Podophobia. It doesn't make sense, doesn't seem like it should be real. It's the fear of feet. Those sweaty, five-toed, fungi-ridden appendages just give me the shivers. I don't have a rational reason for the fear; however, it's not completely baseless. When I was six years old, and my sister was eight, I can remember us playing together in the living room, not a care in the world. I already had reason to be wary of my sister--she had always been the bane of my existence (or so my six-year-old mind thought). She constantly terrorized me just for the fun of it. Of course, my mom never saw what she did, only what I did in retaliation.
This particular occasion was no different. We were playing in the living room, my mother busy in the kitchen, when my sister decided it would be funny to shove her feet in my face. She peeled her socks off when I wasn't looking, and when I turned around to grab a Barbie, her wrinkly, smelly tootsies were smack in my face. Literally. She had underestimated and my face ran into her feet. I screeched and immediately recoiled, then sprinted to the kitchen (still screaming, to my mom's dismay and my sister's delight) and scrubbed my face in the sink. My mom was utterly befuddled by the situation, but my sister was elated and was rolling on the floor laughing (at least that's what I thought; my face was shoved deep into our kitchen sink at the time, so I relied on my ears and best judgment).
Once I felt I had been adequately decontaminated, I snatched up the towel and scrubbed my face some more. I then turned to my sister with fire in my eyes and made a beeline back to the living room. My mom caught me around the midsection before I could get anywhere, and sent both of us to our rooms. Both of us! As if I'd done anything wrong! I was furious, and at the same time I was completely disgusted. Never again will I look at feet as a normal entity. My feet are the only ones that should ever be near me. And don't even get me started on bare feet. Socked feet I can deal with, but bare feet? Try again later. I don't believe my sister recalls this particular incident, but she and the rest of my family frequently taunt me with my irrational fear. However, I have some vengeance of my own: my sister's irrational fear of people touching her neck.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Is "Blurred Lines" a Little Too Blurred?
"I know you want it, but you're a good girl," croons Robin Thicke as he dances seductively next to nearly-naked models. His hit song "Blurred Lines" has been touted "kind of rapey" by reporter Tricia Romano, and she is not alone.The video is offensive, sure. The lyrics are questionable, and the video is worse. Clearly, chivalry is not a strong theme in the song, but to go so far as to call it conducive to the rape culture? To me, that seems a little far.
Thicke's video is abhorrent to many women (and even men), and rightly so. The explicit version features women clad only in nude-colored thongs, while the "clean" version (only released after outrage) has the women scantily-clad, but technically covered. From the video, it is very clear how the song came to be so controversial. However, when one digs deeper into it, the song may not be as harmful as people are claiming it to be. As Jennifer Lai puts it, "Blurred Lines" is "overly cocky and presumptuous as hell," but that does not mean it is promoting rape.
As Lai points out, the song's lyrics do, in fact, let the woman call the shots. Thicke says "Go ahead, get at me," clearly indicating that he's waiting for the okay from the woman. In the video, it is definitely not just Thicke who is "getting nasty." Granted, he is fully clothed and making all of the suggested remarks, and has scantily dressed the women surrounding him, but he is not the only one whom kids shouldn't look at as a role model. The women in the song, though they don't say a word, speak volumes with their dancing. Now, I'm not suggesting that women who dress or act seductively are asking to be raped. However, they are acting very enticingly, and most men I know would certainly be aroused by them.
Critics, including Romano, point out the repeated murmuring of "I know you want it" throughout the song. While this can be a rapist's slogan, it can also be the sentiment of an aroused man who is just trying to get with a woman. So, while the video could certainly be taken as promoting rape, as Tricia Romano thinks, it should be looked at more closely, and from all perspectives. There is nothing to say what Thicke's true intent for the song was, but he claims it to be speaking to the "tired, overused good-girl-with-a-freaky-streak fantasy." If this is true, it is easy enough to understand. By reading the lyrics more closely, one can see that the song is probably not about rape, as it does speak to the woman and her actions and desires.
