Beyond Eminen and Rihanna

Last month I wrote a blog post about “Love the Way You Lie” by Rihanna and Eminem. While its relative positives and negatives are a matter for debate, the one thing that everyone agrees on is that the song, and accompanying video, are anything but subtle. In many ways this is a positive thing – keeping domestic violence hidden underneath stigma and social norms isolates victim-survivors and allows the British government to get away with providing pitiful levels of support for such a critical and widespread human rights issue. But on the other hand, it is possible to raise awareness of domestic violence without enlisting confusing sexual representations of the victim-survivor’s situation. I’ve come across a couple of examples of this, in “Witchcraft” by Pendulum, and “Sweet Sixteen” by Feeder.

The lyrics of “Witchcraft” appear, to me, to represent the singer’s longing for his female friend(?)’s escape from an abusive relationship, and his desire to help her to do this. It gives a subtle insight into the mechanisms of control involved in domestic violence, “caught in a cellphone’s rays”, “pleading on the sofa”, but similarly it does not shy away from a clearer picture of abuse, “bleeding on reaction”. In the last verse the singer finds his friend in darkness in the bedroom - he “can’t hear her breathing”.

In my opinion, this song deals with the horrific realities of domestic violence in a respectful way, without sensationalism. The singer clearly has a lot of respect for the woman he is singing about.  Indeed it seems as though, *shock horror*, he actually cares about her as a friend – the lyrics never mention a romantic element to his concern. He longs for her freedom because he is concerned about her, not because he wants her for himself. This in itself is a refreshing alternative to the usual way that songs deal with male/female relationships – it manages not to fall into one of the typical restrictive categories (lust, love, and break ups).

Feeder’s “Sweet Sixteen” tells the story of a girl (possibly aged 16), who is caught in an abusive relationship. She is “afraid” of her partner, who “impos[es]” himself upon her and “work[s] her like a dog”. As with the Pendulum song, the (male) singer clearly cares about the woman in the lyrics, and is keen for her escape. Nevertheless, he is not ignorant of the difficulties faced by women who wish to get out of such situations. Both songs highlight the desire for the woman’s freedom, yet do not place any blame or expectation upon the person herself.  

The lyrics of these songs clearly support, and to an extent focus upon, the reality of a life beyond the abuse. In light of Rihanna and Eminem’s much publicised work, in which Rihanna’s character “like[s] the way it hurts” , it is encouraging to hear songs which address the issue of domestic violence with respect and a hope for change.