Gonna Beat My Wife????

Michael Farmer

Nina Perez

WST 3015

20 April 2010

Gonna Beat My Wife

Media is one of the most pervasive influences on the lives of people all over the world today. It can set or break trends, it can perpetuate stereotypes, it can propel elections. It can also lead to violence against people, especially women.

Songs like "I'm Gunna Beat My Wife" create space for people to think it is actually okay to beat their wives and partners (DUH!).Our text confirms that songs that are pro-intimate partner violence or normalize it are effectively a, "cultural legitimization of male violence" (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 266). Take this line from the lyrics of the song as an example; "....Oh baby please don't beat me, baby I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more!". Those lyrics represent the pleading sobs of someone’s girlfriend, wife, mom, and sister, partner before her death. What kind of norm does this set up for the 12-year-old boy who overhears this song? What kind of solemnest does this steal away from victims of intimate partner abuse?

The lyrics in this song are very repetitive and short, however when we look at the line where the woman being killed states; "Baby please, I promise I'll never sleep with the moon in my face no more" it's clear that the lyrics are creating an excuse for the male abuser and placing the blame on the woman. This is something that happens all too commonly, in families, in the police department and in society. These excuses have allowed male violence against women to grow and change over time, according to our text "rape has evolved historically as a form of male reproductive behavior," (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 264).

It is fairly uniformly accepted that diverse images represented in the media help to create a more egalitarian and accepting society. Why then is it a stretch for some people to think that images of abuse and violence against women portrayed as positive on TV or in music could lead to an acceptance and perpetuation of this behavior? It shouldn't be.

Men and women in our society have an obligation to stand up against oppressive or sexist language in our media so we can save the future generations from violence and hate. Lady Gaga is one example of a superstar today who has come our and declared her stand against sexist and homophobic lyrics her mantra around messages in the media is a simple but true one, "It's always wrong to hate, but it's never wrong to love."



Work Cited:

Dead Milkmen. "Gonna Beat My Wife." Rec. 1 Jan. 1988. Beelzebubba. Grooveshark. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. .

Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. "Violence Against Women." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 257-271.