By Madeline Marks
Staff Writer, Editorial Editor
If you own a TV and have any interest in pop culture, you have probably seen the MTV Video Music Award’s show, which aired on Aug. 25, 2013. And that means you’ve probably seen Miley Cyrus’ performance with Robin Thicke.
The song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke has been controversial from the start. The video was taken down for a while until a more “appropriate” version was released, if you consider that video inappropriate.
The song itself is about the “blurred lines” between rape and consent, and the video is just as creepy, with Thicke, TI and Pharrell whispering in the ears of scantily clad women, who are dancing around. The song may seem to glorify rape and is incredibly sexist, but not through the eyes of Thicke.
The singer makes it clear when he says in an interview for GQ magazine, “People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women.’”
Not only does Thicke think that this is fun, he also believes it’s a feminist movement in itself.
“It’s saying that women and men are equals as animals and as power,” Thicke said on the Today show stage.
However, his “lighthearted” message was somehow misconstrued. Maybe it was the boundary pushing lyrics that did it. Maybe it was the original video chocked full of naked women that did it.
However, not everyone has thrown Thicke under the bus like I have just now. In fact, some people have given him praise for how “smooth” he is, with Miley Cyrus especially, which may seem confusing since he is such a “family man” and that was his justification for the song and video.
In fact, it was Miley Cyrus who was really thrown under the bus for her performance with Thicke at the VMA’s. Of course, her dancing has been deemed inappropriate and trashy, but it wasn’t her song. Was it really her fault? Of course it is, through the eyes of many of the viewers.
And if that doesn’t prove to you that there are double standards in the media, then there’s one last thing that should convince you.
A group of female college students created a feminist parody, “Defined Lines,” which depicts the women similarly to the way Robin Thicke depicts TI, Pharrell and himself. And the men are depicted similarly to the way the models in the video are scantily clad, dancing around.
After the video was put up, it was shortly taken down due to its “sexual nature.” It was reuploaded due to backlash from its audience, but I’m sure the message had gotten across. “Blurred Lines,” the more “appropriate” version, received 175 million views and counting. “Defined Lines” received 2 million views and counting, and even though the men are dressed exactly the same as the women in “Blurred Lines,” it was taken down almost immediately after its emergence on the internet. So think about that.