Song #19, “Magic,” (my favorite song on the “Take Me Home” album) involves the male gaze within the lyrics,
“But baby you got me moving too fast
‘Cause I know you wanna be bad
And girl when you’re lookin’ like that (da-da, da-da-da)
I can’t hold back”
because the guy in the song is looking at a girl in a sexual way, but ironically, I think the girl is the one initiating the sexual tension because of the words, “I know you wanna be bad.” He is trying to resist her urge of desire but his weakness is allows him to keep that male gaze.
Sex Role Theory is present because the lyrics,
“They say that we’re no good together
And it’s never gonna work out
I wanna put it on my record
I want everyone to know now”
tell me that the guy wants to “own” this girl and in a sense, “claim his prize.” According to the Sex Role Theory, guys feel more confident when they’ve got a “pretty girl” on their arm. The theory also states that this is considered to be the most ideal and successful form of manhood.
On the other hand, the entire song revolves around a girl who “has a spell” on the guy and reveals how much flirtatious power (feminine stereotype) this girl has while also holding power over the man (contradicting with the stereotypical submissive feminine trait). We saw this in One Direction’s other song, “She’s Not Afraid.”
Shared by: Elyse Hornung
Image Credit: Kalimba Tutorials