July 4, 1776 marked a momentous occasion. On this day, a nation began that would eventually become the planet’s leading power. The United States braved the fires of the American Revolution and endured a bloody civil war, but Americans were far from cleared of civil issues. American women have endured a long history of having constitutional rights denied to them. Specifically, In You’ve Got the Wrong Song: Nashville and Country Music Feminism, writer Claire Miye Stanford delves into the issues that the feminist movement with its relationship with country music. Country music has historically been profoundly anti-feminist, and Stanford cites Tammy Wynette for advising women to, “Stand by your man,” regardless of however abusive “the man” may
…show more content…
One such example, which was previously mentioned in this essay, is Tammy Wynette. In her article, Stanford writes the following about Tammy Wynette, “Historically, most feminist ire lands squarely on the shoulders of country music legend Tammy Wynette, and her biggest hit, 1968’s ‘Stand By Your Man’ in which Wynette advises the listener to forgive your man and, for that matter, to be ‘proud’ of him, even when he’s off having “good times / doing things that you don’t understand.’” (Stanford 277.) The perspective presented by Tammy Wynette in this quote is a double standard; It advises women to ignore the wrongdoings of her husband, but doesn’t advise men to do the same. Essentially, this country music only reinforced the misogyny that Americans once embraced. Ideas of this brand are what lead to women being denied the right to vote, and the United States is no stranger to inequality. Women’s suffrage is a very real political that the United States had at the forefront of politics, and ideas of misogyny being propagated by respected artists can only lower our collective moral standards as far as misogynistic themes are …show more content…
Of course, this may seem to be something of a leap, but perhaps not, if one considers the potential negative rallying impact that music can have. In her article, McCarthy writes,” Misogyny in country music is a touchy subject. It has certainly existed since the inception of the genre, like every other style of music. Sometimes the misogyny is extremely overt. For many people, it 's difficult to see why seemingly innocuous things like insisting on calling grown-ass women ‘girl’ and reducing the subjects of these songs to pieces of their anatomy are a problem, especially when plenty of women are crowding into stadiums to swoon over their favorite country boys.” McCarthy drives a powerful argument: Misogyny is not always overt and deciding when a country music producer deserves backlash (and the severity thereof) for what they’ve created is entirely subjective. Of course, modern views have altered the perception of country music misogyny, and ideas that generalize half of the nation are not applauded as they once were. Despite this progress, however, country music artists still seem to get a “pass” as far as misogynistic lyrics are
One such example, which was previously mentioned in this essay, is Tammy Wynette. In her article, Stanford writes the following about Tammy Wynette, “Historically, most feminist ire lands squarely on the shoulders of country music legend Tammy Wynette, and her biggest hit, 1968’s ‘Stand By Your Man’ in which Wynette advises the listener to forgive your man and, for that matter, to be ‘proud’ of him, even when he’s off having “good times / doing things that you don’t understand.’” (Stanford 277.) The perspective presented by Tammy Wynette in this quote is a double standard; It advises women to ignore the wrongdoings of her husband, but doesn’t advise men to do the same. Essentially, this country music only reinforced the misogyny that Americans once embraced. Ideas of this brand are what lead to women being denied the right to vote, and the United States is no stranger to inequality. Women’s suffrage is a very real political that the United States had at the forefront of politics, and ideas of misogyny being propagated by respected artists can only lower our collective moral standards as far as misogynistic themes are …show more content…
Of course, this may seem to be something of a leap, but perhaps not, if one considers the potential negative rallying impact that music can have. In her article, McCarthy writes,” Misogyny in country music is a touchy subject. It has certainly existed since the inception of the genre, like every other style of music. Sometimes the misogyny is extremely overt. For many people, it 's difficult to see why seemingly innocuous things like insisting on calling grown-ass women ‘girl’ and reducing the subjects of these songs to pieces of their anatomy are a problem, especially when plenty of women are crowding into stadiums to swoon over their favorite country boys.” McCarthy drives a powerful argument: Misogyny is not always overt and deciding when a country music producer deserves backlash (and the severity thereof) for what they’ve created is entirely subjective. Of course, modern views have altered the perception of country music misogyny, and ideas that generalize half of the nation are not applauded as they once were. Despite this progress, however, country music artists still seem to get a “pass” as far as misogynistic lyrics are