Make Me Proud Analysis

Improved Essays
Show More
Make Me Proud is a song created by Drake, featuring Nikki Minaj. The lyrics of this song can be analyzed through a feminist perspective. Drake begins the first verse by highlighting both positive and negative female characteristics in a provocative fashion. He continues with this approach throughout the song, contradicting the way that he celebrates women with opposing points of view, and then manipulates the song lyrics to also define those contradicting characteristics in a positive light. The sexual references are like lightning bolts throughout the song; rocking the world of the listener by enticing them with the controversy that woman can use sex for power. Although this idea of power could provoke a negative connotation towards women, Drake reinforces the celebration of womanhood by acknowledging his own obsession, and submission to the female sex. The song calls into question some of our culture’s ideologies about what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior for women in …show more content…
By beginning the song with descriptions of the main character refraining from sex, as well as fighting for her rights, the lyrics empower women by supporting both the decision to abstain from sex, as well as the decision to indulge. Nikki Minaj’s verse reinforces the idea that sex may be used for power by vocalizing her sexual abilities in the lyrics. Dolly Parton is also introduces as a sex icon to establish that sexual freedom, although controversial, is empowering through the basic idea that it is just that- FREEDOM.

Although the lyrics have the power to negatively influence future generations toward sexual exhibitionism, that is not the point that the song is trying to make. After all of the struggles that women have endured in the past, the lyrics are embracing the progress that woman have made by embracing the freedoms they now have, even the freedom of using sex to attain

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis I M Not The Only One
    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis I M Not The Only One

    And there’s a big impact on that socioeconomic status where there’s this role of husband and wife. It’s a real-life problem in today’s society. The husband is going out being unloyal and the wife knows that but because of society, the wife is supposed to forgive the husband for his indecent acts even if it hurts her. I think the artists want to show that this is a recurring problem in today’s society and he has done it quite well with the lyrics and the video showing pathos, ethos, and…

    • 1109 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Analysis
    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Analysis

    Some sections of the song, such as the bridge, were removed from the cover version. What most influences the misogynistic tone of the original lyrics is probably simply the fact that they are being sung by a woman, which means that the “I” in the song is very different in the cover. The cover lyrics emphasize the equality of the sexes, or in Lauper’s own words, mean that “girls want to have the same damn experience that any man could have.”…

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of No Doubt's Just A Girl
    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of No Doubt's Just A Girl

    As the mother figure, women have been protected and kept safe away from potential conflict to make sure that children could be born and humankind could thrive for another generation. Women were the only ones who could provide for small children still nursing, so women were grouped together in homes and villages for safety and convenience. This resulted in women becoming associated with being in the home exclusively, which fueled the attitudes that women could only be useful in the home other than being beautiful objects for men to treasure, as would happen if war brought the "property" of women to another group of people. Gwen vocalizes this exclusivity when she sings "I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite, so don't let me have any rights." She's commentating on the lack of rights women have traditionally had, and that despite the fact that we do now have "equal" rights, society still treats women as fragile, pretty creatures instead of as human citizens and people, and asserts that there are things we shouldn't be doing, be allowed to do, or are too weak to…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    America The Beautiful Analysis
    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    America The Beautiful Analysis

    Many of the lyrics refer to the loss of trust in modern America. We had been hit hard by the recession at the time and she describes a man in America who wanted a lot from life. He believes that he can make it in America and says that everyone will know his name. He describes getting everything he wanted, however when he sees how it is impossible he decides to give up his dream and wish he was born again. This entire song just describes the loss of hope in the American Dream. I believe that now because we are out of the recession we can put the past behind us and move forward. Instead of wanting to be born again we as a nation can prosper individually now more than ever…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    'How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents' By Julia Alvarez
    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages

