Free your mind is an anti-prejudice song released in 1992 by the American female group En Vogue. The song covers the topics of sexism, racism, prejudice, and stereotypes. Despite this song being released 30 years ago, the topics in this song are still extremely relevant today, as many people, especially those with marginalized identities, who have to face sexism, racism, prejudice, and stereotypes every day.
Before analyzing the lyrics of the song, I'm going to go over some definitions. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward another person or group formed in advance of any experience with that person or group. Prejudice can include a cognitive component, which includes assumptions and beliefs about a group, like stereotypes, and a behavioral component which includes negative behaviors, including discrimination and violence. Prejudice based on racial grouping is racism and prejudice based on sex is sexism (American Psychological Association, n.d.).
The opening line of the song (spoken) is
"Prejudice, wrote a song about it. Like to hear it? Here it go!"
Then the song begins with the lyrics,
I wear tight clothing, high-heeled shoes
https://dictionary.apa.org/prejudice
It doesn't mean that I'm a prostitute no, no
I like rap music, wear hip-hop clothes
That doesn't mean that I'm out sellin' dope, no, no, no
Right off of the bat, this song addresses racism, negative stereotypes, and prejudice. The first negative stereotype mentioned in this song is that women that wear tight clothing and high heals are prostitutes. There is also the stigma associated with prostitutes, as purity culture and the gender roles influence attitudes towards sex work. Research conducted by Kempadoo and Doezema (1998; pg. 9-14) examined the stereotypes associated with working in sex work industry and found that many individuals commonly viewed individuals participating in sex work as “whores.” When women are called demeaning names like "whore" or compared to a prostitute when wearing tight clothing and high heels, people are trying to demean them by comparing them to people in our society that are deeply discriminated against, and are insulting the woman. It is also sexist, as a man dressed in tight clothing would not receive the same treatment. All of the members of En Vogue are black women. The lyrics talking about liking rap and wearing hip-hop clothes and not selling dope, has to do with the stereotype of a young black individual who likes these things selling drugs. This stereotype is based on a deep rooted prejudice, in which people assume that all young black people who listen to rap and wear hip-hop clothes must sell drugs, because given the color of their skin and their interests, it only makes sense. This is racist, prejudice, and can cause racial stress.
Another verse in the song goes:
So I'm a sista
Buy things with cash
That really doesn't mean that all my credit's bad
Oh
So why dispute me and waste my time?
Because you really think the price is high for me
I can't look without being watched, no
You rang my buy before I made up my mind
Oww
These verses deal with a black woman being stereotyped in a store in which the sales-person assumes that they a) have bad credit because they pay in cash, b) cannot afford the prices in the store, and c) are being watched as they shop because the sales-person assumes they can't afford the products. This is racist and prejudiced (being stereotyped and discriminated against) as a person is making an assumption about a person based on the color of their skin, and the beliefs they have about that racial group, and then acting on those thoughts by watching them shop when they wouldn't treat a white individual the same way.
The lyrics in the chorus of the song are the reason I chose to do a blog post on it. The lyrics in the chorus are:
Free your mind And the rest will follow Be color-blind Don't be so shallow Free your mind And the rest will follow Be color-blind Don't be so shallow
The lyric that jumped out at me here was "be color-blind, don't be so shallow." In class we have talked about color-blind ideology and a multicultural approach to racism, and based on research, in the majority of cases, we should take a multicultural approach to in order to live successfully within a racially diverse society (Plaut et al. 2009; Plaut et al. 2018). While the colorblind approach to racism was very popular at the time this song came out, the color-blind approach doesn’t acknowledge people’s differences – ignoring race, culture, and ethnicity. The multicultural approach acknowledges and respects people’s differences (like race, culture, and ethnicity). This song was released 30 years ago, a time when color-blind ideology was wide spread and taught to many people as a way to approach racism and live successfully within a racially diverse society. I would suggest an update to the song, something like,
Free your mind
And the rest will follow
Don't be color-blind,
Don't be so shallow
Free your mind
And the rest will follow
Don't be color-blind
Don't be so shallow
with a verse talking about the benefits of taking a multicultural approach.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology.
https://dictionary.apa.org/prejudice
Kempadoo, K., & Doezema, J. (1998). Global sex workers: Rights, resistance, and redefinition.
Routledge. ISBN 0-415-91828-6 (cloth). — ISBN 0-415-91829-4 (pbk.)Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., & Goren, M. J. (2009). Journal of Psychological Science 20(4), 444-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02318.x
Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., & Goren, M. J. (2009). Journal of Psychological Science 20(4), 444-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02318.x
Plaut, V. C., Thomas, K. M., Hurd, K., & Romano, C. A. (2018). Do Color Blindness and Multiculturalism Remedy or Foster Discrimination and Racism? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(3), 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418766068
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