Pitbull, You've Done It Again

Each one of us has a certain quality or characteristic about ourselves which we are not proud of. Maybe you have one extra toe on your right foot, or you have a really ugly laugh. I, regrettably, have a secret passion for today’s hip hop/rap hits. Music taste is extremely important to many teens and young adults today. It is easy for people to connect when they have similar tastes in music. This explains why I get many dirty looks or dramatized gasps when I tell people that I like hip hop/rap. I get responses such as: “Of all the music, why that music?” and “There is so much better stuff to listen to.” And of course, my favorite: “You’re a musician. Shouldn’t you be listening to that classical stuff instead?”

But I mean, c’mon, you all are not innocent here.

Admit it. You started tapping your foot the first time you heard “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. You have danced to “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift at least once, even if it was alone in your room. And, if you are anything like me, you know every word to Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss” and you are proud of it.

Okay, so maybe today’s pop and rap hits are not so bad.

But are they?

As a musician, I understand the powerful affect music has on the mind and body. In fact, I want to become a music therapist because I want to use the power of music to help people. I do not believe listening to music is a passive activity. Even if you are working on homework and the music is playing quietly in the background, you are still retaining the melodies and words you are hearing.

So, I think it is important to consider the message an artist is portraying in his/her music.

Let’s look at Pitbull’s music. Okay, maybe your music taste is refined enough that you would not stoop to the level of Pitbull. However, please humor me. Do not tell me you did not bop your head a little bit the first time you heard “Fireball.” It is a catchy song and you cannot deny that in good conscience.

I remember the first time I heard “Give Me Everything” by Pitbull. They played it at many of my high school dances and all of the middle school dances I chaperoned during high school. The song is easy to dance to and it has a good beat, but it took multiple times of listening to the song to actually hear what it was saying. Here are the lyrics to the melody:

“Tonight I want all of you tonight

Give me everything tonight

For all we know we might not get tomorrow

Let’s do it tonight”

The message of this song is that Pitbull wants a girl to “go all the way with him” tonight, or to have sex with him tonight because they “might not get tomorrow.” Why won’t they get tomorrow? I guess the reason could be that the world might end. However, the reason is probably that they will never see each other again.

I hate this message from Pitbull’s song. It implies that Pitbull just picked up a girl, maybe at a club or a bar, and he wants to have sex with her tonight because after tonight, he probably will not try to ever see her or talk to her again.

I mean, I cannot be surprised by Pitbull’s attitude towards sex. Pop/rap music has been diminishing the value of sex for decades now. I just never realized until now that lyrics from songs such as these promote the powerlessness of women.

I stepped back and considered that maybe I could excuse this one song, only if Pitbull’s other songs seemed to have good messages. I mean, he is not the only artist out there whose songs have immoral meanings. I went to his list of songs on Spotify, and the first title that caught my eye was “Everybody F***s.” Let’s look at some of the lyrics Pitbull wrote:

                “I know it’s straight to the point

                But I’d rather be straight up and straight forward

                Instead of playing with your heart and your mind

                Games are a waste of time, now we can do the nasty

                And do what the do and see what the does

                Either we gon love what we do to each other

                Or just let it be what it was

                No harm, no foul, no commitment, no vows

                Maybe a contract or two

                But by that time I’m already tired of the way you like it, oh

                And let your body decide, exactly what it does

                But it’s no secret baby, everybody f***s”

               

Please, excuse me while I step away from my computer and vomit.

When I read this, I was shocked by the nerve of Pitbull to say such vulgar words. But more importantly, I was appalled by myself for listening to songs like this so passively for so many years and never questioning myself.

This song, along with Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” is clearly aimed toward women. The message Pitbull is trying to send toward women through his songs is that they must have sex with men right when the men ask for it. Why? Well, for the two best reasons I can think of. First, because they might not ever see each other again. And second, because everybody does it.

At this point, you might be tuning out because you do not like Pitbull. You will never like Pitbull so this post does not apply to you. Maybe you are right about that. Pitbull’s songs are not aimed towards 18 and 19-year-old college students. However, they are aimed at young teenagers, aged 13-16. As I read these lyrics and reflected on their meaning, I pictured myself when I was 15. I was much more susceptible to negative messages portrayed by the media. I did not realize if something was bad or immoral. I listened to music that everyone else was listening to so I could fit in. I did not listen to music because I carefully analyzed the content of the lyrics and ultimately found that they were clean. I can imagine that most of you behaved in a similar manner.

So, 15-year-old girls are being fed the message that they have to submit to the demands of men to have sex with them, and they are given “justifiable” reasons for doing so. Women are among those subject to the oppression of “powerlessness” in today’s society. In Pitbull’s music, the women are powerless to the demands of men. Whether they actually want to have sex with the men is not important. The important thing is that they have sex, and they do it now. They might not get this chance again, and everyone else is doing it.

I am not trying to say that women are always the ones subject to “powerlessness” in relationships. I understand that men are also easily taken advantage of on a daily basis. I am attempting to acknowledge the stereotype reinforced by the music of Pitbull and other famous hip hop/rap singers: sexually, women are powerless at the hands of men.

