Is this misogyny or am I just uptight

[Madamesosostris]

I was in a branch of Size? looking for trainers for myself. A song was playing (loudly) and the lyrics (sung by a man) were 'I've been fucking super models since I was 19.' There were numerous other references to who he'd been fucking blasting out and in the end I just walked out.

Am I a humourless, uptight feminist or is this type of thing part of slow drip misogyny that we just excuse and put up with?

They don't sell children's shoes so I'm on the fence. That song is about drug use/mental health. I know that's there's a misogynistic element to rap, but I'm on the fence with this one.

I would walk out of shop blasting music with lyrics like that, it would make me feel uncomfortable, and I am not humourless or uptight.

I think I'd walk out too. I wouldn't want to listen to that crap blaring out while I'm shopping.

No shop should be playing music with offensive words or lyrics at all. I would complain to the head office, I would imagine they have a policy on playlist and someone is not following it.

I couldn't get worked up by this tbh.

Offensive lyrics in pop music shocker.

@FitAt50

No shop should be playing music with offensive words or lyrics at all. I would complain to the head office, I would imagine they have a policy on playlist and someone is not following it.

Agreed. It isn’t usual for shops to play songs with uncensored explicit lyrics. Unless it is and I’m very old and out of touch, which is also possible.

I don't think a business should be playing explicit music. (Nightclubs and similar 18+ premises excepted)

Unfortunately the majority of music does seem to mention sex, violence and/or drugs.

Tbh I feel really strongly about women's rights but I probably wouldn't get worked up about this, I listen to a lot of rap which has a lot of misogyny in it, sometimes I wonder if I'm a hypocrite for liking it, ANYWAY, I don't think you're unreasonable to be offended by it, shops shouldn't really be playing songs with swear words or other offensive language in for obvious reasons

That would really put me off, I’d take my business elsewhere.

That particular line you’ve quoted is crude and a bit disrespectful, but I wouldn’t class it as misogynistic. If that’s the worst you heard I think you’re overreacting a bit.

I have Spotify on in my restaurant and it just plays stuff that it thinks I like. Quite often it plays stuff like that and I have to run and turn it off. Maybe they didn't do on purpose

If you look at the full lyrics of that song it’s actually about how the “bad boy big man” lifestyle has made him deeply unhappy and lonely with demons and mental health problems. You’ve taken that line out of context and made it something that it’s not.

Also - this song aside - I would say that music which is sexually aggressive or sweary isn’t necessarily misogynistic - there’s a whole generation of female rap stars who adopt a similarly dismissive and demanding attitude towards their male sexual partners. I think it’s more cultural and generational, about lifestyle and promiscuity rather than plain misogyny.

And it pains me to defend it because I’m not a fan of this genre at all.

Whether it should be playing in a shop with explicit language is a separate matter imo.

It's completely unsuitable and as for a deep analysis of the lyrics - it's a shoe shop not a music appreciation society.

It doesn't have to be either. You can dislike it but that doesn't necessarily mean it is misogynistic.

You misheard the lyric. It's 'superstars'.

It's definitely misogyny, no grey area here whatsoever.

It's also rap (I assume) and rap has been shot through with misogyny for decades. You're not being unreasonable at all in feeling like this. I've had a weird double standard in my head for years - and I think I'm not alone -- that its somehow OK if its rap because that's the genre, but its really not OK fundamentally. I've started to have a word with myself about this.

I think future generations will look back at our tolerance of this sort of thing and think WTF.

I don’t think they should play music with swear words in although I have accidentally done it myself but it’s not misogynistic to say you’ve had sex with females.

I don't think music should be sanitised. But not sure if that should be played in a shop. I wouldn't walk out over it though.

This happened to me recently in a shop that sold sneakers and stuff. I decided to try not to look deeply shocked. To my horror I then tried to do some small rap-based dance moves in an effort to appear down with the kids

I'm 58

Depends if the supermodels are male or female really. He could be a gay rapper 😅

The word fuck has bothered you this much. Should he have said sleeping with or making love to satisfy you?

Fucking is not misogynistic l, men do it to women, women to men. It's a fairly standardised slang word for sex.

The real problem is uncensored lyrics in a shop, which is not appropriate.

I wouldn’t notice because I already have wireless headphones on because the music is usually poor. I probably listen to that than listen to some z-rated singer butcher a song I actually like.

That song (regardless of its potential artistic merit) would never be played on radio or TV uncensored (till after the watershed), therefore it doesn't belong in a shop during "normal office hours" either.

It is creating a hostile environment (akin to sexual harassment) towards a number of protected groups (religious people, women, children, ...). Playing it in a commercial premise open to the public (which is, by law, required to offer equal access to its services to the whole community) is very probably in breach of the Equality Act. The loud volume is also disability discrimination, by the way (for people with sensory issues). Service providers (including shops) are bound by law to make reasonable adjustments to make their services accessible to all potential users. Since playing lewd songs at loud volume is NOT their core business, they are on very shaky ground from a legal perspective, if anyone (customer or employee) with a relevant protected characteristic was to complain about being discriminated against personally by their policy.

I've had a weird double standard in my head for years - and I think I'm not alone -- that its somehow OK if its rap because that's the genre, but its really not OK fundamentally.

I’ve notice a double standard where it’s more upsetting when it’s rap yet rock has been misogynistic since before rap was even a genre and gets a pass. I love rock and I like some rap, but rock music has always gotten a MAJOR pass.

I couldn't get too bothered about this. I quite like it when something inappropriate suddenly comes on in the shop, it's funny to see people's reactions.

Plus I don't think it's possible to judge a song or its lyrics if you don't know the artist's motivation e.g. the lyrics "Shut up, bitch" could be misogynistic, equally it could be a survivor of abuse quoting the put downs they received, or even someone complaining about their loud female dog.