There's Something in these Lyrics: Chris Brown, Sexual Scripts, Gendered Relationships, & Sexual Health

Chris Brown's revival of ninety's rap & boyband music video style in his "Liquor"/"Zero" megavideo doesn't just lament the downfall and aftermath of Breezy's failed relationship, it's a veritable gold mine of potentially harmful sexual content and damaging myths just begging to be dug into. The video ultimately reinforces existing heterosexual social scripts, relationship gender norms and sexual health tropes.

The part of the video dedicated to "Liquor" begins with a woman drugging Breezy in order to make him interested in her. It's interesting to think about why she did this when she could have just walked up to Brown and "gamed him up." By having this be the woman's option of choice, the video reinforces Kim et al.'s "Feminine Courting Strategies," which "describe the passive and indirect ways in which women attract or court a male partner" (2007). Kim's heterosexual script does not identify drugging as a strategy, but by doing this, the woman is able to avoid employing a "Masculine Courting Strategy," which would be more active and direct. The argument could also be made that the woman is taking on a stereotypically masculine role by initiating date rape, but considering Brown's pursuant behavior throughout the video, it seems more significant that she specifically avoided initiating conversation to maintain her FCS. The lyrics of the song revolves around the girl's figure, wanting to see her strip, and just wanting to "drink and fuck". These lyrics point toward Kim et al.'s "Sex as Masculinity" script, which says men should be sexual initiators, preoccupied with sex, objectify women and value them primarily for their physical attractiveness. This portrayals of courtship and sexual relationships uphold the sexual double standards and power structures that characterize male-female relations in our society.

The pivot point in the video depicts Breezy coming home to find his presumed ex-girlfriend tossing his clothes off the balcony. Instead of trying to fix the relationship, Brown looks after himself by grabbing a change of clothes and , which aligns closely with Holz, Ivory, Gibson & Ivory's definition of dominant acts in the context of relationships: "dominant acts involved the formation of separations (e.g., decision making without consulting others), narcissistic self-assertion, and self-protection" (2009). The fact that Chris Brown is the one in the dominant position reinforces the idea that this is the role that men should and do take in relationships.

The following song is titled "Zero," which is a significant number to Chris Brown because he says  that's "how many nights I've been thinking of you" as well as "how many fucks I give." This sort of detached attitude toward a breakup is reminiscent of another one of Kim et al.'s heterosexual scripts, this time the one concerning masculine commitment. (2007) This script states that men should avoid commitment and "not take part in relationship maintenance (e.g., resolving a fight, spending time together) and try to evade becoming emotionally involved with their female partners"; it is clear that Breezy is not committed, not interested in maintaining his failing relationship and not particularly emotionally involved. The result of this script's presence in the video is the maintenance of male-dominated relationship power structures.

The video ends with an exchange between Chris Brown and Instagram star and notorious playboy Dan Bilzerian, after he pours an comical amount of condoms onto a convenience store's counter. This may serve as a message in favor of sexual health practices, the condoms seem to be used to comically imply Bilzerian's ability to have sex with a lot of women rather than his concern for his sexual health and that of his partners. This humorous treatment of sexual health is consistent with Hust, Brown & L'Engle's findings: that messages about sexual health are rare and if present, tend to portray sexual health as a humorous or humiliating topic. Failing to take sexual health seriously could result in life-altering consequences for people of all ages.

This video, despite featuring the best dance moves of the last decade, reinforces male relational dominance and makes light of sexual health and date rape. Interpreting these representations as realistic could result in dangerous attitudes and behaviors in audiences.

References

1. Kim, J. L., Sorsoli, C. L., Collins, K., Zylbergold, B. A., Schooler, D., & Tolman, D. L. (2007). From sex to sexuality: Exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research, 44(2), 145-157. doi: 10.1080/00224490701263660 
2. Holz Ivory, A., Gibson, R., & Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationships on television: Portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication & Society, 12(2), 170-192. doi: 10.1080/15205430802169607 
3. Hust, S. J. T., Brown, J. D., & L'Engle, K. L. (2008). Boys will be boys and girls better be prepared: An analysis of the rare sexual health messages in young adolescents' media. Mass Communication & Society, 11(1), 3-23. doi: 10.1080/15205430701668139