After all, some lyrics really are offensive enough to merit a ban at prom – and all too often it is because of the level of misogyny inherent in today’s popular music.

wenty songs that refer to women as "hos" and other derogatory names won't be played at the Arcadia High prom Saturday night.

That's because senior Madeline Conrique and fellow members of the Women's Health and Issues Club brokered a deal with school administrators limiting songs with misogynistic themes and lyrics.

"Some of the songs call women `bitches' and `hos,' or refer to them as objects and treat them like animals," Conrique said. "We find that offensive."

A petition circulated on campus since last week asked students to support banning misogynistic songs from the prom; it garnered 130 signatures. About 1,000 students are expected to attend this weekend's event.

Of course, the group had wanted to ban 300 songs – something that the administration noted would have been virtually impossible to monitor. But they did get a compromise with the administration that would eliminate the 20 worst offenders.

Sadly, many students (including a lot of girls) objected to the ban despite the degrading lyrics. I’d call that a coarsening of the culture. And I’d argue that students claiming they like dancing to such music is not sufficient to keep the songs on the playlist – after all, I cannot imagine anyone arguing that a song which was chock-full of racist or anti-Semitic lyrics would ever be deemed acceptable, no matter how great the beat. It is a matter of standards and what message the school deems acceptable and is willing to sponsor.

Posted by: Greg at 01:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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