Consume/Objectify/Dehumanize
The singer/songwriter Lady Gaga chooses to do a duet with the singer/songwriter R Kelly. She wrote the lyrics to this song with the help of a few others. I loved the synth pop 80’s sound and then I really listened to the lyrics.
LADY GAGA LYRICS
“Do What U Want”(feat. R. Kelly)
Yeah
Turn the mic upI feel good, I walk alone
But then I trip over myself and I fall
I, I stand up, and then I’m okay
But then you print some shit
That makes me wanna screamSo do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want
Don’t stop, let’s party
Do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want
What you want with my bodyWrite what you want
Say what you want ’bout me
If you’re wondering
Know that I’m not sorry
Do what you want
What you want with my body
What you want with my body
You can’t have my heart
And you won’t use my mind but
Do what you want (with my body)
Do what you want with my body
You can’t stop my voice cause
You don’t own my life but
Do what you want (with my body)
Do what you want (with my body)
Early morning, longer nights
Tom Ford, private flights
Crazy schedule, fast life
I wouldn’t trade it in
‘Cause it’s our life (let’s slow it down…)
I could be the drink in your cup
I could be the green in your blunt
Your pusher man, yeah, I got what you want
You wanna escape all of the crazy shit
You’re the Marilyn, I’m the president
And I’d love to hear you sing, girl
Do what I want
Do what I want with your body
Do what I want
Do what I want with your body
Back of the club, taking shots, getting naughty
No invitations, it’s a private party
Do what I want
Do what I want with your body
Do what I want
Do what I want with your body
Yeah, we taking these haters and we roughing ’em up
And we laying the club like we don’t give a fuck
You can’t have my heart
And you won’t use my mind but
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
You can’t stop my voice cause
You don’t own my life but
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
Sometimes I’m scared I suppose
If you ever let me go
I would fall apart
If you break my heart
So just take my body
And don’t stop the party
You can’t have my heart (Help me now)
And you won’t use my mind but
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
You can’t stop my voice cause
You don’t own my life but
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with me
What you want with my body
Do what you want with me
What you want with my body (world)
Do what you want with me
What you want with my body
Do what you want with me
What you want with my body
World, help me now
What you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
Do what you want with my body
What you want with my body
Yikes. Here is a song we let ourselves, mothers, friends, daughters, sisters, aunt, nieces, and men listen to but are we conscious of the destructive message these lyrics bring? The lyrics show forth the objectification of her body and that she has no control over it so go ahead and do what you want with her body because she can separate who she is from the physical acts she engages in or lets people do to her. This is a very disturbing, wrong, and dangerous psyche. We cannot separate who we are from what we do or let people do to us or what people do to us that is unwanted. Just look at how the victims of rape and molestation and abuse are affected when people do what they want with those victims bodies. Without help and therapy these victims become fearful, angry, depressed, detached, guilty, ashamed, addiction prone, unable to connect deeply with others, unable to trust others, and a general feeling of being unwanted and unloveable. And we allow society to feed us a song that says it’s ok to let people do what they want with our bodies? That it won’t affect us mentally? What a horrible and dangerous lie.
Sexuality is part of who we are. It is part of us as human BEINGS. We are not human DOINGS. Sexuality is a beautiful thing. It expresses our uniqueness as image bearers of our Creator. It is meant to connect us in deep and meaningful intimacy. So when we express it and it’s acts outside of a monogamous marriage relationship it hurts and distorts and changes us and invites shame and guilt into our being that lies to us about how beautiful and worthy of love we are. Shame and guilt torment and torture or inner monologue that we speak about ourselves. And then shame and guilt seek to silence us in our suffering to further impair our ability to live out who we are meant to be in vulnerable connectedness to others. Shame and guilt are the dangerous consequence to distorted and self seeking sexuality.
