The song “Mr. Red White and Blue” has a very meaningful message behind its lyrics. The overall story, in simple terms, talks about how a man joins the army/ military. Throughout the song, it seemed easy to find masculine stereotypes but not many feminine ones because it only mentions a female once in the song.
Link to song lyrics: http://www.songlyrics.com/coffey-anderson/mr-red-white-and-blue-lyrics/
Feminine Stereotypes
- “It’s his newborn baby he left with his wife”
- This lyric can be seen as a feminine stereotype because it states that the woman/ wife has to stay home and take care of the baby and house while the man is deployed.
Masculine Stereotypes
- “He was the man of the house where he was born”
- A common masculine stereotype is that males are supposed to be the “man of the house” or the protector of the family. This can also be visible as males/boys are expected to fix things or do projects around the house.
- “He was raised on how to be brave”
- As we had previously talked about in class, what can often lead to either fitting or not fitting stereotypes is how one is raised. Typically, boys are told that their emotions are supposed to be tough, self-reliant, and brave. This lyric definitely fits this stereotype of males as stating he was raised to fit the stereotype exactly.
When you think of the colors red, white, and blue, more often than not you associate those colors with America or the flag. This then can make a connection to the military or army where, stereotypically, you see more men than women. The title of the song specifically says “Mr.” and talks about a “brave” male in the military throughout the whole song which displays and fits with strong masculine stereotypes.
Shared by: Alli Engels
Image Credit: Google Images