Part of my fascination with discussing gender and sexuality every week is its inherent interdisciplinary nature. Jumping from sexual violence, to sexual relationships, from women in sports, to pop-culture, may seem a bit scattered, but these topics only scratch the surface of the myriad of ways that we are regularly experiencing and interpreting gender in our lives. While many people are dulled to scenes playing out traditional gender norms, I am like an actor at the theater, words and phrases and gestures leaping out at me for critique wherever I look. How exhausting it would be to react to all of these moments! With social media today, however, it is particularly exciting to see the ways that people can highlight and question their own observations of gender roles, in a creative and fun way, that conveys their message to a vast audience, and also allows for a dialogue to occur.

The Huffington Post writer, Jessica Goodman, brings attention to one of these situations occurring in viral video form at the moment, in her article, This ‘Rude’ Cover Turns the Sexist Chart Topper into a Feminist Anthem.  The band Magic!’s latest hit “Rude” has evoked anger for it’s reference to the tradition of asking the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage, reminiscent of the not so distant past when women were the property of men. This practice is so common today (my fiance sought my father’s blessing to be sure!), it is almost surprising to see the backlash that this seemingly romantic tune has evoked. I wonder if Magic! ever saw it coming to begin with.

“Rude” tells the dumb tale of a dude who asks for a dad’s blessing to marry his daughter. The father says no and the narrator says, “I’m gonna marry her anyway.” Since we live in a time and country where women don’t need permission to do things, non-fans have taken to YouTube to promote anti-“Rude” covers…YouTuber Nicky Costabile turned the sexist song into a feminist anthem. Lyrics credited to Marisa DiFrisco say what we’re all thinking: “I belong to no one for the rest of my life, say no, say no, is this a joke, say I decide my husband til the day I die but at this rate I’d rather have no one.”

-Caterina Gironda, Southern Editor tags: rude wedding traditions

 

Image credited to TieTheKnot South Africa wedding blog