It also makes me sad that Lady Gaga who is actually really talented as a creative being feels these dark emotions because of a society that wants to make money off of women and men’s bodies. I only wish she had put forth a more whole view of how to change society and fight the system instead of giving up and letting the media/men/women “Do what they want with her body.” R. Kelly disgusts me in his portion of this song. Instead of being a voice of strength and encouragement and wisdom and tenderness to her dark and hurt voice he capitalizes off of her vulnerability to do what he wants with her body. Talk about dehumanizing. What we buy and support and listen to matters!!! Let’s WAKE UP!!!
We SHOULD NOT be buying into these lies and allowing society to further oppress proper expression of our sexuality. Instead when we listen to this song, buy it, and support the artists and companies affiliated with this propaganda we invite and encourage sexual exploitation and objectification that further perpetuates a cycle of consume/objectify/dehumanize. I encourage each of you to at least boycott this song. The only way media and society will change is if we STOP BUYING AND SUPPORTING SEXIST AND DEHUMANIZING CRAP!!! Dare to stand up and let your voice for be heard.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Ruth Perry
Becky Buck
The Beautiful Kingdom Warriors 
Hello, I just found your blog through Wordgazer, and I have been having fun reading around. I am going to apologize now for my wordiness, but I am not very good at being concise.
Although I agree with essentially everything you said, and I get as passionate about this issue as you did, I think the song is actually being written to/about the media, paparazzi, tabloids, etc. (It is kind of an R-rated version of Sara Bereilles’ “Love Song”.) The media has often been critical of Gaga’s appearance, and this seems to be to me much more of a ,”F you, I don’t care what you do to me/say about me”, than it is an endorsement for people using each other in sex. The song, overall, is going to be taken that way, which IS wrong, and sad, and on that account I agree with you that it is not something that we should support or promote. Both artists do not really seem to have an issue with promoting casual sex either, so it is is easy to take their words literally in this instance, however, I don’t think that is actually where they originally intended for the song to go.
Here are the reasons that I think this song is not actually about casual sex.
Gaga and R. Kelly are using sexual imagery when they are actually talking about entertaining: “And we laying the club like we don’t give a fuck”, which could mean that the rest of the sexual talk in the song is not actually about sex either. They address their critics at the beginning of and throughout the song: “But then you print some shit”, “[w]rite what you want, Say what you want ’bout me, If you’re wondering, Know that I’m not sorry”, and, “[y]eah, we taking these haters and we roughing ‘em up”, showing that they (the critics in the media) are actually the ones being addressed. They can say what they want about her, but they are only using (and abusing) her image and persona, not the real her. I think she is not using the word “body” literally, but as a metaphor, and also in the sense that they are critical of her appearance and costume choices. “You can’t stop my voice ’cause you don’t own my life” seems to me to be more about addressing those who would try to silence her and who could influence her career, not to some guy in the club who she is going to let sleep with her. When I first heard the song I thought she may be talking to a boyfriend or lover. I have trouble believing though, that a person who can make angry declaration that, essentially, “You don’t have any part of the real me, and I do what I want”, would continue to willingly have sex with someone it seems she hates. That person would say, no, you don’t get ANY part of me. (Or maybe they would even say that they are going to use the other person’s body, instead of being used themselves). But Lady Gaga and R. Kelly cannot actually stop the media from “having their way with them”, hence the “whatever, I don’t care, do what you want” attitude of the song. I could be wrong, of course, and am open to that being the case.
I think everything you said still applies, because you know (and I’m sure Gaga and Kelly know) that everyone WILL take this song literally. It makes me sad that people would sing this as a sort of anthem, and it is frustrating that this ties in nicely with our societal attitudes towards sex. Those attitudes need to change (especially the objectifying of women) I just do not think that the song is meant to be taken literally.
LikeLike
Ashley, thank you so much for checking out our blog and interacting with us here! I think your perspective is really compelling. My only exposure to the song has been Gaga’s performances (SNL and the official music video), which are overtly sexual. I would love to hear what Becky things of your hypothesis. 🙂
LikeLike
*thinks, not things 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Looking back on our first year blogging on TBKW | The Beautiful Kingdom Warriors