Blurred Lines: The New Battle of the Sexes

Last night Richard and I changed our tune of standard television watching, from comedy to debate in the form of BBC Two's- Blurred Lines: The New Battle of the Sexes. This was something Richard had spotted on the TV Guide and joked that we should watch only for me to nod enthusiastically and demand he record it. Last night he surprised me further by stating we should sit down together and watch it. What shocked me was the fact that this television show caused us to pause and actually reflect and debate on what we had seen which ultimately gave me a better understanding of how a young male viewed feminism and this development of 'lad' culture.

Interestingly enough mine and Richard's first reaction to this show was- What about the men? History has focussed an awful lot on women and the feminist movement and at no point am I stating that I don't believe that to be important, because naturally I have benefited from the actions of others. What I am saying however there is an awful lot of focus on women's struggle, particularly in the 21st century but what has gone relatively unnoticed is the ever increasing struggle of men and the expectations of society such as body image. 

This becomes apparent to me when I see the Coke advert on TV...

Although it appears to be a light hearted bit of fun with a bunch of giggling girls, my mind goes mad with questions such as "What if the roles were reversed and it was a woman taking her top off? Would that be okay? What would the feminists say?" In my mind I don't believe it is appropriate nor necessary for models to be topless or scantily clad regardless of their sex, from the women in Robin Thickes 'Blurred Lines' to J-Lo's 'I Luh Ya Papi' video. 

I was shocked however to hear the term "man up" which was used by one of the interviewees in response to the uproar of women who were distressed and angered by many of the sexist issues that have been highlighted on social networking site Twitter. The site itself has been a hub of activity for feminism, misogyny and sexism. It allows users the opportunity for  respond to real time events and express their views. The internet however has allowed the public to believe that it is somehow 'safe' to express their views without any consequences. This can be seen from the attacks on Professor Mary Beard on Question Time and the bomb threats that were sent to the campaigners for more famous women on notes. Ultimately these attacks resulted in criminal convictions but the matter still stands- why do people believe that views expressed online should somehow be viewed differently than in the 'real world'? 

This can also be seen from the lyrics and views expressed in Robin Thicke's 2013 hit 'Blurred Lines' which was described as being "kind of rapey" but was justified by one of the shows interviewees as "understanding the difference between lyrics and real life". The song itself was described by the artist as being for his wife and the lyrics include statements such as "I know you want it" and "just let me liberate you". Ironically enough Thicke's wife later separated from him. What I found most alarming from this song were the graphic and violent lyrics used by T.I where he states that he will "give you something big enough to tear your ass in two". Somehow however this song sold 5 million copies in just 22 weeks, is the third best selling digital single of all time and was the best selling single of 2013.

Songs such as this really emphasise the rise of 'ladism' and leaves room for further sexist and misogynistic remarks. The show delivered examples of this such as the t-shirt "I'm feeling rapey" and stand up shows from the likes of Frankie Boyle and Daniel Tosh which use connotations of rape and violent sex acts. Furthermore the year 2012 was said to be the 'Year of the Rape Joke'. The show really highlighted the underlying question surrounding ladism which is 'where do you draw the line between irony and real life?'

In my mind nothing demonstrates misogyny better than that of video games. I live in a house where the Xbox is on frequently and Richard owns games such as Grand Theft Auto that depict graphic scenes that personally make my skin crawl. Although Richard and many other gamers don't actively take part in the violent aspects of GTA that are available I still find it disturbing that these are included on the game. There are opportunities to enter strip clubs, hire prostitutes, participate in sex acts including one which involves hiring a prostitute and then deciding whether or not you wanted to mug or kill her in order to get your money back. The overall representation of women in games such as GTA is not only unrealistic but feeding the minds of men that this is not only what women should or do look like but also these are the desires of women. Games such as this act as an extension of porn and feed the abuse that occurs everyday to both men and women worldwide. 

Another view that I felt was apparent in the show was that victims were somehow responsible for rape, noticeably women for how they dress.  This was a view that has fed the need for a recent surge in the campaign 'no means no' which takes away the inevitable blame from the victim and their actions and back to the the bottom line that rape is never justified. 

The 'I need feminism' campaign is another one which has proved refreshing and really represents the need to equality and peace amongst men and women to gain an end goal. Men aren't the enemy folks!

The only positive notes I could take from this programme was that everyday occurrences weren't going unnoticed and that many are fighting back. Parody videos such as 'Defined Lines' by the Law Revenue Girls reverse the roles expressed in the original video and Lily Allen's comeback song 'Hard Out Here' highlights many of the most recent misogynistic and sexist views expressed by the media. However controversial these videos and attacks may be it is safe to say women aren't going down without a fight.

                                     

So how did this show make Richard and I feel? Well we certainly had a debate or two over the issues raised, the views expressed and our own beliefs. What we did agree on however was the lack of emphasis on men and their part in this story. If it really is a battle of the sexes then where are the men's defence and own struggles? All in all it was a very interesting piece of television and one which is food for thought.

You can watch BBC Two's- Blurred Lines: The New Battle of the Sexes here