    'How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents' By Julia Alvarez

    The video shows the struggle of a certain culture where they try to fit into two different cultures. One culture being the culture they were born into and another culture choosing to remove their genitals. This is difficult for them because not all people from their home culture are accepting of their choice of becoming not a women or a man. My point with this scenario is that this is exactly what the girls struggled with throughout the whole book, which was the bouncing back and forth between the very two different cultures. Both of the cultures are so different from one another that they find themselves disappointed with the choices they have made by experimenting with marijuana and sex in American Culture and it is shamed upon in the Dominican Republic. The girls are afraid of losing the connection to their culture and have failed the values they grew up in. They all struggle with even finding themselves by trying to feel like they belong in both cultures. This shows the difference between American feminism and Chicana Feminism. They are both types of feminism’s but they both share very different values so it can be hard trying to be both types of feminists. This also relates to an article we have read in class “Chappels and Gym Shorts” by…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Gender Roles In Hip-Hop And RB Music
    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Roles In Hip-Hop And RB Music

    The songs by women had a softer tone about sex. The song "Put it down" by Brandy offers dialog of a woman challenging a man to be chivalrous, yet sexy if he wants her to fall in love with him. Nicki Minaj's song "Super Bass" eludes to the artist wanting to be with a guy that is both an entrepreneur and a bad boy; it also mentions drugs, sex and…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Four Women By Nina Simone
    • 1371 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analysis Of Four Women By Nina Simone

    Peaches is very livid because her parents were slaves, she then goes on and says she will kill the first mother she sees1. Peaches have a very hard time accepting what was done to her parents and the way they had to live their lives. She does not like the fact that they were owned. She goes on and says that her life has been rough, and she is awfully bitter these days1. Nina Simone writes this song around the time of the second wave feminism. All women are fed up: the blacks, the whites, the gays, and the straights. Women could have the same education background as a man and will still get paid less than him. Nina Simone showed how women were looked upon. Hair played a huge role in the 60s and still does today. Having knotted hair was not good, there were so many controversies on the Afro. White men tend to target black women to rape them, they did it to feel dominant or try and break the woman. Nina Simone showed the different generations of women: the slaved woman, the woman who could have been born in slavery or close to it, the woman who learned to adapt with both societies, and the woman who parents were slaves but she was not. The 60s was a year of progress and much did happen: Malcolm X was assassinated, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense started, The Voting Rights Act signed into law, and people were being sent into the Vietnam War. Nina Simone 's “Four Women” not only the showed black women’s…

    • 1371 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    I M Looking Through You Rhetorical Devices
    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I M Looking Through You Rhetorical Devices

    The song and article have to do with the U.S. Protest. The song talks about a girl cheating with another man when her boyfriend or husband comes back and the girl has to run away. Protesters could get mad about anything about the war, from taking away babies from their parents to ruining relationships and having the soldiers coming to their house with another man in their bed with their loved one.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    So You Ve Been Publicly Shamed Analysis
    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages

    So You Ve Been Publicly Shamed Analysis

    “I think we all care deeply about things that seem totally inconsequential to other people. We all carry around with us the flotsam and jetsam of perceived humiliations that actually mean nothing. We are a mass of vulnerabilities, and who knows what will trigger them?” ― Jon Ronson, So You've Been Publicly Shamed. In this ever changing fast pace world of the 21st century, we surround ourselves with a tremendous amount of hate and humiliation. Whether it be on social media, in the workplace or judgment of food choices, we seem to have an issue with perceptions of people. As citizens of the United States of America, we all share the common value of having a “melting pot” of different types of people. This tends to generate controversial times in our society on a daily basis. Shaming is certainly not a good…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Role Of Oppression In Country Music
    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Role Of Oppression In Country Music

    This remark exemplifies the sexist theme of depicting women in traditional gender roles. By saying that God only made girls to cry, it sends a message that boys are not able to be emotional as well. Rather than be emotional, this song calls for boys to demonstrate only masculine behaviors by completely rejecting anything that is feminine, such as crying, which is perceived as “sissy stuff” (Shaw 126). Remarks such as this heavily affect gender acquisition, which is how people in society learn the “appropriate” thinking and behaviors associated with their gender assignments as boys or girls (Shaw 119). This is harmful to society because emphasizing traditional gender roles hardwires into people’s brains that in order to be powerful, which essentially in today’s society means being like a man, one must be strong, independent, and emotionally out-of-touch. “God Made Girls” perpetuates systems of oppression due to its recurring sexist remarks, as seen in this…

    • 1029 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines
    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis Of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines

