Behind the Music

Katelyn Temple
WST 3015
Professor Nina Perez
March 7, 2010

While listening to Date Rape by Sublime, many things come to mind. First and foremost, I have heard this song numerous times, too many too count. I am a major fan of Sublime and I am excited to report that reading the lyrics to this song only furthered my love for the band. Rock defined a generation in the 1990's. Rock music was depicted in film, television, fashion and the American culture. Sublime has played a major role in entertainment for well over fifteen years. Date Rape appeared on their debut album. For many listeners, like myself many years ago, this is the first time the words date rape were heard and described.

Date Rape is a violent song. The woman is sitting alone at the bar, catches the eye of a man, drinks, leaves with him and is raped. This is not a date so the name Date Rape displays a dilemma. If anything, this is a casual liaison; or at least it was meant to be. The man in the song is light skinned, light eyed and had a great smile. Stereotypically, a person who seems trustworthy. While she is sitting alone at a bar. We do not get an impression as to who she is, other than someone who enjoys drinking and meeting men in bars.

This song is not meant to say date rape is acceptable by any means. In fact, I would say the message is the opposite. The song gives an impression of woman empowerment to me. The song goes on to describe how the woman pressed charges and the man accuses her of being a "slut". The man eventually gets what he deserves toward the end of the song. The song goes on:

The next day she went to her drawer, looked up her local attorney at law, went to the phone and filed the police report and then she took the guy's ass to court.

Well, the day he stood in front of the judge he screamed, " She lies that little slut!"

The judge knew that he was full of shit and he gave him 25 years.

And now his heart is filled with tears.

(Sublime)

This song is very popular. However, I was unsuccessful in a search to see if the song appeared in any television shows or movies. Although it is brutally descriptive and honest, the song does purpose a few other dilemmas. The man blaming it on the alcohol and his horniess is merely an excuse. Maybe he has a drinking issue, maybe he has a sexual addiction, or maybe he just needs a reason to justify rape. According to the text "rape evolved historically as a form of male reproductive behavior," (Kirk, and Okazawa-Rey 264). The man should simply say he did it because he wanted too and he could.

As Megan Seely bravely states in her book Fight Like a Girl: How to be a Fearless Feminist, "Rape will not end when women stop wearing short skirts; it will end when men stop overpowering and violating women" (Seely 201).

Works Cited:

Seely, Megan. Fight Like a Girl:How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York and London: New York UP, 2007. 201. Print.

Sublime, . "Sublime - Date Rape Lyrics." Lyrics007. 37 MAY 2008. Web. 6 Mar 2010. .

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Fifth Edition. Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.