shallow as the decades go by (I blame social media, but that is a whole other topic!).
I think that the state of actual country music is just fine from the standpoint of lyrics, etc., the issue of female artists often not getting due recognition aside.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:21 am
Yeah, I think this is much more an indicator of our cultural decay than it is a statement solely about country music. I’m far from a prude but when I see some of things that have been mainstreamed in just about the last decade or so it’s pretty shocking. And at the same time as the extreme coarseness takes over we have the neo puritanical snowflakes railing against every little human interaction.
Seems like we are living in a really screwed up time. Or maybe it’s always been this way but now we are hyper away of it all.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
You should hear Harry Styles’ new song. His pop lyrics blow Sam Hunt’s pop lyrics out of the water.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:43 am
I don’t mind the sociopolitical commentary – except when it’s boring.
Tilting at the “misogyny” windmill is the fashionable thing to do these days. What next? Suggesting that Nashville needs to form a Diversity Department to ensure female and minority representation in country music? Yawn.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:50 am
alright, The classic twitty song should never be downgraded as inappropriate like this junk on radio. Tight fitten jeans was wrote in a very creative way, telling a story about a classy lady wanting to be “a good ole boys girl.” The junk on radio today could never be that clever.
April 20, 2017 @ 10:58 am
Not saying necessarily that Conway Twitty songs compare to the stuff of today, but it is only fair to offer historical context. I’ve already had someone criticize me for not doing so, even though I did.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:15 am
The better example is ‘Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time’ which was recorded by a few performers but was a number one for Mickey Gilley. That’s pretty cringeworthy.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:42 am
Never heard of beer goggles?
April 20, 2017 @ 11:49 am
Of course I have but my point is if you are looking for song that could be accused of being misogynistic then ‘Closing Time’ would be near the top. Personally I’m able to listen and watch things without being outraged but there are a lot of people that aren’t.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:45 pm
I’d put Gilley’s “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time” in a class with Kinky’s “Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In The Bed,” Tompall’s “Put Another Log On the Fire,” Bare’s “Numbers” and Chris Wall’s “Trashy Women.” They’re self-deprecating, the blowhard (male) singer is generally the butt of the joke.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:28 pm
Hell ‘Trashy Women’ is a pretty open minded positive song when you think about it. More of a tribute to the kind of women the writer ‘digs’.
The question is where is the line? I don’t know but I also am not comfortable with a bunch of overly sensitive women’s studies majors deciding that line.
April 20, 2017 @ 2:50 pm
I agree with you Scottie. Most of the songs “Luckyoldsun” mentions are done tounge in cheek. (Also, in Bare’s “Numbers” the girl he’s grading gets the last laugh) I’m sure today’s fans would say the same on their favorite “Bro” songs…I sure would hate to get to a point where someone in a song calls a woman good looking and gets called the dreaded “M” word.
“Say hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?
How’s about cookin’ something up with me?
Hey, sweet baby don’t you think maybe
We can find us a brand new recipe”?
Frigging Mr.Misogny himself, Hank Williams.
April 20, 2017 @ 5:14 pm
You hit the nail on the head. Huh huh I said “nail.” Huh huh huh and “head.”
April 21, 2017 @ 7:53 am
“Pit Another Log On The Fire” was written by Shel Silverstein, and was meant to be a parody of misogynistic attitudes.
Not trying to be argumentative, but I gotta play devil’s advocate for one of my favorite songs 🙂
April 20, 2017 @ 5:10 pm
Cringeworthy? It’s just the cold, hard truth. Everyone gets prettier at closing time. That includes the girls.
April 20, 2017 @ 5:36 pm
Compared to ‘firm feelin’ women’ and ‘tight fitting jeans’ yes I would say it’s cringeworthy. But as I have made clear in other comments on this article I hardly find this to be some sort of country music crisis. Something can be slightly risqué and borderline impolite while also being generally true to life.
April 20, 2017 @ 8:04 pm
Man. I wouldn’t want to be the last dude in the barroom shuttting it down alongside Honky. Sounds like he likes to let it all hang out after having a few hard lemonades. ?
April 20, 2017 @ 5:12 pm
Have you seen the fake Conway Twitty album covers floating around the web? They’re pretty damn funny.
April 20, 2017 @ 9:54 am
Lori McKenna got plenty of recognition.
