I really, really want this to be a parody, but I'm not sure

Okay, so, I just stumbled on this video right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkoMbxHQmuM

Its so over the top, that I assumed it must be a criticism of men who are like this, but reading the comments I'm beginning to fear that it might be meant in earnest.

Gender politics are an occasional topic on this forum. Do you guys think this song is actually an illogical, misogynistic rant, or is it a parody of such?

I think it's less a parody of a misogynist rant and more of soul-baring admission of truth. Look, all men have at one time in their lives been that guy and it's funny when somebody lays out the embarrassing truth that we don't like to admit---that we have lusted after some chick that took advantage, yet we kept doing it, hoping against hope. Did it ever work out? No. The rant at the end is just humor by hyperbole.

Maybe I'll write a story where it DOES work out. Hmmmm.

Well, I didn't get the impression that the girl was taking advantage of him. It seemed more like she was just barely tolerating him while being polite...

Been there, felt that! I actually found this very cute — mainly parody, but obviously with some real emotion behind it. Probably somebody should spank him — but not me, 'cause I think I may have a chance to spank HER!

IMHO this song is a parody RE the type of hapless male who can easily be exploited and manipulated by an appealing female, even though she treats him badly--it does make a point about being entranced with beauty that is no more than 'skin deep,' which isn't all that unusual a situation within humankind.

Of course, this kind of situation has been the subject of popular songs on a fairly regular basis, I especially recall the late-1960s hit single "Something Stupid," in which the male singer is contemptuously mistreated by the woman whom he's hopelessly in love with--or actually 'in lust with' would likely be the better description, he's so attracted to her physically that he accepts her 'poisonous' personality.

There are a couple of Library stories that I've read lately about good-looking males who similarly manipulated females, so it obviously can work both ways.

However, not all difficult-to-get-to-know yet physically attractive people are stuck-up and conceited, some may merely be shy and/or introverted, characteristics that are not always recognized as such--good-looking men especially are generally expected to be aggressive (romantically/sexually) and extroverted.

As for the singer in the music video, I've heard rumors that a guy having self-respect is a quality valued by some women... --C.K.

And the hundreds of spankees on this site are surely all experts in having self-respect.

CK: the problem I have with the video is that the woman didn't do anything wrong at all. The guy did favors for her hoping to be repaid with sex, and then decided she was a horrible person when she didn't. And yes, it was just sex that he wanted; he clearly didn't find much attractive about her besides her looks, even if he wasn't honest about it.

I think the worst part was him complaining about how she thinks she's too good for "everyone," but then in the next sentence whining about how she only wants guys who are better looking than him. Taking into account that the ONLY stated reason why he is attracted to her is because she's "hot," this makes him an utter, shameless hypocrite.

Basically, is this song making fun of mysogynistic losers who really think this way, or are we supposed to believe him that the girl is awful for not sleeping with him and just laugh at him for still pursuing the alleged bitch? If the former, this is a clever piece of satire. If the latter, its disgusting.


Mati: Assuming you aren't being facetious, I don't think that's quite how spankees work.

It was an attempt at humour. Was it successful? Shrug. When it comes to humour everyone has their own taste.

The "cute girl exploits a boy" theme has appeared in countless stories and shows. It's been on The Big Bang Theory more than once - actually sometimes it's the entire plot of the episode. Good natured Penny doesn't always notice that she's doing it, but she eats for free when she pops over across the hall for diner.

For spanking stories, I wrote one called "Revenge of the..." (title stolen from the series of "Revenge of the Nerds" movies) where someone bats her eyebrows to get help on an assignment then drops the geek when she has her grade.

Edited to add:

I think it tries to do both - which is why I called it an attempt at humour. He sees her as a hot girl without knowing anything about her interests or her feelings. He keeps throwing himself at her time after time but doesn't know anything about her.
And when he throws himself at her, she keeps catching him - sort of. She lets him do all those favours for her. Unless she's blind or oblivious she knows why he's running errands for her and she exploits him while knowing that she will never date him.

Which of these two losers is worse? It's obviously him. Why? Because if I said she was worse and someday I ran into that hot actress and she somehow knew I said that then she wouldn't date me and...

I mean they are both bad people - and who am I to judge which is worse?

Goodgulf

Well, the guy was presumably honest about believing that the attractive young woman had a "blackened heart," that she was "poison" and that she should be killed with a stake, yet he apparently was so enamoured of her physical appeal that he couldn't stop himself from doing whatever she wanted him to.

Of course, this whole situation is extreme hyperbole, but within its context the girl certainly is exploiting the hapless male and easily manipulating him into effectively becoming her servant. Is that ethically acceptable behavior because he's so stupidly smitten with her that he allows it to happen, even while aware at some level--although consciously still in denial--that he has no chance for a romantic/sexual relationship with her?

I'd hardly blame the young woman for point-blank telling the sniveling-yet-resentful guy to simply 'get lost,' because he does indeed seem to care only about her physical attractiveness, but turning him into a lowly fulfiller of her every whim--even with his weak-willed acquiesence--strikes me as mean-spirited behavior.

I do agree with you RE mati's comment, I certainly don't find a person accepting a consensual spanking--for erotic, playful, theraputic or disciplinary reasons--to reflect any lack of individual self-respect.

Presumably she was being light-heartedly ironic... --C.K.

This is a good point. It seemed like the favors he did for her were unsolicited, but you're right about it being totally obvious what he was trying to do, and she should have just told him to knock it off. That means that she's either oblivious, way too polite, or using him for favors and/or ego boost. Obliviousness can be forgiven, but the other two are definitely bad.

I feel a bit better about this now, though I still wonder how self-conscious it is. The sad fact is that I've read blog posts by men like the character in the video that were almost as over-the-top as the song, and completely serious.

But yeah, even if the writer doesn't realize that the male character is coming off badly, it helps that the woman being demonized probably isn't totally innocent.