Listening To Her

This Blog is part of the Men Say No Blogathon, encouraging men to take up action against the violence faced by women. 

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If I were a boy even just for a day
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted, and go...

This is one of Beyonce Knowles' best loved songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWpsOqh8q0M&ob=av2e).

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they stick up for me.

I like the song. I like it because of the lyrics. It's a woman trying to imagine herself in a man's shoes. The stanzas oscillate between what she understands a man generally is- his daily activities, the fun he has with friends, etc.; and how she sees him treating a woman- imagining herself as a more sensitive man than the one in front of her, than her partner.

I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts...

How he takes her for granted-

I'd put myself first
And make the rules as I go
'Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Waiting for me to come home, to come home

And a man she envisions, whose love is true and pure and selfless, because she being a woman has seen one side of the picture-

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man...

Somewhere it is also telling of the freedom and mobility that men enjoy a lot more by default, by virtue of their Gender identity. And then, how this freedom tends to make some men impatient, and some reckless- a quality that is taken for granted, and many a time celebrated as ideal male behaviour.

Yes there are many ways of interpreting a work of art. And this is my interpretation of this song. Because I think that although I've met a large number of men who respect women, there are still quite a few men, who I wish would step into a woman's shoes sometimes to understand just how she feels when he is derisive to her.