“Misogyny” is too vague. Sam Hunt’s song has a reductive and overly-sexualized view of women, but he doesn’t want to subject them to FGM, deny them driver’s licenses, or force them to wear black body-bags in sweltering desert heat. That’s a whole ‘nother level of women-hatred.
I’d say the underlying problem in the West is low female self-esteem. This low sense of self-worth makes them both fawn after and recoil from direct expressions of male ‘appreciation.’ It also makes their fragile egos ready to attack rival females out of jealousy and spite.
What’s the solution? As usual, more Dolly Parton.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:24 am
I think the one thing that needs to be watched out for is letting the most sensitive among us set the standards. Sometimes a song is just a song it’s not some affront against an entire gender or class of people and the never ending quest to be a victim is not good either.
The amount of people who get off on being victims nowadays is breath taking.
April 20, 2017 @ 4:28 pm
“The amount of people who get off on being victims nowadays is breath taking”, my sentiments exactly, now I’m not saying there isn’t victims out there but in certain circles there is people that want to be a victim so bad that even if they aren’t they will make up some bullshit so they can call themselves one.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:56 am
What’s the solution? As usual, more Dolly Parton.
I agree wholeheartedly.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:00 am
This is a real thorny subject, and I appreciate you addressing it. I’m a woman and the breathtaking lack of respect for women in modern country music (hell, most music in general) saddens me on a couple of fronts:
(1) The fact that women both young and old(ish) listen to this garbage and either enjoy it (i.e. derive some strange sense of empowerment by being reduced to swaying hips in perfectly-fitting jeans, etc) or are able to ignore the blatant disrespect tells that me a broad swath of the female country music listening population is lacking self-awareness and self-respect. Or they just don’t care. Both of these things sadden me, of course, but this doesn’t mean these women and girls deserve the blame for this misogynistic music being allowed to continue to flourish. Which leads me to my second concern…
And, (2) this appears to be accepted because these “artists” and the suits behind the record label desks and the writers and everyone else involved act as though this type of speaking at and about girls and women is totally normal. Yes, it’s always been in music, but I get the feeling that women used to be *in* on the joke, or at least a little. Now it appears to be a top-down, systemic problem wherein women and their individuality and complexity and everything the female experience can offer music and people in general is completely disregarded. They’re not in on the joke. And moreover, they’re not offered a reperieve from all this bullshit because authentic female voices offering a counterpoint to this male-dominated drivel on country radio are few and far between if not virtually nonexistent.
April 20, 2017 @ 11:41 am
I skimmed over the title and saw the picture and somehow thought this was an article on FGL announcing their love for each other as a couple. That picture has to be the best engagement photo ever.
April 21, 2017 @ 5:56 am
Whiskeytown for the win!
April 20, 2017 @ 11:41 am
WARNING: Social commentary.
“population is lacking self-awareness”…… excellent perception and it’s not just in music.
It is a top down phenomenon and is spreading its “inappropriateness” in every facet of our lives.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:13 pm
I see no relation between “dirty” lyrics (I like them if they’re not stupid), and workplace sexual harassment (which I do NOT like). This article trivializes sexual harassment by comparing it to just hearing some stupid song that you don’t like.
Good suggestive lyrics are legal, constitutionally protected, fun, and enjoyed by both sexes. And anyone who doesn’t like them can change the channel or click “next song”.
Workplace sexual harassment is not legal, not fun for the victim, and the victim can’t just hit mute.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:33 pm
1) Nobody is equating dirty lyrics to sexual harassment directly. Obviously, songs, lyrics, and words are one thing, and actions are another. However, I think it is fair to wonder if there isn’t a parallel between the rise of such lyrics and the rise of cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.
2) If you’re a woman making country music country music IS your workplace. And you have a right, just like in any workplace, to be shown respect and treated with dignity.
I know this isn’t going to be a “progressive” thing to say, but certain jobs are just more apt to be done by people of a certain sex. For example, most construction workers are male. But in music, there is no reason one sex should dominate the landscape. Yet 90% of the songs on country radio right now are from males. This isn’t just about innuendo. This is about a systemic downgrading of women across the popular country music industry.
April 20, 2017 @ 2:11 pm
>If you’re a woman making country music country music IS your workplace.
I don’t even know what that means. The women I know who make country music are either self-employed or employed/contracted by actual real companies that have offices, taxpayer ID #’s, W2s, file taxes, etc, not “country music”.