    In the text of the song, Thicke is making the argument that women need to be domesticated to protect themselves from their fragile, dumb, animalistic nature, yet this music video only seems to provide evidence that it is actually the men who have much to learn in order to prevent their animalistic nature from taking over as it does in the music video in the form of a predator versus prey scenario. These older, financially stable men are seen preying on these innocent, child-like women who supposedly can’t care for themselves which supports the notion that the men are actually the problem and they should be kept far away from any woman rather than being the dominant protector like Thicke is attempting to convey they should. Unfortunately, though, the popularity of the song itself and the video proves that Thicke’s perception on gender roles is one that is supported by many people. The notion of men as the protectors of women has been present for a good portion of history, but with feminist movements becoming more and more present and talked about it is sad to see the big players in pop music, such as Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I., supporting the domestication of women which thus supports the loss of women’s rights. When young, impressionable girls and boys heard this song on the radio or…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Lost Ones By J. Cole Analysis
    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lost Ones By J. Cole Analysis

    I support the female's perspective rather than the male’s perspective, because I strongly believe that abortion should not be an option and that everyone should be given the opportunity to live. The song in general sparks a fuse about the possible scenarios my mom could've gone through when she was expecting me. Listening to this song leaves me thankful that my mother decided to keep me, just as the female speaker decided to do.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Gender Roles In Dear Future Husband, By Meghan Trainor
    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gender Roles In Dear Future Husband, By Meghan Trainor

    At the age of 11, Meghan Trainor wrote her first song ever. Then 9 years later she made her debut with the song “All About that Bass”. The song addressed how people should be loving their bigger body types, instead of hating on it. This song was such a big hit that it was named one of the most positive songs of 2014. Some even claim this the new feminist anthem. Trainor was seen as an addition to the feminist movement. Now she’s back with the song “Dear Future Husband” and it also grabbed a handful of attention but not in a good way. People are viewing the song as sexist because the lyrics and music video set back to the stereotypical gender roles era, but in song the stereotype was placed on the males. For that she received many of the criticisms.…

    • 1424 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Taylor Swift Analysis
    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Taylor Swift Analysis

    Although many of Swift’s songs are based on love and romance, her perspective on the theme differs in each album. In her initial album many of her songs included lyrics portraying male dominance. Her music demonstrates feelings of unhappiness because of the way that she is treated by a member of the opposite sex. In the song Cold as You she sings, “and you do what you want ‘cause I’m not what you wanted.” This shows that women often are expected to conform to the needs of men. Women must act or dress a certain way in order to be accepted; these unfair expectations set innocent girls up for a lack of self-confidence. Women were so frequently looked down upon and treated unfairly. In her song A Place in this World Taylor questions her existence in the world. Swift, just like any other girl, has troubling finding herself as seen in this lyric, “oh, I’m just a girl trying to find a place in this world.” Women in history were rarely treated as individuals but rather as servants to men and caretakers to children. Growing up in a society that treats women unfairly taught Swift to feel less confident in herself as an adolescent and believe that she was property to men. In her newer album 1989 Taylor produces more empowering music. She becomes more self-involved and content about the way she is and despite all the hatred against her, she rises above it and creates inspiring music. Many…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Analysis Of Skyscraper By Demi Lovato
    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analysis Of Skyscraper By Demi Lovato

    Demi wrote this song during her time of recovery of self harming and in this song has a strong message to those who feel the same and even women who feel discriminated. Her song is about no matter how much you try to tear her down with harsh words, she will only grow to become stronger. Some of her lyrics state, “You can take everything I have, you can break everything I am. Like I 'm made of glass. Like I 'm made of paper. Go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground like a skyscraper, like a skyscraper”. She wanted to show the world and express to women that no matter what anyone tells you or hurts you inside, you are only gonna grow stronger from it. The last example of another artist who can relate to gender inequality is Ariana Grande. The newly popular popstar, dealt with a lot of hate over the past year for many different reasons. In 2015, she came out with her single, Focus. Focus, as Ariana explained for herself means that she does not want you to focus on her for her looks or who she might be, she wants you to focus on the lyrics and the meaning of her music. She wants us to focus on how we can all be ourselves in unique ways. Some of her lyrics include, “I know what I came to do, and that ain 't gonna change. So go ahead and talk your talk, cause I won 't take the bait. I 'm over here doing what I like, I 'm over here working day and night. And if my real…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2023 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings