[TW for sexism, racism, jingoism and classism.]
Okay, I just need to rant for a bit.
I'm a fan of country music. I love the sound, and many of the songs are absolutely fantastic, and deal with difficult topics that most mainstream music avoids (e.g., cancer, abuse, etc.).
On the other hand, country music is a proud bastion for so many things that are horrible: racism, sexism, jingoism, BOOTSTRAPS. This has intensified to absurd levels since 9/11.
But the one I need to rant about today is probably the most egregious example of sexism that I can think of off the top of my head (how sad is that?): Keep Me in Mind by The Zac Brown Band.
The way I listen to music is that I pretty much completely ignore the words for the first five listens, and then suddenly the words are there. Now, Keep Me in Mind is the catchiest song EVER, and Zac is an excellent vocalist, so I kept hearing this fun new song and kind of hearing the words but not really. And then, suddenly the horrible, horrible words registered. I don't even have to go past the first stanza, because IT IS THE WORST. One line at a time:
How come all the pretty girls like you are taken, baby?
Ugh. Yet another message of many reminding single women (NOT GIRLS FFS) that they're single because they're ugly, and that men are superficial enough to only be interested in women that meet the conventional standard of beauty. Isn't it the feminists that are supposed to hate men? Dudebros, y u hate men so much?
I've been looking for someone like you to save me
Men are not infants that require being saved. Again with the misandry. Which, of course, doesn't actually result in the marginalization of men but rather the women (saviors), and so it is misogyny masquerading as misandry. Boys will be boys, and all that.
Life's too easy to be so damn complicated
If your biggest life complication is yearning after a woman you can't have (and you're whining about it like a toddler denied candy), then you are on a level of Not Getting It that no one can touch. You are standing on top of Privilege Peak, and the reality down in the foothills is completely obscured by the mists of your white, straight, rich dudeliness.
Take your time and I'll be waiting
YOU ARE A CREEP NOW. Go find a woman that is actually available. OH WAIT all of the pretty girls are taken! Well, gosh, that just leaves you in a pickle now, doesn't it?
Go away, think about your life for a while, and come back when you've moved beyond frat boy levels of sociability.