>However, I think it is fair to wonder if there isn’t a parallel between the rise of such lyrics and the rise of cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.
When did this supposed rise of such lyrics happen (since I’ve been hearing about it my whole life – remember the PMRC?) and does it line up with a rise in sexual harrassment complaints?
April 22, 2017 @ 8:38 am
Misogynistic lyrics have been around a long time. I can think of tons of blues, jazz, older country and rock. I would also actually be surprised if sexual harassment in the workplace is on the rise. I think the younger generation generally respects and treats women better than the O’Reilys and such. I think it would be reported much more now because it’s actually not as ‘normal’ as it used to be.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:36 pm
I had a lot of comments I was trying to distill down to something readable about this whole article but this was one of the stronger tangents I was trying to verbalize. I too like suggestive lyrics and innuendo when they’re well written. The thing is, you can CHOOSE to listen to or turn off a suggestive song. One usually doesn’t get to choose if a (in this case) creepy, old fuck makes comments to them that makes them uncomfortable.
I have no problems with the article, it’s the way sites work, they need clicks and topical content is a way to do that. I don’t think I’d call it trivializing, It drew some connection between the two and started a conversation – though based on some of these comments, it’s a damn sad conversation.
April 20, 2017 @ 12:49 pm
Good read. And I’m glad you mentioned Kelsey Ballerini, who I consider to be complicit with this sexist narrative whether she would agree with me or not (or even realize it – she doesn’t come off to me as the brightest bear in the forest). The state of female voices on country radio is both interesting and disheartening. Yes, Miranda and Carrie who are holding their own, but they’re being drowned out in a way by the Kelseys and RaeLynns of country who are all about “Hey boy. Wanna get in your truck boy. Wanna let you talk to me like I’m real dumb, boy.”. And these are the women that the Suits are saying “represent” us. It suits the Suits just fine to offer us something dumb if it keeps us quiet and happy, right? And when women HAVE spoken up, the answer has been to offer the tokens of Miranda and Carrie as if those two lone voices should be enough to fix the problem. It’s an ugly vein of circular logic that they’re using on women these days.
Sadly, a few years back, I saw this coming not when Florida Georgia Line became popular but when they got pissed off at “Girl In A Country Song” and released a statement that boiled down to “How DARE you talk back and demand to be treated better” and no one else stood up for Maddie And Tae (who, for the record, didn’t owe FGL anything other than their middle fingers). It’s been like watching a slow, sexist, idiotic, train wreck ever since.
April 21, 2017 @ 1:40 pm
“Hey boy. Wanna get in your truck boy. Wanna let you talk to me like I’m real dumb, boy.”
I spit out my drink, this was so funny!
But really, everything you said about complicity is spot on. Kelsea’s comment trivializing this issue because SHE’S on the radio did not endear me to her, at all. Miranda knows what’s up, and her most recent album suggests to me she’s over it. Carrie likely knows, too, but I feel bad for all of them because there’s only so many “spots” for women on country radio and biting the hand that feeds them is a great way to get bounced out.
Rather than letting the ladies take all the blame and responsibility for fixing things, wouldn’t it be great if one of the male “elder statesmen” would take up the cause? What’s the worst that could happen if Tim, Kenny, Brad, Jason, Luke, or Keith said, “Hey, where’d all the ladies go?” Which, at the end of the day, is why I’m happy Trigger toots this horn when he does.
April 21, 2017 @ 6:08 pm
I’ll eat my hat if Jason Aldean or Luke Bryan (or any of their bros) actually stand up for the ladies. Even if any of them were smart enough to understand how horribly objectifying their are towards women, why would they do anything that could potentially cut into their radio dominance? Sleeveless flannel shirts, hair gel, and mid-life crisis younger pieces don’t pay for themselves, you know.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:01 pm
Thank you Trigger for once again write about this issue. This comment goes a little further than your article. so
Feel free to delete it if you want, But some comments here have really made me angry.
One of them is this Incredibly empty-headed argument (And I’ve heard and read it many times) : “Look at how woman are treatet in the Middle East…” One crime does NOT excuse another one, and that women are being treated badly in the Middle East does NOT excuse sexism and bad treatment of women in the West…It just doesn’t….
