Ahh, 2009. I don’t know where you were, but I was sporting a My Chemical Romance t-shirt under my Les Mis hoodie, while wearing eye makeup that, truthfully, made me look like a raccoon. Like most obviously trendy teenagers, I was no stranger to the hit pop anthem, “Don’t Trust Me,” by the band 3OH!3. And while it was endemically catchy then, I’ve done a lot of growing up in the past 6 years (the raccoon makeup was thankfully just a phase), and now, when I hear that 3OH!3 is coming to headline SocComm’s Big Show, instead of being excited, I am instead, quite frankly, disenchanted.
3OH!3, most widely known for their aforementioned one-hit-wonder as well as the edgy and artfully misspelled “Starstrukk,” featuring Katy Perry, is a washed-up, misogynistic male fantasy band, complete with date-rapey lyrics. Though it needs be said that SocComm likely meant no offense to anyone in their selection of these “artists”, and that whoever their advisor is is perhaps even more to blame, it cannot as easily be said that all students appreciate, or even understand, their call. “I think it was a poor choice,” said Krishna Dylan Mahalingam, Class of 2017 and Audiophiles a cappella member. “Their lyrics are often offensive and degrading to women, and encourage violence and a general sense that rape culture is okay. If the main lyric in one of their songs is ‘Don’t trust a hoe,’ I think that speaks for itself.” It certainly does.
“I have never heard a respectable song by them,” said one female student who wished to remain anonymous, “3OH!3 is known for crude, inappropriate, and offensive songs, and I don’t think that they are the type of band that should be promoted by WPI.” Other students are in agreement as well. “I feel that 3OH!3 was a terrible choice,” said Rayce Stipanovich, Class of 2016 and LNL member, both “in terms of appealing to our campus demographic as well as from a content standpoint.”
Apparently I am not alone in questioning the decision to host any band whose repertoire includes lyrics like the infamous “shush girl, shush your lips, do the Helen Keller, and talk with your hips,” as well as “I think I should know how to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints,” not to mention the classic street harassment style of whistling and lyrical cat calls. Bryce Dumas, Class of 2015 described some of 3OH!3’s lyrics as “horrifying and predatory,” a sentiment echoed by Mahalingam’s fellow Audiophile, Maeve McCluskey, Class of 2016. “I am sickened by the fact that Social Committee would choose to bring a band like 3OH!3 to our campus. A college campus is a place where everyone should be able to feel safe, and bringing such a transparently misogynistic, rape-apologetic band into our midst makes me, as a woman, feel the opposite of safe.”
It’s certainly clear, then, that lyrically, 3OH!3 is not an accurate representation of what many WPI students feel like our values espouse, especially on the heels of SPARC’s powerful annual event “Take Back the Night.” SPARC advisor Matthew Barry, MA, LMHC and Assistant Director for Community Development at the SDCC, questioned this conflict, saying, “I think it’s important for people to develop a critical eye and ear about what’s coming in—what am I actually listening to? What am I actually watching? What’s being communicated explicitly, implicitly, unconsciously?” When asked whether he supported SocComm’s decision to bring 3OH!3 to campus, he was constructive in his criticism, “[We need to be] mindful and aware of all that might be communicated by choices we make on behalf of an entire community, and whether those choices are consistent with each other.” Consistency is something that is important on any college campus, and WPI is sending conflicting messages. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and encouraging such a musical act as 3OH!3 just seems incomprehensible at best.
In addition to moral outrage over the decision to hire this band, Charles “Chuck” Wentzell, Class of 2016 questioned the musical prowess of the act as a whole. “They’re just bad,” he said. “Aggressively mediocre. I don’t know what I’m doing that night, but I definitely know what I’m not.” If I may offer a personal suggestion, a good idea might be asking for a statement from SocComm and their advisor, and continuing the dialogue about rape-culture, and how we can help end it in our own WPI community.
If you decide to get out there and “do the Helen Keller,” don’t worry, half of your proceeds go to cancer research, so maybe your karma will get a bye. Even if I were on campus, however, I would choose to use my time more constructively, by staying away from this heinous band and their reprehensible ideology, and by sending a message both to WPI and the Social Committee that the student body does not support a culture of rape and misogyny on our campus. I implore you to do the same.
