Suggestion

yea this song is definitely about the objectification of women. it rings so true to. and it also is commenting on society's major role in this perversion.

"we sit back like they taught us we keep quiet like they taught us he just wants to prove she does nothing to remove it we don't want anyone to mind us so we play the roles that they assigned us"

society tells us that this is right, that this is normal, when in reallity it's really sad. this all roots back to thinking of the self as numero uno. we don't care about the girl, we just care about our own pleasure. i kno many ppl like this and i can confidently say that none of them are truely happy. the guy might be physically screwing over the girl, but he's also comitining a mental rape to her and himself as well. don't just listen to this song. realize the truth in it so that you may save yourself from yourself.

I really like the lyrics to this song. I like the fact that Fugazi are suggesting that we should break the gender stereotype when he sings about men's 'interpretation of what it is to be a man' and 'we play the roles that they assigned us'. The fact that they're also singing the lyrics through a female perspective also breaks the gender stereotype. I love fugazi for making me think that maybe not all men are idiots after all!

The first I heard of this song was a film clip where Ian Mackaye explains what the song is about and talks about how he feels about it.

Its about rape (yes marginalman) and how no one wants to talk about it because its such a horrible crime and yet it still goes on. That comes through pretty clear to me with the whole "suffer your words, suffer your eyes, suffer your hands" thing. Also "she does nothing to remove it" and "she does nothing to conceal it". The band are trying to get people to think about rape as a crime that has impacts on everyone, not just the victim.

not sure if it was really that successful in sending out that message then, since everyone has missed the point.

To me, it seems as if this song is definately about the objectification of women...yea..

I never thought about it that way, but i should have. I think your absolutly right.

pearl jam used to do covers of this. It's about the obectification of women, which is something I do all the time, and yet, still enjoy this song.

OK, time to drop some real time knowledge here. Anybody who knows my handle, marginal man, will know I speak the truth. And you are all right, the song is about the objectification of women. But it goes deeper and more hardcore than that: in the late 1980s, before the song was put to a recording studio, the song was titled "Rape" and that is also the title on Fugazi's first demo tape, of which I have copy. I saw Fugazi in the late 180s several times before they shot to worldwide undergound fame, including once when they were atill a trio, minus Guy. This song, I believe, could be one of the most enjoyable, yet powerful political at the same time. I have not seen Fugazi since like 1995, so I do not know if they still do it live, but it is mesmerizing, and much longer, on stage. I'd like to see more discussion about this one.

It's a social statement, that's for sure. I think it has a lot to do with being a man and gender stereotypes. Basically how to be a man. Or a 'real man' by societies standards. It also is about the objectivity of women. I love this song for its message and its sound.

hands down the best fugazi song

When I saw them in New York in 99, they had a woman come onstage and sing the song.