Talking Body

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzRyxGBGiAE

On January 12 of 2015, a new song kicked off the new-year. Talking Body by Tove Lo was a new, popular, catchy and upbeat song.  Not to mention its lyrics were risky, sexy and slightly controversial. The song is a girl singing about a man’s body. She is saying it is too perfect to not put her body on his.  What impact do lyrics like these have on society? Do sexualized lyrics in popular music have an impact on the sexual behavior and attitudes of adolescents? I think it is important for society to notice the impact these lyrics may have. It promotes sex and risky behavior for teens and young adults.  The popular music has such an impact on our society especially because it is played just about every public place, and played so often. Popular music is played in restaurants, bars, clubs, supermarkets, and countless times on the radio.

            In this case, I believe that the song is objectifying towards women, and causing women to feel less worthy about their body. Listening to the lyrics of the song had reminded me of the analysis that was done in Boys Will Be Boys- where they looked at music lyrics and analyzed whether or not sexual health messages were imbedded into the media. In their study it is stated that, "We include not only television and magazines but also movies and music, two other media that are prominent in adolescents’ media worlds" (Roberts, Foehr, & Rideout, 2004)

            The results stated that there weren't always safe sex habits embedded into the media.  In Talking Body’s lyrics and music video, this is not the case. Throughout the music video there are random couples having sex in bars, clubs, or in public places. Some lyrics that seem to promote and encourage this behavior are :

Now if we're talking body

You got a perfect one

So put it on me

Swear it won't take you long

If you love me right

We fuck for life

On and on and on

I feel that these lyrics do not promote safe sex and that they also have an underlying meaning for teenage girls. Another verse states:

Love, give me love

Anything you want I'll give it up

Lips, lips I kiss

Bite me while I taste your fingertips

I researched other articles after really looking into this stanza. I find that this song, while it may be most catchy to young teenage girls, it is also most offensive towards them. "Anything you want I'll give it up," shows a lack of respect a woman has for her own body while trying to pursue a man in her life. “For girls in particular, this can lead them to judge their personal worth on a sexual level only, leading to poor body image, depression, eating disorders, and substance abuse.” (Springer) I agree with this and I think the lyrics in this song are a great example of a young female artist not even being able to see her body in another light than sexual.      

Roberts, D. F., Foehr, U. G., & Rideout, V. (2004). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8–18 year olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family Foundation. 

Springer Science+Business Media. (2011, September 6). Songs about sex -- how they affect kids: Study questions the impact of sexualized lyrics on adolescent behaviors and attitudes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 24, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110906102456