Feminist Lens on the Popular Song “I Love the Way You Lie”

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"Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk Don't you hear the sincerity in my voice when I talk? Told you this was my fault, look me in the eyeball Next time I'm pissed, I'll aim my fist at the drywall Next time? There will be no next time I apologize even though I know it's lies I'm tired of the games, I just want her back, I know I'm a liar If she ever tries to ****ing leave again I'ma tie her to the bed and set this house on fire." Eminem "Just wanna stand there and watch me burn, that's okay because I like the way it hurts." Rihanna In analyzing a passage from the popular song “I Love the Way You Lie” using the feminist lens; the understanding of gender inequality becomes evident. The entire song is Eminem apologizing for being abusive while revealing to the audience that he was never sorry; he just doesn't want her to leave him. This shows the audience that men wouldn’t think twice in using women for their own good. Also, this shows evidence that woman are used as subjects for a man’s pleasure. The protagonist of the song is male, and the text is primarily addressed to men. In the song, Rihanna repeatedly tells the audience a line about how she is okay with him abusing her and lying. When Rihanna sings her part she tells the audience that maybe she knows he's lying, but when you love someone it's really hard to leave. Thus, this portrays women as the weaker gender because she can’t leave him even though he abuses her. Also, Eminem is actually condemning abuse by displaying it in such a public form. In the song conflict arises when she wants to leave (resists patriarchal oppression). The male in the song threatens with burning the female alive which is surely one of the most horrendously tortuous ways to murder someone. The female in the song doesn’t do anything about it showing that he is portraying women as a weaker being. Male’s having

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