Feminism infiltrates country music

Rachel Leman, Staff Reporter • Sep 23, 2015

Photo Courtesy of Dot Records (Universal Media Group)

Maddie and Tae’s debut record featuring “Girl in a Country Song” was released on Aug. 28.

Breakout country duo Maddie and Tae have released their first single, “Girl in a Country Song,” along with a video that draws attention to sex inequality in modern country music.

“Basically, we wrote the song out of pure annoyance at how women were being portrayed in country music,” Tae Dye, of the band, said.

The number one country hit in 2015, according to Billboard, was “Strip it Down” by Luke Bryan, which holds many examples of the sexist cliches Maddie and Tae try to debunk.

“Girl in a Country Song” includes lyrics such as “I got a name– And to you it ain’t ‘pretty little thing’, ‘hottie’ or ‘baby’,” and “Well, I wish I had some shoes on my two bare feet” while Bryan’s hit tune refers to the female subject of the song as ‘baby’ three times and repeats in the chorus a line involving her “little bare feet.”

The video itself uses men dressed provocatively and performing acts such as swinging on a tire swing and washing a car that generally portray women as “sexy” to point out the differences between men in the country music industry and women.

Maddie Marlow, the second half of Maddie and Tae, said, “Our whole project revolves around keeping it real. We didn’t filter anything, because we felt like when it comes from an honest place, the truth will resonate so much better.”

Maddie and Tae’s second single, “Fly,” discusses the issues of bullying and perseverance while facing foes, inspiring bullying victims to “keep on climbing.”

The equality-based political stances of the up-and-coming country duo may be what drives their music and message into ultra-stardom.

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About the Contributor

Rachel Leman, Staff Reporter

Rachel Leman is a fourth-year student at Normal Community High School and a member of the NCHS Marching Ironmen. This is her first year at the Inkspot, and she takes the role of a staff reporter. I tend to be the most comfortable in front of a computer, when I feel like anything is possible because of new international reach. The Internet has changed the way we communicate, and communication between cultures, lifestyles, and personalities is what inspires me the most. The central hub of cultural-blending is an urban city life, which is why my dream is to spend my days writing in New York City, Washington DC, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Paris, or basically any big city across the world. I would even learn a new language if it meant I could write in Dubai, Cairo, or New Dehli, but at this point, the farthest I’ve been from home is NYC.