This is a link to a video titled “You are the Problem Here” It’s very explicit so if you are sensitive don’t listen to it, otherwise do listen !!…
This song was written in anger after a rapist got a very light sentence, and one of his excuses was that he was…DRUNK!!!
And even more inportant read the comments…Some people seems to deliberately misinterpreted the sång.
There is an almost brilliant verse in it, but leave it to you to think about what that it means…..
“And we do not need to be diminished
To sisters or daughter or mothers
I am a human being, that’s how you relate to me ”
Here is their own explanation for writing the song
“”You Are the Problem Here” isn’t a typical First Aid Kit-song. It’s angry and direct. It’s a song written out of despair. After reading about yet another rape case where the perpetrator was handed a sentence which did not at all reflect the severity of his crime we felt upset and vengeful. We were, and are, sick of living in a society where the victims of rape are often blamed for the horrible thing that has been done to them. Our message is clear and should not be controversial in the least: if you rape, you are the problem. Alcohol is not the problem. So called “youth culture” is not the problem. You are. And you always have a choice.”
April 20, 2017 @ 1:11 pm
My biggest complaint is married men in their forties basically writing songs about getting a high school girl or having a size zero twenty something as the lead in their videos.
April 20, 2017 @ 1:43 pm
I agree that the normalization of highly sexual dialogue and the resulting cultural desensitization to sexual topics (which used to be private matters) occur, in part, through sexualized lyrics.
It also occurs through sexualized topics on idiotic television shows.
As well as through the pervasive bleeping of interviews to the extent that it seems most celebrities can’t speak without cursing.
If you watch network TV or listen to the radio, you would think that sex is all that people talk about.
I don’t mind songs with rough lyrics that are not meant for radio play, because people usually know what they are buying (with the Tipper Gore vulgarity labels).
My language is colorful when I am speaking with male friends, but not with women.
I have a particularly low opinion of sexually-tinged comments and talk in the workplace.
Why make a woman feel uncomfortable and why buy a lawsuit?
Doesn’t make sense to me.
I treat women at my job the way I expect men to treat my wife.
If someone treated my wife badly in the workplace, I would stop it.
April 20, 2017 @ 3:56 pm
Drive to beach in truck, get hammered, have sex, repeat. Cheap escapist fantasy fodder that’s the perfect background music for a long afternoon/evening of pounding beers in a hot parking lot all day…”drink, don’t think!”. It’ll stay that way until mobs of scantily-clad young women stop vomiting all over their $150.00 Luke Bryan tickets and end up passing out in the beds of beer-soaked pickup trucks an hour before showtime. It’s actually pretty funny to hear grown men still pandering to their adolescent fantasies about “scoring” with the “hot chicks” like they’re still going to keggers out in the woods. Judging by album sales, lots of people (women included) love to wallow in nostalgia for their salad days just as much as the artists do.
April 21, 2017 @ 7:53 am
I don’t mean to get too analytical this early, but maybe you hit the nail on the head. I remember a time when a coworker of mine asked me Don’t you miss high school? We were both in our mid 20s in good careers and I was puzzled by his question. I had a good time in high school, but HS was for teenagers, we’re adults now.
Maybe there’s a large segment of the population who see those HS days as their life’s peak and it’s why they love to revisit them. Sad for them and music.
April 21, 2017 @ 6:49 pm
Escapist fantasies are fine and all, but when they’re all exactly the same (and so unimaginative) it becomes, uh, a little dull. The world already has Jimmy Buffet and he has us covered on “getting drunk on the beach” music, for many lifetimes in fact.
I get the trucks, booze and pretty girls, but when did “the beach” become such an integral part of “country” music? I know they often substitute “swimmim’ holes” for beaches, but I was unaware that going to the beach was such a big “country” music fantasy. Seriously though, it’s just pandering to a specific simple fantasy of what a “perfect day” would be like if only “we” didn’t have these daily realities dragging us down and etc. and again, that’s fine and all. It’s just so unimaginative and stale, not to mention predictable.
And of course the “misogyny” that’s so prevalent in “bro-country” is largely a by-product of the artist’s image and presentation, as many of them are shirtless female fantasies and they’re just playing off of that. “Boy, I wouldn’t mind hoppin’ in Luke’s truck, picking up a case and heading to the beach with HIM”. IMO it’s mostly harmless silliness, albeit extremely repetitious and somewhat credibility-ruining too. IMO “pop country” is a more apt term, as that’s what it actually is.
