The first song i propose to investigate “You Need To Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. The song was written as an LGBTQIA rights anthem to battle homophobes and transphobes. The lyrics “Shade never made anybody less gay” and “But you would rather be in the dark age making that sign Must’ve taken all night” are what makes the meaning the clearest. I think this would be a good song especially now since the number of hate crimes against that community has risen recently. I honestly do not think that the song’s meaning is too obvious because i did not even notice that she said the word gay the first time i listened to it. When i heard it again i realized what the song was actually about and i think that just gave the song a much deeper meaning. At first i thought it was just about haters which is always a good thing to call out the trolls but i think writing a song about a cause you truly believe in is much better than a song that just affects you. The music video is full of people who are lesbian and gay and the entire cast of Rupaul’s Drag Race is there near the end. I would expect this research would lead me to focusing on the hate crimes i mentioned earlier. I could look up news reports and even incorporate that into the podcast. I am an ally of the LGBTQIA community and i get very emotional whenever i hear hate being thrown their way. I was raised to believe that everyone should be treated equally and should be judged on the goodness in their hearts and not the way someone is born. I feel personally connected as an ally as my best friends are gay and i have had to comfort them when people have been rude to them for that reason. I will never tire of this song because the message is so important. I notice something new about it anyway. I listen to Taylor Swift everyday of my life so it would not be a hardship to spend extra time critiquing one of her songs, especially one that holds one of the most important messages to me. I think it is very important to consider that Swift is not even part of the LGBTQIA community and still decided to use her voice to stand up for everyone in that community. I do not have any concerns with researching this song.

My second idea would be the song “Girl in a Country Song” by Maddie and Tae. It is a song that battles the unrealistic and idealized images of girls and criticizing the men who objectify these women. Sexism and the objectification of women has always been an important one and i think this song truly embodies that with lines like “Shaking my money maker ain’t never made me a dime” and “Tell me one more time you gotta get you some of that” and “That ain’t no way to treat a lady.” I do not think this song is too obvious of being a protest song with the sarcastic tone and the overall fun vibe of the song. I feel like this song will force me to research male country artists’ songs where they have lyrics that describe a woman sexually, which would not be hard as there are so many songs that are about sexualizing women. There is literally a song called “Body Like Back Road” which this song could be a direct response to as it fits so well. As a feminist who is also a country music fan this is very personal to me. Not only do i love the song because it is fun to listen to but it also embodies an issye that as woman i personally connect to. i have been to Nashville i have been called names and been catcalled by Souther boys is very upsetting. The music video also has a great concept. The men and women switch roles. In the music video the men are dressed the way women are usually dressed in the country music videos. In the video they are the ones being sexualized and objectified. This was done to show the double standard and the ridiculousness to dress women in these clothes. I will not mind listening to this song over and over because i love listening tp this song and i never tire of listening to any country song that i love over and over again because i focus on something different every time that i hear the song. I could also dive into the fact that this song could also protest sexual harassment. A lot of country songs out there could encourage boys at a young age to grope girls or talk about them in an inappropriate way and i think this song is subtly protesting against that.

I think either song i end up doing a podcast on would be great. They both handle two issues which i honestly do not feel like is talked about enough and i would love to contribute to the discussion of these topics. Both songs dive deep into these topics and i would want to do research on either one of them.