Tuesday, November 13, 2018

If I Had a Thing On The Side



Let’s rewind to 2009. I was 14, I remember turning on the TV and I wanted to watch music videos. This was right around the time that MTV focused more on reality TV rather than videos, but Brighthouse had this channel where you could watch videos and little me was so excited. I was scrolling through the different artists looking for a good song to listen to. And there she was.
Can we talk about Ciara for a second?

I’ve always been in love with her. I remember specifically the day I fell though. The day I saw the “Like a Boy” Music video. It was also my first time hearing the song and my teenage heart couldn’t take it.

The words coming out of her mouth were somehow related, even though I was so young. Even if it were things I hadn’t experienced yet, I knew others, fictional and nonfictional, who had been in situations that Ciara was singing about. In the song, she talks about what things would be okay to do if she were a boy, specifically what she would do in a relationship as a boy. Things like lying, hiding things, not being questioned or caring to answer questions when he’s been out at all hours of the day. All negative things that happen in a relationship seem to relate to the male side but are also praised and encouraged, whereas if a woman were to do any of that, she’s out of place.
Ciara spells out the double standards often encountered in a relationship and does it in such an effective and creative way.


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