The values of “commitment” and “love” have been dishonored by today’s media. Even in Pitbull’s song, we hear that he might make a couple of contracts with women, but by then he is “already tired of the way [they] like it.” Young women are shown that they have no power in relationships. Even if they want commitment, they have to worry that maybe the men will grow tired of them or resist their attempts at commitment. The only way to keep the guy around is to “seal the deal” physically. And even then, they might not ever see the guy again after that night. It all depends on whether he “likes the way she does it.” The woman really has no power. She is exploited for her body and her sexual abilities.

I never thought of these lyrics as means of exploitation. I knew Pitbull’s lyrics were filthy, but his lyrics were just there. They did not mean anything.

The problem is that they do mean something. And now that I am a girl on a college campus that reports numerous cases of sexual assault annually, I realize their meaning has significance. Girls are told from the beginning to be powerless, to give in to the demands of men to have sex because everybody does and this is their only chance. I am not saying that Pitbull is the reason why sexual assault is becoming a serious problem on college campuses. That is not logical. However, I am arguing that the media fills our minds with lyrics and messages that we take in, consciously or subconsciously. If we are not careful, we will start to take what these lyrics are saying to heart. That can be a good thing with some lyrics, but based on the example of Pitbull’s songs, it can also be a very bad thing. As a woman, I worry about the future of women in an age where the demand for sex is considered “okay.” As a developing adult, I worry about the messages I allow myself to take in through music and other forms of media.

I know that we cannot get rid of all negative messages portrayed by song artists like Pitbull. They have the free will to say whatever they want. However, I do know, and firmly believe, that we have control over what we listen to. If we hear a song with an immoral or degrading message, we have the power to turn it off. We also have the power to encourage our peers to stop listening to this music too.

So next time I turn on Spotify, I am going to be more careful about what I let myself listen to. And as a woman who just genuinely wants other women to feel they have power in sexual matters, I encourage all of you to do the same. 

The Short End of the Stick

Ira Morton is the type of literary character that evokes pity from the reader. His wife dies suddenly while his children are still young, and his son Fred moves to France to fight in the war and die for it. Ira is left to tend the corn fields of the original Morton property with little help from the only remaining member of his immediate family, mischievous Madeline. Ira shows signs of mental instability, obsessively caring for his corn at all costs. Ira seems helpless. The reader might think Ira cannot help himself, but can he? Does his instability and loneliness truly excuse his obsessive care for his corn and his resentment towards Madeline's decision to leave the college and face a prison sentence? Let's ask him.


Me: Ira, I believe that your disapproval of Madeline's decision to leave the college and go to prison for her beliefs is unreasonable. Madeline seems to be the only student at Morton College willing to take a stand against the deportation of Bakhshish. She seems to be the only one who understands what "democracy" and "Americanism" really mean.

Ira: Madeline's defense of Bakhshish does not represent "Americanism." If Madeline really wanted to show she was "American," she would give up these silly games and help me tend the land of her ancestors. To be "American" is to remember your roots. 

Me: But, would any real change be made in our society if people like Madeline didn't exist? I don't see how the situation with the Hindu students would have ever been addressed if Madeline hadn't made such a big scene.

Ira: I don't see why Madeline had to rush to defend Bakhshish. My wife died because she rushed to save children dying of diphtheria. She abandoned her children and her husband to save people she barely even knew. She was worth more than them, but she died for them. I was left to run the cornfield and raise my children alone. Fred rushed to Paris to help others and to defend "democracy." Now, he is dead and I am even more alone. All of those I love the most have rushed to help others, but what about me? Have you ever thought that maybe I got the short end of the stick? My wife and my son left me to help perfect strangers, and now my daughter is doing the same. My ancestors started this town, and now my family has abandoned it it to pursue "Americanism." What's more American than tending to the land my ancestors left me?

Me: I did not consider how the actions of your most loved ones affected you. The ones whom you cherished most abandoned you to pursue "democracy," and now you are left alone to continue the work of your ancestors. You believed what you were doing showed the truest form of "Americanism," but you never received the support you needed from your wife or children. However, I still do not find you guilt-free. You seem to have resigned to Madeline's desire to leave. Why give up so easily?

Ira: I am not giving up. I would do anything to stop her from going, but not even the corn stays at home. Just as I have not been able to find a way to stop the wind from blowing the corn away, I have not been able to find a way to stop my family from leaving me. 


Perhaps it is understandable for the reader to have pity on Ira. Although he does not support Madeline's actions, his views are understandable if one takes the time to consider his past. He was abandoned by his wife and son in their pursuit of "Americanism," and he simply does not want to lose Madeline too. Ira also sees tending the cornfields as his duty, his continuation of the hard work of his ancestors.

Ira's story demonstrates the importance of understanding the pasts of others before judging them. Although I still find his desire to keep Madeline from going to be somewhat selfish and unreasonable, I understand he just wants to take care of his cornfield and his family. So, even though Ira appeared selfish, maybe he ended up getting the short end of the stick after all.