In the Justin Moore song “Bait a Hook”, it takes the traits of what is known to be a southern man and demeans the man who isn’t as “manly” as Justin in this song. Nothing against Justin, he is my favorite country artist of all time. However, the song does show a glimpse of gender “norms” and discrimination of not following those gender “norms”. Even though it may be a small example of a man acting less manly than another it is a prime example of discrimination for not following what is said to be a gender “norm”.
Gender Watch
“When you know better you do better.” ― Maya Angelou
Although I too love country music, there are always stereotypical gender references no matter which song you listen to. Today, many artists are addressing the issues in songs, but they are typically women. I too think of the song “Mr. Mom” when thinking about gender roles because it gives off the misconception that men are not as competent when it comes to taking care of their children and being stay at home dad. I think that in recent years that this idea had become more accepted, but when this song came out in 2004 I could not say the same. My dad spent more time at home with my sister and I due to my parents work hours, but I often found this song to be very relatable.
I am a big fan of country music. I come from a very rural area in Virginia where people live and breathe country music. All the boys from my high school tried to act like the “cowboys” that country music stars are portrayed to be. The boys tried to be just like the male country singers because all the girls were constantly talking about how attractive the country stars were. Boys are taught from a young age by society that they should be strong and never show emotion. Videos like these reinforce the narrow box of social norms that men must fit in to be “masculine.” It just goes to show how media influences the way society identifies masculine and feminine.
I am a big fan of country also, but there are so many songs out there that reinforce gender norms and roles. The one song that sticks out in my head is “Mr. Mom” by Diamond Rio. The whole song paints this picture of a man who lost his job and decides to stay home with the kids while his wife goes to work. The dad in the song cannot seem to get a grasp of how to take care of the kids. Everything is going wrong, implying that men are incapable of staying home and taking care of the children.
I found one of the lines from the song to be very interesting because it reminded me of a post on Gendered Watch that I just read. The post talked about how China has separate parking spots for women that are made bigger because women are not as good drivers as men. The line “does he drive on the interstate or does he take an old backroad” implies that it is not manly to take backroads instead of going on the highway. The singer is trying to support the idea that the new man in the women’s life is not manly, so he has to take backroads because he is a bad driver (like a women). The stereotype that women are bad drivers is supported in this song.