For my 11th portfolio post I will be looking at the lyrics of the song “Perfect” from One Direction’s Made in the A.M. album. This song is about a man who is stating all the ways that he is the perfect person for this girl. He tries to win her over by stating all the things they could do together. The guy expresses that he is not a perfect person, but he is perfect for her. The first set of lyrics I find important are:

I might never be your knight in shinin’ armor

These lyrics are interesting, because they express how it is a stereotypical masculine trait for a man to be a hero and save women. Along with this, it therefore shows women as stereotypically needing to be saved or have a man sweep them off of their feet. The song continues on with other stereotypical roles that men are supposed to do in order to be perfect. The song states:

I might never be the one you take home to mother

And I might never be the one who brings you flowers

It is a stereotypical masculine role that men be put together and have strong and respectful qualities. Being taken home to a girl’s mother and bringing her flowers are roles that men are supposed to take part in. However, the man is somewhat going against all of these characteristics because he is stating how he isn’t perfect and probably won’t do all of these things. Another set of lyrics that I thought should be brought up are related to stereotypical feminine characteristics. The lyrics state:

And if you’re looking for someone to write your breakup songs about

These lyrics are necessary to bring up, because they show women as stereotypically sensitive, emotional, or even dramatic. Women, especially in media, that write break up songs are seen a lot differently than men that sing about their relationships. Women are often talked about as being “obsessive” or “crazy” for writing these songs while men are usually not questioned. The man in the song is stating that if she is looking for someone to write her breakup songs about then he is perfect for her. Overall we can see that this song shows some stereotypical masculine and feminine traits and gender roles.

 

Shared by: Abigail Gonnering
Image Credit: TMRW Magazine