Under their thumb

I'll admit it, I love The Rolling Stones, and I am not alone. Tons of people love this band, and with good reason. They are the greatest -- living legends, like the Beatles or Bob Dylan. Perhaps it's their phenomenal music abilities, but clearly the Stones are more than just your average great rock band. They are worshiped because they represent everything it means to be a rock star. They are the models, the blueprint for the stigma of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. For decades Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been notorious for living it up, partying hard and being international playboys. They call themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band, and the title is not without legitimacy. They are the original bad boys of rock and roll, and we love them for it. What began as a calculated opposition to the clean-cut image of the Beatles spawned the lifestyle of the true rock legend. Heavy drinking, lots of sex, lots of drugs, style, more sex, more talent, more drugs, over-the-top ego and a limitless bank account = Rock Star. Throughout the last 30 years The Rolling Stones have proven time and time again that they don't just comply with this formula, they invented it. \nRecently, I developed issues with my beloved Rolling Stones. The other day I was listening to the 1966 Aftermath album. "Under My Thumb" came on and I was delighted. It's one of the best songs on the album and is classic Jagger and Richards in all their glory. The vocal delivery drips with seduction as the slinky melody creates a mood and a snarling guitar shreds it to pieces. It's lovely, really. So I started singing along and dancing around to a song I have heard probably a thousand times. Nothing unusual about that, but then it hit me. I froze, stopped dead in the middle of my best Mick dance solo. (It's amazing how many times you can hear a song like "Under My Thumb" without ever really hearing it.) There I was, rocking out in my living room and screaming the lyrics into my hairbrush when I realized just what I was saying.\nThe lyrics go like this: Under my thumb/Her eyes are just kept to herself/ Under my thumb/Well I, I can still look at someone else/It's down to me/The way she talks when she's spoken to/Down to me/The change has come, she's under my thumb.\nWhat? The lyrics are completely demeaning to women and I was shattered. I don't care if it was Jagger singing them. It's a story of misogyny, of Mick's inevitable conquest over a woman. She used to dominate him, but he has since changed all that. He takes pride in his accomplishments, saying now she is the perfect little 'pet' for him, who does what she's told and is held completely in line by the power Mick exudes over her. He, on the other hand, holds no personal ties to the woman and does what (and who) he wants. \nI was totally disgusted…these are the guys whom I think are the greatest, and whom millions of people idolize? Yes, and we are just scratching the surface. So many Rolling Stones songs, and songs by countless artists, are filled with lyrical themes that degrade and objectify women. "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Women," "Mother's Little Helper" and "Stupid Girl" are just a few of the songs that slam on women.\nAt first I was hurt, then depressed, then I just started making excuses for them. Maybe it's social commentary, or a story telling device, or making a statement or something legitimate. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that The Rolling Stones' lyrical ideology of women is most likely a reflection of life as they have experienced it. \nThink about it, these men have been rich and famous rock stars since their twenties. They are now in their sixties and women of all ages are still falling all over them, kicking and screaming for even a glimpse of them in person. The women don't mind being regarded as play things, or groupies, or garbage or obstacles to be conquered. They welcome it because they just want in. The same is true with respect to almost any kind of rock star or celebrity. But I believe it to be most prevalent in the music community. I have been backstage at a few shows and I see this every time. Girls come to the shows in the sluttiest outfits they can find, hoping to get noticed, and then offer themselves up like hor d'ouerves, just begging to be taken advantage of, hoping for it. By no means do all women engage in such behavior, but a lot of them do. \nMaybe this is why the Stones wrote their songs the way they did, and maybe that's why female artists don't get the respect they deserve in the music community. For a female artist with no image to uphold, no sex to sell, no ulterior motives, the music business is a rough place. A lot of it is the nature of the business itself, but I can't help but think that the groupies had something to do with it. As for the Stones, they will just keep on rolling.