Posted on 07/10/2007 10:01:06 AM PDT by PercivalWalks
"I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats...I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires..."--from Carrie Underwood's hit single "Before He Cheats."
One of the ways the double standard about domestic violence manifests itself in our popular culture is the female revenge motif. Women who are wronged (which, to some, means all women) exact revenge in a way which, were the genders reversed, would be widely condemned.
One example is country singer Carrie Underwood's hit single "Before He Cheats", in which Underwood (pictured holding her Louisville slugger) brags about destroying her cheating boyfriend's car. Destroying an intimate partner's personal property is often considered to be domestic violence (at least when a man does it), though it certainly is a much smaller matter than a physical assault on the victim.
According to Wikipedia, the video debuted at #1 on GACTV, was #1 on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown five weeks in a row, and was named best video of 2006 by CMT. In April of this year, the video "swept the CMT Music Awards, winning three categories: Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, and Director of the Year. Underwood made history by being the first female to win Video of the Year."
There has been no discernable protest or criticism of the song or the video. I find it hard to believe that a country song and a video approving of a violent, jealous man destroying his girlfriend's car would get on the air for five minutes.
To watch the video, go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T56vLzS5i5w. The full lyrics to the song are reprinted below.
Before He Cheats
Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleach blonde tramp, and she's probably getting frisky... right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink cause she can't shoot whiskey...
Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool-stick, showing her how to shoot a combo...
And he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats...I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
Right now, she's probably up singing some white-trash version of Shania karaoke..
Right now, she's probably saying "I'm drunk" and he's a thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on 3 dollars worth of that bathroom polo
And he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats, I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl, Cause the next time that he cheats... Oh, you know it won't be on me!
Ohh... not on me...
Cause I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive, carved my name into his leather seats...I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
[Note: If you or someone you love is being abused, the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women provides crisis intervention and support services to victims of domestic violence and their families. Contact them here: http://dahmw.org/pub/]
To read more about these issues, visit Glenn Sacks' blog at www.GlennSacks.com.
That's not domestic violence. That's auto detailing work.
My hubby and I were driving home from church on Sunday and the song came on. I laughingly told him to listen and when it ended I said "remember that one!"
Stupid move on her part, should've carved the tramps name.
Loretta Lynn has been doing these kinds of songs for years.
If this is what it takes for Mr. Sacks to be twisty-knickered, I’d say he needs to get a life.
Pre-emptive relationship revenge? I guess nothing should surprise me.
I had a different take on that song.
What kind of stupid moron carves her own name into the leather seats?
Did she also video-tape this vandalism and post it on You-Tube?
I can only hope the bimbo was aressted and forced to pay the 3-4 thousand dollars in damages.
I hate that song. The fact that it glorifies stupid criminal behaviour is just one reason.
Have you ever listened to Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” (aka Hannity’s theme song)? After some beatin’s, her momma just set fire to the house with daddy still in it.
Talk about your domestic violence!
OK,fair enough.But tell me this...if your husband had replied to your warning by saying "I'll remember...but you,too,should remember" would you think of his response as being abusive or inappropriate?
Aerosmith’s Janie’s Got a Gun. Now that’s what domestic violence is all about
I cringe everytime that song is played on the 4th of July.
Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?
According to the feminists and the Violence Against Women Act, if a man did what she did then it would be domestic violence and he’d go to jail. But the woman is to be presumed by police and the courts to be “retaliating for years of abuse” by him. So yes, this is domestic violence and if a man did it it would be illegal. But no one cares about men, as you well know, so no one cares if she sings a song glorifying domestic violence. And also, it has a catchy tune to it. I can see why it’s a hit. The women don’t care that it’s a double standard and the men aren’t going to do a damned thing about it.
but she’s hot! sarc/
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