A Senryu in honor of little girls who are taught from a young age that our only real worth is in our ability to be pleasing to the eyes and desires of men.
This post will deviate somewhat from the subject matter in
the previous posts, but it’s still relevant to the 30 Days of
De-Objectification theme.
We live in a society where lust is seen as the most
important emotion and hotness is the most important attribute.
This statement is not mine. I believe these are the words of
Meghan Murphy, creator of the Feminist Current website. In any case, I agree
with this assessment.
This is by no means a new phenomenon.
Watching films over the years, it became obligatory to show
(usually female) nudity and to have one or more obligatory staged sex scenes. The
relatively tame “jiggle” shows of the 1970s gave way to more and more explicit
sex scenes on television, usually focusing on female bodies.
Music videos, which existed in one form or another long
before MTV was born, initially tended to showcase performances by bands.
Sometimes videos, such as those created by The Troggs in the 1960s, were a
little more involved, having a story along with the music.
Simply splendid.
Initially, I was very excited about music videos. But then
they started being filled with the obligatory “video vixens” and I was bemused,
discouraged, and not surprised. There is literally no video I can think of that
wouldn’t have been better without the “video vixens.”
Sadly, this means I have a love-hate relationship with many videos
by my favorite bands. Sometimes I love the song but hate the video. Sometimes I
am divided on the video itself: there are parts of it that I like and others
that I can’t stand.
Here's an Iron Maiden video that I like.
I straight up despised the video for Iron Maiden’s “From
Here to Eternity” until Beavis and Butthead helped me see the lighter side of
it. As Butthead explains, if you told Maiden to get rid of the flame machines,
they’d say “no way, Bunghole!” Thus, although the video still makes me roll my
eyes, every time I see it, I think of Beavis and Butthead lampooning it, so it
makes me laugh too.
Sadly, the video for “You Shook Me All Night Long” is half pure
genius and half pure shite. It would be pure genius if the video vixens in the
spin class were removed and the cheeky little black and white bits starring the
band members remained. There are probably outtakes from the shoot that could be
added back in. Or you could replace the video vixen spin class with the band
playing.
Malcolm Young once said he didn’t want to have the band do
videos which looked like they were made in a cabaret. I wish they’d stuck to
their guns on that. I do understand that a lot of the older bands felt
railroaded into having videos of something other than the band playing made.
Anyway, the video for “Hail Caesar” is 100% genius (the synchronized swim team
appearing in the video aren’t “video vixens”) so there’s that.
In any case, the horror of “Blurred Lines” tops them all in
the field of odiousness. Since I would sooner saw my ears off with a rusty spoon than post that, and I don't want to saw my ears off with a rusty spoon, we just won't post that one.
A society which focuses on lust and hotness to the exclusion
of all other qualities is a failed society.
This sort of attitude will be forced into extinction when
people start to examine their motives and refuse to objectify others.
There are few people that the so-called “classic rock fandom”
of Tumblr love to objectify more than Keith Richards. However, there are few
people less likely than Keith Richards to give this crowd of delusional girls
the sort of attention they claim to want from men old enough to be their
grandfathers.
We all know what I think of their unseemly behavior. So, I
say we should meet the real and genuine human being behind Keith Richards’ “mad,
bad, and dangerous to know” image.*
Keith Richards is a “good bad boy.” He never had any
interest in accumulating notches on his proverbial belt. He said in his autobiography
that he has never been aggressive when pursuing women. Anita Pallenberg, for
instance, took the lead in starting their long-lasting relationship. Keith and
Anita had three children together: Marlon (b. 1969), Angela (b. 1972), and a
son named Tara (b. 1976) who died from SIDS at two months of age.
Keith was more assertive than usual when he met Patti Hansen
in 1979. He was completely taken with her. Keith and Patti married on Keith’s
birthday in 1983 and are still happily married. They have two daughters:
Theodora, born in 1985 and Alexandra, born in 1986. Theodora now has a radio
show on Sirius XM.
Keith is also a proud and loving grandfather to five
grandchildren.
Keith’s stoned bad boy image inspired Johnny Depp’s
performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, the beloved drunken, lecherous,
devil-may-care star of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Keith candidly
discusses his longtime heroin addiction in his autobiography. He was a
functional addict for close to 25 years.
Keith is often praised for his skill as a rhythm guitarist.
Angus Young was once asked what he might do after losing so many members of his
longtime band. Angus said that he might call Keith Richards and find out if he
wanted to work on anything. He stated that Keith was “a great rhythm guitarist,
like Malcolm.” (Angus’ late older brother.)
Keith Richards is a gentle, sensitive, talented, and
extremely bright individual. I was moved by his devotion to his mother despite
never having quite forgiven her for having his pet cat and his mouse, Gladys,
euthanized by a local veterinarian. Doris, as described by Keith, was a tough
old bird, not much of one for sentiment. Fortunately, her son never became
hardened as she did.
Keith is a firm believer in doing right by others, even if
he occasionally sticks his foot in his mouth during interviews, particularly
where Mick Jagger is concerned. Despite the bickering between Keith and Mick,
Keith has stated more than once that he loves Mick like a brother.
I love Keith Richards and have since I was a little child
and my parents would play their Rolling Stones records. I loved looking at the
album covers as well as dancing to the music. I think it’s a damn shame that
Keith and I were never able to meet in this lifetime. I would enjoy meeting his
family. He could cook us up some Shepherd’s pie (one of his favorite dishes) or
bangers and mash (another favorite) and we could all sit around and talk.
I can certainly understand adoration for one of the greatest
guitarists and most special human beings to have graced the modern music scene.
What I can’t understand is the lack of respect for this wild
yet gentle soul.
Show the man some regard rather than acting like a drooling
idiot, for the sake of all that’s right. He’s earned it. Besides, he’d be puzzled
and more than possibly put off by the rabid fan behavior.
*Quote from Nick Kent (music journalist) quoting Lord Byron.
