My one beef with Glee: Beyonce
My one beef with Glee, as fantastic as it is, is that now I have that ridiculous, inane, insipid, Kanye-approved, monogamonormative yet upsettingly catchy song stuck in my head.
I was going to write a post about how bad this song is, and I got about three paragraphs in before I decided to look up the lyrics to get further evidence to support my case.
What I found is that the song's actual lyrics are completely different than what I thought they were.
All the lyrics that I could understand were these: "all the single ladies" and "if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it." Now, taken in conjunction, you might expect that Beyonce was trying to tell all the single ladies that if they liked a man they should have married him before he ran off or cheated or whatever.
As it turns out, though, the "if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it" was addressed to *a dude.* The whole song, in fact, appears to be addressed to a dude. So, good readers, what the fuck is "all the single ladies" supposed to indicate? She's not talking *to* all the single ladies. She's not talking *about* all the single ladies. So what the shit is she talking about?
As best I can tell, she is singing *for* all the single ladies. As best I can tell, that line simply means "hey all you single ladies, gather round and listen to this song that I am going to sing to this man who foolishly failed to marry me."
Ultimately, it is that sentiment that really annoys me. The song seems to be saying that the narrator was dating a man three years ago, but this man did not propose marriage, which led her to the inevitable conclusion that he was not actually interested in her at all, so she tearfully left him. This sort of "move up or move out" mentality is something that I cannot condone in relationships.
All the more troubling since Beyonce acknowledges the true nature of marriage, at least, the kind of marriage she wants: "pull me into your arms, say I'm the one you own, if you don't you'll be alone." Yes, that's right, men. Pay close attention. If you don't take possession of a woman, and soon, you will die a lonely bachelor.
So, Beyonce, what you seem to be saying is that the single ladies should pay attention, because since marriage (and probably the attendant reproduction) - and by marriage we mean subordination to a man - is the ultimate goal of their lives, they shouldn't waste their time with men who aren't interested in owning them.
And men - Beyonce wants you to make sure that the woman that you are with understands fully that she is your property. Otherwise, she might choose to exercise her rights as an individual, and then you'll really be screwed.
Well, thank you for that information, Beyonce. The insight into the deformed mind of the average American was quite useful. You haven't been good since Destiny's Child and your latest video was unabashedly terrible, its biggest fans being Kanye "the Jackass" West and a dancing infant.
I was going to write a post about how bad this song is, and I got about three paragraphs in before I decided to look up the lyrics to get further evidence to support my case.
What I found is that the song's actual lyrics are completely different than what I thought they were.
All the lyrics that I could understand were these: "all the single ladies" and "if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it." Now, taken in conjunction, you might expect that Beyonce was trying to tell all the single ladies that if they liked a man they should have married him before he ran off or cheated or whatever.
As it turns out, though, the "if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it" was addressed to *a dude.* The whole song, in fact, appears to be addressed to a dude. So, good readers, what the fuck is "all the single ladies" supposed to indicate? She's not talking *to* all the single ladies. She's not talking *about* all the single ladies. So what the shit is she talking about?
As best I can tell, she is singing *for* all the single ladies. As best I can tell, that line simply means "hey all you single ladies, gather round and listen to this song that I am going to sing to this man who foolishly failed to marry me."
Ultimately, it is that sentiment that really annoys me. The song seems to be saying that the narrator was dating a man three years ago, but this man did not propose marriage, which led her to the inevitable conclusion that he was not actually interested in her at all, so she tearfully left him. This sort of "move up or move out" mentality is something that I cannot condone in relationships.
All the more troubling since Beyonce acknowledges the true nature of marriage, at least, the kind of marriage she wants: "pull me into your arms, say I'm the one you own, if you don't you'll be alone." Yes, that's right, men. Pay close attention. If you don't take possession of a woman, and soon, you will die a lonely bachelor.
So, Beyonce, what you seem to be saying is that the single ladies should pay attention, because since marriage (and probably the attendant reproduction) - and by marriage we mean subordination to a man - is the ultimate goal of their lives, they shouldn't waste their time with men who aren't interested in owning them.
And men - Beyonce wants you to make sure that the woman that you are with understands fully that she is your property. Otherwise, she might choose to exercise her rights as an individual, and then you'll really be screwed.
Well, thank you for that information, Beyonce. The insight into the deformed mind of the average American was quite useful. You haven't been good since Destiny's Child and your latest video was unabashedly terrible, its biggest fans being Kanye "the Jackass" West and a dancing infant.