SLEZSKÁ UNIVERZITA V OPAVĚ Filozoficko-Přírodovědecká Fakulta V Opavě
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SLEZSKÁ UNIVERZITA V OPAVĚ Filozoficko-přírodovědecká fakulta v Opavě Bc. Jan Tomíček Obor: Angličtina (jednooborové) Image of Sexuality in Contemporary Lyrics Diplomová práce Opava 2021 Vedoucí diplomové práce doc. PhDr. Michaela Weiss, Ph.D Abstract This master’s thesis explores the representation of sexuality in contemporary music in the context of feminism and queer studies. It focuses on sexual stigma, gender stereotypes, hegemonic and hybrid masculinity as well as erotic motifs metaphorically and symbolically expressed and thus reflecting the issues associated with human sexuality and gender the authors refer to in their lyrics. Keywords: lyrics, sexuality, gender, feminism, queer studies Abstrakt Tato diplomová práce zkoumá způsoby ztvárnění sexuality v současné hudbě v kontextu feminismu a queer studies. Zaměřuje se na sexuální stigma, genderové stereotypy, hegemonní a hybridní maskulinitu, stejně jako na metaforické a symbolické vyjádření erotických motivů, a reflektuje hlavní problémy spojené s lidskou sexualitou a genderem, na které autoři ve svých textech poukazují. Klíčová slova: hudební texty, sexualita, gender, feminismus, queer studies Prohlašuji, že jsem tuhle práci vypracoval samostatně. Veškeré prameny a literatura, které jsem pro vyhotovení práce využil, řádně cituji a uvádím v seznamu použité literatury a internetových zdrojů. V Opavě dne 21. dubna 2021 Bc. Jan Tomíček Contents Authorʼs note Discography Introduction 1 1 Jenny Hval, Feminist Provocateur 7 1.1 Vampire Sexuality on Blood Bitch 7 1.2 Investigation of Blood on Blood Bitch 13 1.3 Manifesto of Feminism and Sexuality on Apocalypse, Girl 17 1.4 Intimate Confessions on Viscera 24 2 Perfume Genius, the Gender Norms Breaker 27 2.1 Display of Queer Stereotypes in “Queenˮ 27 2.2 Violation of Heteronormativity in “Foolˮ 30 3 Fiona Appleʼs Powerful Language 33 3.1 Metaphors for Lovemaking in “The First Tasteˮ 33 3.2 The Aftermath of the Sexual Assault on Fetch the Bolt Cutters 34 4 Anna Calvi, the One Who Goes Beyond Gender 38 4.1 The Idea of Dislocating Masculinity in “As a Manˮ 40 4.2 The Concept of Hegemonic Masculinity in “Alphaˮ 41 4.3 Hybrid Masculinities in “Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boyˮ 45 4.4 “Swimming Poolˮ as a Potential Setting For Voyeurism 48 4.5 Gender Policing in “Edenˮ 50 5 Magnetic Presence of FKA Twigs 55 5.1 Celebration of Femininity in Religious Context on MAGDALENE 55 5.2 Self-discovering in “daybedˮ 57 Conclusion 59 Bibliography 62 Authorʼs note: For the purposes of this thesis and due to its nature, examples of lyrics mentioned within the text are not cited. It is due to the fact that the names of the songs and its authors are mentioned directly in the part of the text to which the examples belong. For completeness, the discography of the included songs is listed below. Discography (in order of appearance in the text): “Notˮ by Big Thief from the album Two Hands (© 2019 4AD Ltd). (p. 2) “1950ˮ King Princess, Make My Bed (© 2018 Zelig Music, LLC). (p. 3) “Golden G Stringˮ Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts (© 2020 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment). (p. 3) “Indulge Meˮ Moses Sumney, Aromanticism (© 2017 Jagjaguwar). (p. 4) “Virileˮ Moses Sumney, Aromanticism (© 2017 Jagjaguwar). (p. 4) “Ritual Awakeningˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 8) “Female Vampireˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 9) “Conceptual Romanceˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 10) “Secret Touchˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 11, 12, 13) “The Plagueˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 14) “Lornaˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 14, 15) “Untamed Regionˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 15, 16) “Period Pieceˮ Jenny Hval, Blood Bitch (© 2016 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 16, 17) “Take Care of Yourselfˮ Jenny Hval, Apocalypse, Girl (© 2015 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 18, 19) “Me and My Husbandˮ by Mitski, Be the Cowboy (© 2018 Dead Oceans). (p. 20) “The Battle is Overˮ Jenny Hval, Apocalypse, Girl (© 2015 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 21) “Sabbathˮ Jenny Hval, Apocalypse, Girl (© 2015 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 22, 23) “Portrait of the Young Girl as an Artistˮ Jenny Hval, Viscera (© 2011 Rune Grammofon). (p. 24) “Engines in the Cityˮ Jenny Hval, Apocalypse, Girl (© 2015 Sacred Bones Records). (p. 25, 26) “Queenˮ Perfume Genius, Too Bright (© Matador Records). (p. 27, 28, 29, 30) “Foolˮ Perfume Genius, Too Bright (© Matador Records). (p. 31, 32) “The First Tasteˮ Fiona Apple, Tidal (© 1996 Epic Records). (p. 33) “Sullen Girlˮ Fiona Apple, Tidal (© 1996 Epic Records). (p. 35) “Relayˮ Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters (© 2020 Epic Records). (p. 35) “Heavy