The Comprehensive Broads Guide to Yale Spring Fling 2010

By ALEXANDRA BRODSKY

April 18, 2010

Sometimes Yale decides to speak up in the face of injustice, but right now it’s a little too quiet outside. This year, the campus has been disturbingly silent about the Spring Fling line-up, almost completely devoid of women and featuring at least one explicitly misogynistic group, the Ying Yang Twins.

Broads has ranked the line-up, assigning entirely objective scores (the more points the better on a limitless scale) based on feminist reputation and the bands’ thoughts on four key women’s issues: female leadership, violence against women, sexual empowerment, and reproductive health. Unfortunately, none of the groups has official statements on these issues, and all of them are too cool to talk to us, so we’ve delved deep into their lyrics for meaning.

Ying Yang Twins

Feminist rep

The Ying Yang Twins have a pretty seriously terrible reputation. In 2005, the duo’s scheduled show at Florida Atlantic University was canceled due to their misogynistic lyrics, and now Yale undergraduates Diana Ofosu and Chelsea Allen are organizing an effort to ask Yale to provide alternative entertainment during the Twins’ performance. “It is undisputedly true that in its 40th year celebrating co-education and African-American studies at Yale, a group that produces highly explicit, misogynistic music has been invited, paid and promoted to perform for the student body,” said Ofosu in discussion with Broad Recognition. After reading a few of their lyrics, we’re sure you’ll be able to see where it puts this campus in terms of progress.

Ban-able: -50

Female leadership

“Let me tell you what I can’t stand
When a woman play the role of a man.”
–”Naggin’”

Doesn’t get much more explicit than this: -50

Violence against women

“I dun call your bluff
Fuck you ‘til you cry…
If ya ass could run you woulda
But you put that there aside
That’s how my dick got between your thighs”
–”Pull My Hair”

Nope, I guess this is more explicit: -50

Sexual empowerment

“You like to fuck”
–”Whisper”

Articulating female desire! At least, out of context it is: +6

Reproductive health

“Imma beat that pussy up”
–”Whisper”

Beating pussies up is bad for their health: -40

Final Score: -184

Photo: Alex Klein

MGMT

Feminist rep

MGMT doesn’t really have much to say about feminism. In general, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden don’t have much to say about anything. However, as proven by the response to Yale undergrad Alex Klein’s recent IvyGate April Fool’s prank article, “MGMT Cancel on Yale and Brown, Citing Ying-Yang Twins and Snoop Dogg,” they’re totally believable as a feminist force—a number of commenters bought the story that MGMT felt the need to distance itself from misogynistic lyrics.

“I, personally, find it hilariously incongruous that Yale is hiring the Ying Yang twins to perform during the 40th anniversary of co-education at Yale, and was surprised that there wasn’t a greater outcry after the announcement,” Klein, an Editor-in-Chief of IvyGate, said in an e-mail to Broad Recognition. “I had an inkling that people might buy MGMT’s feminist cred; the band are self-styled psychedelic hippies, uber-hipsters, and darlings of the young, liberal, urban musical demographic.”

So to clarify, MGMT doesn’t have a public feminist stance, but Goldwasser and VanWyngarden do have weird hair. Plus, as Klein explained, “I also knew I could photoshop a ‘This is What a Feminist Looks Like’ shirt onto their often-shirtless lead singer fairly easily.”

Stance is nonexistent, but their fashion statement reads loud and clear: +5

Female leadership

“Standing there with nothing on
She gonna teach me how to swim”
–”Electric Feel”

Education led by women: +15

Violence against women

“Cold blooded claws
Never offered anything at all
Past the point of love”
–”Pieces of What”

Ambiguous. Do the claws not offer anything other than love, or would they necessarily only exist at a point outside of love? To be safe: +0

Sexual empowerment

“Turn me on with your electric field
Do what you feel now”
–”Electric Feel”

Reciprocity, women acting on sexual impulses: +12

Reproductive health

“Control yourself…
A baby is born
Crying out for attention”
–”Kids”

Abstinence-only sex ed?: -10

Final score: +22

Mike Posner

Feminist rep

No one really has any idea who Mike Posner is. Appararently he’s in college. Apparently he’s into girls who sell drugs. However, some serious research (read: Google Search) indicates that the president of Human Rights First is also named Mike Posner.

Fortuitous name: +1

Female leadership

“And when you count my money
you look so sexy to me”
–”Drug Dealer Girl”

Into financially savvy/numerically literate women: +10

Violence against women

“Fuck the police”
–”Smoke and Drive”

Against law enforcement. And unoriginal: -3

Sexual empowerment

“I can see through what you telling me
You want me to fall in love to help your self-esteem”
–”Evil Woman”

Concerned with motivations of female desire +5

Condescending assumptions of female desire -15

Reproductive health

“Now kiss me through the phone”
–”Kiss Me Through the Phone [Remix]”

Guaranteed STD-free sex: +3

Final score: +1

Matt and Kim

Feminist Rep

Matt and Kim are the only band playing at Spring Fling with any sort of feminist cred whatsoever. Firstly, Kim is female. It’s questionable to assign points for boobs, but it’s definitely legitimate to assign points for the duo’s nude Times Square escapades in their video for “Lessons Learned.” A Pitchfork interview suggests Kim might have been a little hesitant to disrobe, but their defiant sexuality and their aim to give hope to all the skinny, weird looking people in the world is pretty great. Plus, feminist artist Erykah Badu dedicated a music video to them, which definitely counts for something.

Actual feminist reputation: +50

Female leadership

“She’ll try out on the day after today
And she dreams of the 5k…
Dwyer said you look talented to me”
–”5k”

Women excelling in athletics: +6

Violence against women

“Pitch fork, switch blade, salt water and this hose
I tend to believe my eyes before my nose”
–”Verbs Before Nouns”

No women in this, but definitely violence, which is bad: -5

Sexual empowerment

“Get up at five with babes in briefs”
–”5k”

Don’t call me babe: -3

Reproductive health

“Mother is a name at best
And father was a mess”
–”Frank”

Responsible family planning encouraged: +10

Final Score: +58

All in all, we have a wide range of perspectives on women’s issues. The Ying Yang Twins offer the most explicitly misogynistic lyrics and, with a score of -184, certainly warrant the actions of Ofosu, Allen, and their comrades. But most importantly, let’s work to keep MGMT out of our public school health curricula.

The Final Ranking:

• Matt and Kim +58 (Cheer loudly! Enjoy your drunken, socially responsible bacchanalia!)
• MGMT +22 (As long as their hair is still long, we’re good.)
• Mike Posner +1 (Whatever.)
• Ying Yang Twins -184 (While they play out, let’s hang out. Elsewhere.)

Alexandra Brodsky is a sophomore in Yale College. She is a staff writer for Broad Recognition.