April 20, 2017 @ 5:17 pm
Honestly, I don’t care if they write a song called, “Pulling A Dirt Road Train On Backdoor Betty”; as long as they set it to a 4/4 shuffle, with a fiddle intro and a steel ride, I’m good.
April 20, 2017 @ 6:30 pm
You’ve been drinking and listening to The Beaumonts, haven’t you?
April 20, 2017 @ 5:40 pm
Interesting thoughts, Trigger. To be honest, I’m less concerned with lyrics being sexist or misogynist than I am about them being just plain ol’ “dumb”. It doesn’t take much artistic skill (in my view) to get a bunch of monosyllabic adjectives, nouns and adverbs to rhyme. The tired old themes of “I love that boy/girl, isn’t he/she great?”, “I’m a fun-lovin’ country boy/girl”, “I have a great pick-up that drives real fast!”, and similar such clichéd topics, just don’t do it for me. The first thing that struck me about Western Centuries, Marty Stuart and Luke Bell (my three favourite performers at this moment) was that they can actually tell a gripping or poignant story with their words, while avoiding the worst clichés of the country genre.
April 20, 2017 @ 6:08 pm
“How about the line “Free Fallin’ into your yum yum” from Steven Tyler’s foray into country music, “Red, White & You”? The line was Tyler’s effort to fit into country music’s current misogynistic trend; to be like Florida Georgia Line and others.”
LMFAO. If you really truly believe that, then you really know nothing about the man, his music, or his legacy.
Take a few minutes out of your life and check out the lyrics to a few of Aerosmith’s biggest hits:
“Walk This Way” ,”Big Ten Inch”, “Pink”, “Love In An Elevator”, “Dude Looks Like A Lady”, “Rag Doll”, “F.I.N.E”….
Steven Tyler is not jumping on any trend, he has been writing misogynistic lyrics his whole life.
Just like Mick Jagger ,Ray Charles ,Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Lemmy, Prince, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, James Brown, David Allen Coe, Al Green…the list of songwriters is endless in every genre of music imaginable.
Misogyny is rooted in the foundation of our music history. It is absolutely nothing revelatory.
I fail to see the correlation between Bill O’Reilly and country music lyrics.
During his tenure at Fox News, Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexual harassment by at least seven women who worked for him or who appeared on his show. By April 2017, Fox News and O’Reilly had paid out more than $13 million to settle lawsuits brought by five of these women.
“The truth is we have no idea why Bill O’Reilly was fired from the most prominent seat in cable news commentary. ”
Cut me a break.
April 20, 2017 @ 10:19 pm
Referencing Tom Petty and using innuendo to reference woman parts is directly out of the Bro-Country playbook. I am perfectly aware of Steven Tyler’s musical output. That is why in my review for “Red, White and You” I said, ” He’s always been a bit of a sexual miscreant…” (https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/steven-tylers-red-white-you-should-have-died-in-the-yum-yum/). “Red White and You” was co-written by Nathan Barlowe who works exclusively with Big Machine Records as an in-house writer. Steven Tyler didn’t write that line. A professional Bro-Country songwriter did.
And we don’t know why Bill O’Reilly was fired. We have no idea about the nature of the accusations against him. We don’t have one piece of information beyond the fact that he settled lawsuits. I’m not saying he’s not guilty.
April 21, 2017 @ 7:13 am
We absolutely know why he was fired – FOX News decided the negative financial impact of the accusations outweighed the positive financial impact of keeping his show.
What we don’t know for sure is whether the negative financial impact was warranted.
April 21, 2017 @ 7:34 am
The reason he was fired is very simple. All the sponsors left. If NONE left, he’d still have his job. His net worth is 85 million and he got 18 million to retire at 67. Somehow I think he’ll get by. I don’t like him and have never seen his show for the record. The TV business is like the music business. It’s all about $$$.
April 21, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
Thank you for writing this – as a feminist I can’t overstate how important it is to hear men calling out sexism. The artists you refer to in the article are just bad pop music to me, influenced by rap as well and that genre has some of the most offensive misogyny ever recorded. Just really depressing that this is popular.
Would love to hear your thoughts on some of the best lyricists in country as a contrast and to show these idiots how it should be done! X
April 21, 2017 @ 2:37 pm
I know a girl at college (very liberal, “progressive”), the type of girl that would go crazy if any guy at my university addressed her in the terms that FGL, Sam Hunt, Chris Lane (etc) use in their songs.
