Abstract:
This study explores recurring metaphors in contemporary pop and rap lyrics. The first metaphor analyzed in this study is love is a fairy tale, in which women are portrayed either as helpless princesses who need to be saved or as deities who should not be compared to real women. The second metaphor discussed is that sex is violence. This metaphor is often expressed with violent verbs such as hit, break, and bang describing sex. The third metaphor is love is barter, which expresses the concept that women trade their bodies and sexual services for material objects such as a car or jewelry. All three metaphors tend to portray women in a negative light—either as helpless princesses, objects to be acted upon, or promiscuous vixens who are willing to have sex to get something they want.This study is based on the concept expressed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in Metaphors We Live By that the metaphors we express—either in speech or in song—represent the metaphors we use to think about different subjects (p. 6). Thus the three metaphors—love is a fairy tale, sex is violence, and love is barter—express the way that we think about women in our society.