Full disclosure, haha, someone pointed out that I was missing a "t," so it has been since added. You can't win 'em all, and dyslexia runs in the family <3
**UPDATE**
Want something super fun to do April 25 that isn't Big Show? Apparently at the EXACT SAME TIME, 7PM, is the Student Comedy Productions comedy festival! Come on down to UPPER FLAUD and support your friends and fellow students :)
**UPDATE**
Want something super fun to do April 25 that isn't Big Show? Apparently at the EXACT SAME TIME, 7PM, is the Student Comedy Productions comedy festival! Come on down to UPPER FLAUD and support your friends and fellow students :)
Alright, alrgiht, alright, let’s get everything straight here. First, I am a girl that is responding so no saying that “it’s a sex obsessed guy, of course he likes 3OH!3”. Now that that is out of the way, let’s lay down some truth. 3OH!3 is an all-male synthpop/ electronic rock band and let me tell you, anything that calls themselves any sort of rock band or is a band in this decade, is going to have sex in it. Basically every song on the radio right now is about sex, drugs or alcohol. It is that way because we are people in our late teens to early twenties where life is starting to become more about freedom and less about bedtimes without being completely independent. So yeah, sex is a thing. Also I’d like to make this statement very clear. SEX DOES NOT MEAN RAPE. I am not in favor of rape culture and understand why people would be offended by it but that doesn’t mean people get to rant about sex in music because again, find me a well-known song right now that doesn’t have sex in it (radio well known, not your own personal collection). In the blog the line “shush girl, shush your lips, do the Helen Keller, and talk with your hips” is mentioned as very misogynistic. I understand where you are coming from on this but it is a club dance song and in clubs, it’s all about dancing and today that means some booty shaking. If you don’t like that, then don’t dance like it but don’t start getting offended just because you don’t like it. Another line was “I think I should know, how, to make love to something innocent without leaving my fingerprints” and the verdict is that this is a rape line. Nothing in this line says this isn’t consensual. Maybe he doesn’t want a serious relationship with this woman and just wants a one night stand but it never once says anything about her saying no or him assuming he can have sex with her without her answer, only that when they have sex, he doesn’t want to continue the relationship which happens in real life. The closest I’d get to misogyny in this is Starstrukk and even then the song is basically saying “Hey, she’s dressed provocatively and I’m going to tell her that.” Not rape her for it, not try to fuck her, but I’m going to whistle because she looks hot. Yes, this might offend some people but it’s a song. THEY ARE NOT PROMOTING RAPE CUTURE. THEY ARE NOT SAYING GO RAPE GIRLS. THEY ARE SINGING CLUB MUSIC THAT, IF YOU WANT TO ARGUE AS BEING “HORRIFIC” YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVEN’T BEEN LISTENING TO THE RADIO NOWADAYS.
ReplyDeleteFinally, don’t tell me my “karma” is going to be messed up by going to see their concert. Get off your high horse and understand everyone has different tastes in music. Club type music is going to be sexual and if you don’t like it, that is ok but don’t try to ruin it for the people that do.
I am a guy who doesn't like 3OH3!, but gender really shouldn't be a determinant factor is understanding that bad music is bad. Whether or not their lyrics present overt references to rape apology culture, they still have a hard misogynistic streak. You are right that sex does not mean rape, but songs about sex don't have to be classless either. Also I stand by that we could have gotten a better up and coming band for cheaper.
DeleteI totally understand where you are coming from and if you don't like them don't listen to them. My real problem with this article is that it accuses the band of being advocates of rape culture, and of course me as well for liking them, and that is an unforgiving term. It wasn't necessary especially with the small amount of research that went into this article which only sited two songs. It could have been done better and incoorporated less bashing of the people who listen to the band.
DeleteWith all possible due respect Chelsea, what you need to understand is that rape culture does not mean "we're encouraging rape. Go out and rape women." Rape culture can be more subtle than that. There's nothing wrong with having a one-night stand if both (or more) parties are in agreement, but if we go back to Starstrukk, that's not really what's happening. The entire verse sections are comprised of cat calling and whistling. Maybe you like being whistled at, but it's generally considered a type of street/sexual harassment. Most of it isn't complementary. Also, by calling out perceived desires of a woman (such as "oh hey, she's wearing short shorts, I bet she's easy, I bet she wants sex") they completely remove agency from the woman as well as reduce her to a sexual object. Of course sex can be fun and liberating, but here, who has the power?? And when that is all we hear, we get desensitized to it. Just because we are desensitized to it doesn't mean we can't take a step back and say "whoa, that's not okay."
DeleteAlso, yes, some of 3OH!3's music is very catchy. I agree with you. Seriously, it's a fun jam. That doesn't mean that I think we *as a campus* should be supporting their music. Would I be protesting if they came to the DCU center? I mean, I might say that their music still carries the same connotations, about desensitizing society to the degradation of women, but WPI wouldn't be involved. I am a WPI student however, and to me, WPI hosting the band seems similar to saying "We support this band," which, as a school, I don't approve of.