Ballonˮ Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters (© 2020 Epic Records). (p. 36) “Under the Tableˮ Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters (© 2020 Epic Records). (p. 36) “Fetch the Bolt Cuttersˮ Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters (© 2020 Epic Records). (p. 36) “As a Manˮ Anna Calvi, Hunter (© 2018 Domino Recording Co Ltd). (p. 40, 41) “Alphaˮ Anna Calvi, Hunter (© 2018 Domino Recording Co Ltd). (p. 41, 42) “Manˮ Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (© 2013 Neko Case, Under exclusive license to Anti, Inc.). (p. 43) “Night Still Comesˮ Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (© 2013 Neko Case, Under exclusive license to Anti, Inc.). (p. 43) “Iʼm From Nowhereˮ Neko Case, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You (© 2013 Neko Case, Under exclusive license to Anti, Inc.). (p. 44) “Just One of the Guysˮ Jenny Lewis, The Voyager (© 2014 Warner Records Inc.). (p. 44) “Donʼt Beat the Girl Out of My Boyˮ Anna Calvi, Hunter (© 2018 Domino Recording Co Ltd). (p. 46) “Swimming Poolˮ Anna Calvi, Hunter (© 2018 Domino Recording Co Ltd). (p. 49) “Edenˮ Anna Calvi, Hunter (© 2018 Domino Recording Co Ltd). (p. 51, 52, 53) “mary magdaleneˮ FKA twigs, MAGDALENE (© 2019 Young). (p. 56) “holy tarrainˮ FKA twigs, MAGDALENE (© 2019 Young). (p. 56, 57) “Kicksˮ FKA twigs, LP1 (© 2014 Young). (p. 57) “daybedˮ FKA twigs, MAGDALENE (© 2019 Young). (p. 57, 58) 1 Introduction “For me, the only way to write lyrics is to not think about other people at all. You have to just be completely honest. Otherwise, what you’re feeling loses its meaning. If you write a song that’s trying to be universally relatable, it won’t mean anything.” - Waxahatcheeʼs Katie Crutchfield Every era and the people who live in it, face and solve certain problems, which are reflected in the creative production, be it art, film, literature, and music. This does not necessarily suggest emergence of new protest songs, but, alternatively, original controversial works that express peopleʼs feelings and often present their attitude and view of the world. At the forefront is the battle between sex and gender which offers new opportunities for music in the 21st century and deserves critical attention. This century is characterized by constant sensory stimulation and hypersexual behaviour. Sexuality orbits the music industry and the human body, which is commodified and commercialized to great extents. Technology mediates sexualisation on demand through various applications and devices. Pornography and pornographic content are so omnipresent that it is almost impossible to avoid them. Sexual behaviour is stigmatized by a vast number of tropes and induced values. Latest research also suggests that interactive web technologies, including social networking sites (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr) pose a threat to its usersʼ perceptions of their body and attitudes towards their sexual life.1 Sexual stigma and gender stereotypes, as being examined in following chapters, are horizonless in our modern culture and they are easily to be encountered in an everyday life. Even such fundamental item as a food has its gender-based stereotypes. It means that there is a food which is considered to be a symbolic marker of masculinity (meat) or femininity (vegetables, fruit, dairy products, fish).2 Along with this fact, 1 See Eric Filice, Amanda Raffoul, Samantha B. Meyer and Elena Neiterman, “The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perceptions and Bodily Practices among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Critical Rewiew of the Literature and Extension of Theory,ˮ Sex Roles 82 (2020): 387. 2 See Anna Rita Graziani, Margherita Guidetti and Nicoletta Cavazza, “Food for Boys and Food for Girls: Do Preschool Children Hold Gender Stereotypes about Food?,ˮ Sex Roles 83 (2021): 491-492. 2 Adam Podhola, a Czech expert on food waste, said that about 20% of food is thrown away and never got a chance to get on the shelves of supermarkets due to its unusual shapes. The reason behind it is that retail chains consider the customer is not ready for it.3 If our citizens are not ready for unusual shapes of fruit or vegetables, how can they be ready for challenges we face in context of human sexuality? The notion of gender and sexuality effects also the music industry. Considering the rock music scene, often understood to be more male oriented area and often holds the premise which is based on the assumption that it is predominantly a masculinist tradition.4 The theme associated with, for example, gender diversity has been slowly but markedly appearing for some time. In 2014, the band Arcade Fire made a controversial music video for the song “We Existˮ with the main character who has just discovered his gender identity. While in the music video of the Chicago trio Dehd for one of the most significant rock songs of 2020 “Loner,ˮ the male character personifies the female character as an angel/stripper who yields submissively to the devil.