It’s obvious that country music has changed. However, it’s never been acknowledge as progressive. But maybe it’s time to.
In July, country music duo Maddie and Tae released the single “Girl in a Country Song”, which satirized the bro-country trend and the way that women are depicted in the genre.
Maddie and Tae’s song pokes fun at the expectations of women in country songs, but there’s no doubt the message is serious.
It’s hard not to laugh when you see the music video for this song and listen to the lyrics, which directly reference quite a number of bro-country songs. It’s a classic case of role reversal to show just how ridiculous female depiction is in this style of country.
Bro-country, also called hick-hop and tractor rap, is a modern style of country music mixed with hip-hop, rock and pop. There is also some underlying code that makes it mandatory for all bro-country songs to include backwoods partying, Dixie cups, pickup trucks and of course, young women in cutoff shorts. The males in the video sport the same cutoff shorts and cowgirl attire that females usually do in country music videos while washing a jacked up truck and playing in the water hose.
Country music is supposed to tell a story, but a repeat of girls in bikinis drinking cold beer on a tractor doesn’t seem to be the right one. I’m sure there will be plenty of examples at the Bayou Country Superfest in May 2015, which is held in Tiger Stadium.
Country music has never been viewed as a progressive front for social issues, but some of the greats in the genre were taking on women’s rights and race relations long before others in the music industry.
Dolly Parton released the song “Just Because I’m a Woman” in the ’60s, which took on slut shaming. As the lyrics go, “My mistakes are no worse than yours just because I’m a woman.”
In 1972, Merle Haggard’s “Irma Jackson” took on the issue of interracial relationships. The narrator in the song states that even though he loves her, “She can’t be mine” because “there’s no way the world would understand that love is colorblind.”
In more recent years, one can turn to a large majority of the Dixie Chicks’ works for a femenist voice, like the 1999 song “Goodbye Earl” that addresses domestic violence, as well as Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead” released in 2007.
Where are these strong famous voices now when they’re needed most?
One lyric in “Girl in a Country Song” makes mention of country legends Conway Twitty and George Strait and how those two “never did it this way back in the old days.”
Considering that Conway was dead before these girls were born, they are not in a very good position to take on the behavior of bro-country artists.
They are still new artists in a tough industry and ideals like feminism aren’t necessarily going to help these two women become popular in the country music genre.
This isn’t to say that the song isn’t effective, but that the responsibility of getting bro-country musicians in line should be on the shoulders of living country music greats and not those of teenage women hoping to have a long career.
The established veterans of country music should be the one’s to step up and say something.
The future is unclear for Maddie and Tae, as well as their song, but it is still creating quite the stir in Nashville and country music. Getting folks talking about the issue and recognizing it is a good thing and is one step closer to solving the problem.
Justin Stafford is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Walker, La.