You mention the Helen Keller line as a kind of "that's what people are into nowadays, get over it." I would hardly think it necessary to point out that the line, while a parody, is in extremely poor taste. Another quote from Maeve McCluskey sums it up nicely.
-"The phrase, “Shush girl, shut your lips. Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips” is sung repeatedly. Where to even begin with this phrase? Apart from it being obscenely derogatory, it also implies that women should act as objects: deaf and blind to threats around them, comfortable in ignorance. Should I even touch on the fact that it devalues the monumental effect that Helen Keller had on our society? She made major strides for the disabled, and bringing her into a song like this, speaking about her in that way, makes me feel sick to my stomach."
Or, to put it in easier terms, just because everyone is doing it does not necessarily make it morally upstanding. No, I am not saying you can not enjoy their music, I am merely saying that I do not think that we as an educated and informed student body should be supporting their act.
While I can agree with Chuck saying that 3OH!3 is a pretty mediocre band compared to some other people that I tend to listen to, there was a phase in my life where I avidly listened to the band and enjoyed their music. Does that make me a misogynist? Absolutely not.
ReplyDeleteWhile I can admit that at times some of their music can make it seem like they're "objectifying women" or "Horrifying and predatory," this does not define their band.
It just so happens that their two most famous songs, "Don't Trust Me" and "Starstrukk" have misogynistic, sex-based themes, looking at some of their other songs will reveal that these are just two guys looking to have a good time. Think of songs like "House Party" or "We Are Young" or "Deja Vu." All of these give the feel of: "hitting the town (or staying at home) and just having a good time, frequenting clubs and parties, and if you have a One-Night Stand or two then that just adds to the experience." SEX IS NOT THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE BAND.
Also, (and this isn't to offend you Sonya, it's just an observation) I find this article rather pointless. I know that it's for class, but if you were trying to start an actual movement to shut down the 3OH!3 concert, you should have started it sooner, like when the concert was announced. It's been several months since that's happened and it would be impossible for SocCom to just say "Sorry 3OH!3, you can't perform here even though we booked you like half a year ago and made you fly all the way out to Massachusetts for a concert" and then give all of the students that have ALREADY PURCHASED THEIR TICKETS their money back. And I understand that this article could be like "Oh! There's this concert and you shouldn't go to it because the people have bad intentions!" but that would only be relevant to people that HAVE NOT ALREADY PURCHASED TICKETS. I listened to 3OH!3 for most of middle school and part of High School because my sister thoroughly enjoyed them. I had initially bought us both tickets so we could go to the show together, but she can't make it this weekend. I paid 20$ to go see a concert for a well-known band with someone. Seeing this article isn't gonna make me say "Oh, looks like these are bad people. RIP 20$" it's gonna make me say "Oh, okay." and go to the concert that I ALREADY PAID FOR anyway.
Regardless, the article is well written. You have some good quotes from individuals that exist is various social groups. It's a good piece of journalism work, just don't expect that by spreading it all over Social Media you're going to make SocCom cancel the show.
I'm actually away on IQP right now, this blog folder was from a class ages ago. I just kind of noticed no one had said anything, so I decided to say something. Being away, I actually thought that the concert was next weekend so this was more timely, but hey, you can't win 'em all. I wish someone had said something sooner. I'm not trying to shut down their concert, just promote conversation.
DeletePersonally, had I been in your shoes (and yes, I also thoroughly enjoyed the band back in 2008), I would have said "RIP $20." But that's okay. So long as it promotes conversation about casual misogyny in mainstream music, it's at least a partial success. It's a conversation that needs to happen, regardless of whether or not people go see Big Show.
Oh yeah. I totally think we should be able to discuss misogyny in our current culture, like Usher's most recent song about his girlfriend who works in a strip club then comes home with the sole purpose to give him lap dances. I'm just seeing this performance as a chance to see a band that I used to thoroughly enjoy for a ridiculously low price, and that it could be a lot worse. I'm just glad it's not Miley Cyrus going on stage licking hammers and foam fingers and such. At some point, it all becomes relative really, and that's kind of sad.
DeleteHaha, in some ways I really admire Miley, even if I'm kind of repulsed by her haha, but maybe that's a different conversation.
DeleteAnd yeah, like I said, I'm not trying to get the show shut down, but I am trying to have a conversation. I'm so proud of SocComm for responding! And I encourage everyone to attend the student forum.