S S S S M M M

Rihanna has been one of the youngest performers to score over 12 hit singles in the US. She is constantly recognized for her wild child style and for her hit singles. She is extremely popular among adolescents around the world and many young adults watch and listen to her music. "S&M" is a song by Rihanna from her album Loud, which was released in 2011. It reached number two on the US Billboard 100 chart and remained there for several weeks. This song was primarily about sex, sadomasochism, bondage, and much more. It is sung with an aggressive and almost violent tone. Evidently, there was a very critical response to the lyrics of this song, along with the music video considering the audience she appeals to. 

In the music video, there are multiple scenes which depict the BDSM behavior. There are scenes where Rihanna is tied up in ropes, and where she has men and other women taped up to walls and chairs- unable to move. This song reflects on practices of BDSM and the lyrics show that there may be some deep-rooted issue why Rihanna no longer believes in true love-making as sex. She now would rather experience the painful pleasure of S & M rather than love. 

Feels so good being bad
There's no way I'm turning back
Now the pain is for pleasure
'Cause nothing can measure

Love is great, love is fine
Out the box, out of line
The affliction of the feeling leaves me wanting more

'Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it
Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it
Sticks and stones may break my bones,
But chains and whips excite me

These lyrics prove that Rihanna is excited by painful sex using bondage and sadomasochism. It also doesn't explain that BDSM is inhumane. It almost infers that these acts are normal, positive, and totally acceptable. In "Mainstreaming Kink: The Politics of BDSM Representation in U.S. Popular Media" Margot Weiss states that, "Yet what must be highlighted here is that as BDSM has begun to saturate popular culture, appearing more often and in more contexts, it has also come to signify something more mainstream and more conventional, something less exceptional, extreme, or unusual" (Weiss, 111) This thought is presented clearly in this song. S & M is the title of this song, immediately appearing in popular culture, and in a mainstream setting. This song was played on the radio thousands of times in its prime. It also makes S & M seem less exceptional, less extreme, and less unusual for the public which is interesting in itself. It is definitely clear that this concept should be studied further. It would definitely be interesting to see what type of affects lyrics like these may have on the youth. 

 

 

Weiss, M. (2006). Mainstreaming kink: The politics of BDSM representation in U.S. popular media.Journal of Homosexuality, 50(2/3), 103-132. doi: 10.1300/J082v50n02_06