Though Thicke has clearly crossed a line with his "Blurred Lines" song and video, there is nothing to definitively suggest that it is suggesting that men become rapists. Sure, it is a dirty song with an even dirtier video, and clearly doesn't play to the chivalrous attitudes so many women desire. However, not all women desire a knight in shining armor. Some, as in the ones in the video, want to be suggestive and seductive, and want men's attention. Some really do "wanna get nasty," as Thicke says in the song. So, while not all women want what Thicke is offering, there is definitely a population out there who does want it. They may like rough sex, or may have other deviant desires, and that is no wronger than women wanting the "perfect man." There are different types of men, and different types of women, and "Blurred Lines" simply plays to a very specific group.
On the surface, Robin Thicke's hit "Blurred Lines" could easily be seen as "rapey," or conducive to the rape culture. However, on closer investigation, it is simply tailored to a very specific group of men and women, and to many, it is hard to understand their ways. Any way you look at it, the video is pretty awful (even the censored one), but there is nothing to tell us for sure that Thicke is promoting rape as okay. Some of his lyrics are definitely questionable, such as "I know you want it," which is repeated throughout the song, but there are also those who suggest that all of this is just innocent fun for everyone. Not everyone enjoys the kind of sex that Thicke is suggesting, but that is okay. Admittedly, the song is catchy; that doesn't mean I agree with its message. I just think it's a bit too far to call the song, and by extension Thicke himself, "rapey."
Thicke's video is abhorrent to many women (and even men), and rightly so. The explicit version features women clad only in nude-colored thongs, while the "clean" version (only released after outrage) has the women scantily-clad, but technically covered. From the video, it is very clear how the song came to be so controversial. However, when one digs deeper into it, the song may not be as harmful as people are claiming it to be. As Jennifer Lai puts it, "Blurred Lines" is "overly cocky and presumptuous as hell," but that does not mean it is promoting rape.
As Lai points out, the song's lyrics do, in fact, let the woman call the shots. Thicke says "Go ahead, get at me," clearly indicating that he's waiting for the okay from the woman. In the video, it is definitely not just Thicke who is "getting nasty." Granted, he is fully clothed and making all of the suggested remarks, and has scantily dressed the women surrounding him, but he is not the only one whom kids shouldn't look at as a role model. The women in the song, though they don't say a word, speak volumes with their dancing. Now, I'm not suggesting that women who dress or act seductively are asking to be raped. However, they are acting very enticingly, and most men I know would certainly be aroused by them.
Critics, including Romano, point out the repeated murmuring of "I know you want it" throughout the song. While this can be a rapist's slogan, it can also be the sentiment of an aroused man who is just trying to get with a woman. So, while the video could certainly be taken as promoting rape, as Tricia Romano thinks, it should be looked at more closely, and from all perspectives. There is nothing to say what Thicke's true intent for the song was, but he claims it to be speaking to the "tired, overused good-girl-with-a-freaky-streak fantasy." If this is true, it is easy enough to understand. By reading the lyrics more closely, one can see that the song is probably not about rape, as it does speak to the woman and her actions and desires.
Though Thicke has clearly crossed a line with his "Blurred Lines" song and video, there is nothing to definitively suggest that it is suggesting that men become rapists. Sure, it is a dirty song with an even dirtier video, and clearly doesn't play to the chivalrous attitudes so many women desire. However, not all women desire a knight in shining armor. Some, as in the ones in the video, want to be suggestive and seductive, and want men's attention. Some really do "wanna get nasty," as Thicke says in the song. So, while not all women want what Thicke is offering, there is definitely a population out there who does want it. They may like rough sex, or may have other deviant desires, and that is no wronger than women wanting the "perfect man." There are different types of men, and different types of women, and "Blurred Lines" simply plays to a very specific group.
On the surface, Robin Thicke's hit "Blurred Lines" could easily be seen as "rapey," or conducive to the rape culture. However, on closer investigation, it is simply tailored to a very specific group of men and women, and to many, it is hard to understand their ways. Any way you look at it, the video is pretty awful (even the censored one), but there is nothing to tell us for sure that Thicke is promoting rape as okay. Some of his lyrics are definitely questionable, such as "I know you want it," which is repeated throughout the song, but there are also those who suggest that all of this is just innocent fun for everyone. Not everyone enjoys the kind of sex that Thicke is suggesting, but that is okay. Admittedly, the song is catchy; that doesn't mean I agree with its message. I just think it's a bit too far to call the song, and by extension Thicke himself, "rapey."
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