The One Direction song that I will be analyzing for my 5th Portfolio Post will be, “Nobody Compares”, from the boyband’s Take Me Home album. This song focuses on a man who claims that this girl is “perfect” and that no other girl can compare to her. There are many lyrics in this song that show stereotypical feminine traits.
The first set of lyrics that stick out to me are:
You’re so pretty when you cry, when you cry
These lyrics show how expressing feminine traits (being soft, gentle, emotional) is what can make a woman seem “pretty”. It is seen as normal for women to cry, where as if roles were reversed, men would not be complimented for expressing this same type of emotion.
The next phrase from the song that I wanted to analyze is:
‘Cause no one ever looks so good in a dress
These lyrics are the start of the chorus of the song. Therefore, one of the first ways this woman is complimented is based on her looks. Stating how good this woman looks in a dress sexualizes her, specifically in a feminine way. The next set of lyrics, (below), also sexualize the woman based on her femininity.
We’re so Paris, when we kissed, when we kissed
I remember the taste of your lipstick
These lyrics refer to “French kissing” and bring up the woman’s lipstick she was wearing. The woman’s feminine behaviors, features, and appearances are brought up a lot within this song in order to show how “perfect” and “one of a kind” this woman is, while also stereotyping her within these categories.
Shared by: Abigail Gonnering
Image Credit: Billboard