Yet, she loves those guys. She (along with a gaggle of other female friends) attended a FGL concert (Chris Lane was there as well). I asked them about how the concert went. All they talked about was how hot the singers were and how awesome it was that they took their shirts off. Not a single word about the music at all.
We are talking about women that despise Trump for some of his more “outrageous” comments, would start a protest on campus if a fellow student used those lyrics as a pickup line but they embrace it because of hot singers.
The hypocrisy is real.
And when we males try to fight the misogyny, we get accused of being patronizing and fathering.
April 22, 2017 @ 6:32 am
“And it’s also worth pointing out that many of country music’s most inappropriate lines are coming from artists in their 30’s and 40’s, about females in their late teens and early 20’s.”
Trigger, I’m hoping the folks who are writing these kinds of lyrics can look at themselves in the mirror and like what they see….But I wouldn’t count on it. If these characters would write something tasteful and with substance and depth about their wives, girlfriends, sisters and/or daughters, I’m sure they’d surprise themselves.
April 22, 2017 @ 10:57 am
Alongside everything that’s been said about the topic of misogyny and sexism in country music (while also acknowledging that NO form of American popular music has ever really been free from it), it sometimes seems to me that the “Bros” out there, for all their macho bluster, are running scared from very independent-minded female artists who show a high degree of intelligence, emotional candor, and, dare I say what seems to be a forbidden word in country music, intellect in how they approach their art. Women that dare to challenge the stereotype that today’s Bromeisters have of them (hood ornaments; calling them “Girl” over and over again in their songs, even when they’re over the age of 18, etc.) have a near-impossible time nowadays of getting a lot of airplay on country radio unless they are Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert (and even those two haven’t had it all that easy as of late), when we can name a lot of great female artists, past and present, who have done great things that have withstood the test of time.
Fear, as much as whatever social conservatism still exists in the country genre, is probably what is, at least in part, driving this particular wave of sexism, the fear the guys have that they are losing control over the womenfolk, the fear of letting go of their overgrown juvenile frat party way of life and growing up. It’d be almost blackly comic if it weren’t for the fact that too many female fans still think so highly of the Bromeisters’ attitudes towards them.
April 23, 2017 @ 8:32 am
I like “Body like a Back Road” to porn. It seriously sounds like it. But as others said ,girls love the beat and say the “this is my jam.” I personally do know some women who like Cody Jinks which is cool.
Lauren Alaina is someone I think is showing how to fit into mainstream you have to fit a certain mold. Her voice I personally love lol. But look at how she’s lost a lot of wait and dressing all sexy now. Hey I’m a guy, I love beautiful women but the pressure to be successful in modern radio country is crazy. There’s plenty of attractive women who stay reserved and sing actual country. I find that more attractive.
April 23, 2017 @ 10:07 am
Like with any artist, the cover art tells all.
Alania’s cover art has drastically changed.
April 23, 2017 @ 10:14 am
The reason why women (and men) like this kind of music is the same reason why bro-country was so successful: it is feel good music. Everyone is attractive and everyone is desired. They feel like the singer is singing exclusively to them. It is all fantasy music.
Most of the lyrics in the songs aren’t even written with specific details ( e.g. hair color, eye color, body type etc). It allows for the listener to imagine themselves in the roles. FGL isn’t wooing a blonde hair, blue eye goddess, they are wooing a nondescript lady and, thus, every lady can say, “They are talking about me!” The vagueness helps sell the song to a wider audience. It is generic enough to relate to anyone.
April 24, 2017 @ 7:45 am
Women like to be sexy, women like to go out and get drunk. Women like to listen to music where a guy is singing about getting drunk and screwing in the back seat. Misogyny is you blaming women for buying music that you dont like and then try and spin it as this is why we have misogyny, women’s buying habits!
Calling women females in 2017 doesn’t sit well with women either. Female describes a gender of any species and has been used for several years now as a synonoum for bitch and to imply contempt and inferiority. Same with calling women hussies.
April 24, 2017 @ 8:01 am
Alright, that is ridiculous. It’s one thing to say you shouldn’t qualify artists as “women artists” or “females artist” and I totally understand that. But to imply that “female” is synonymous with “bitch” and implies “contempt and inferiority” and is the same as “hussies” is irresponsible.