I'm not a fan of Christina Aguilera, but this song peaked my interest when I happened upon the music video. This song can be easily interpreted as the reverse of the social standards. Aguilera is in power, and using men just for their body, and then leaving them for dead.
But as I watched the video, I slowly became aware of a (unintentional?) Alice Cooperesque necrophilia subtext to this song.
First let's us look at the lyrics. The title itself is an example of the subtext I am seeing within the song. Christina wants to love your body... not love you, not have sex.
In the uncensored version (Fuck your body) the subtext is even more obvious. By using the word "body" Christina is not only objectifying the man, but also dehumanizing him.
"It’s true what you heard, I am a freak, I’m disturbed"
Another line that lends itself to the necrophilia reading to the song. Christina is opening admitting what she wants to do is weird and strange. But this line can be read in plenty of different ways. But at the end of this stanza you get another line that reinforces this necrophilia reading.
"If you don’t know where to go,
I’ll finish off on my own (uh oh, yeah)"
She is saying that she definitely doesn't actively need the man to receive the pleasure she is seeking. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean she wants to love a dead body but in combination with the rest of the lyrics it is worrisome.
Now if the text of the lyrics wasn't enough to encourage a necrophilia reading of the song... I think the music video all but clutches it.
The song features Aguilera going from man to man... using her feminine wiles to seduce them... and then eventually leaving them either dead or in an inanimate state.
The video opens with a warning graphic informing no men were harmed during the making of this video. The first man she meets on the side of the road is left either sleeping or dead in his car... Aguilera exits the car and proceeds to set the car on fire with the unconscious man inside. It's not clear if the man was dead, or if he was conscious before the (presumed) sex occurred. One could assume he was exhausted from the sex, but let's take a look at what happens later on in the video.
She splatters the blood of another man (the blood is represented by blue colored paint) on the wall after she lures him into the bathroom. When she exits the stall, we see him covered with blood and slumped over, and Christina wiping the blue paint off her face casually. The bathroom stall looks like a scene from Dexter.
The final male character in the video, is perhaps the most important. His demise shows the attacks are premeditated. The final male character also is murdered before any sex happens.
The man meets Aguilera as he is working at a convenience store. She easily seduces him, and they both return to her place. As they are exiting the store, we see Aguilera has a baseball bat that she suspiciously hides behind her back away from the man's view. She brings him in the bedroom and proceeds to dance/grind on him suggestively. Then as things start to heat up, Aguilera takes the bat out. The viewer sees the man realize what is happening just before he is struck by the bat. Christina then dances in the glitter blood splatter as she sings the end of the song: "All I wanna do is love your body..."
I think this makes my reading fairly legitimate. Aguilera seemingly enjoys the glitter blood rain down. And if you take her literally, she still want to love his body. Even though the man is probably dead (though in reality one strike to the head from Aguilera probably wouldn't do the job). All three sequences with the men we see sociopathic joy from Christina as the men are killed.
Now, it's highly unlikely Christina, or the team of lyricist that wrote the song, intended for it to be an ode to necrophilia. Rather I assume they wanted it to be another brainless pop song where the female character is in charge. But certainly a strange subtext is found within the video and song. Either one on its own probably isn't enough to make this assumption. But the combination of the video and song really leaves this interpretation wide open.
I encourage you to check out the music video. I have submitted it for the lyrics on here already and you can easily find it on youtube.
I'm not a fan of Christina Aguilera, but this song peaked my interest when I happened upon the music video. This song can be easily interpreted as the reverse of the social standards. Aguilera is in power, and using men just for their body, and then leaving them for dead.
But as I watched the video, I slowly became aware of a (unintentional?) Alice Cooperesque necrophilia subtext to this song.
First let's us look at the lyrics. The title itself is an example of the subtext I am seeing within the song. Christina wants to love your body... not love you, not have sex.
In the uncensored version (Fuck your body) the subtext is even more obvious. By using the word "body" Christina is not only objectifying the man, but also dehumanizing him.
"It’s true what you heard, I am a freak, I’m disturbed"
Another line that lends itself to the necrophilia reading to the song. Christina is opening admitting what she wants to do is weird and strange. But this line can be read in plenty of different ways. But at the end of this stanza you get another line that reinforces this necrophilia reading.
"If you don’t know where to go, I’ll finish off on my own (uh oh, yeah)"
She is saying that she definitely doesn't actively need the man to receive the pleasure she is seeking. Again, this doesn't necessarily mean she wants to love a dead body but in combination with the rest of the lyrics it is worrisome.
Now if the text of the lyrics wasn't enough to encourage a necrophilia reading of the song... I think the music video all but clutches it.
The song features Aguilera going from man to man... using her feminine wiles to seduce them... and then eventually leaving them either dead or in an inanimate state.
The video opens with a warning graphic informing no men were harmed during the making of this video. The first man she meets on the side of the road is left either sleeping or dead in his car... Aguilera exits the car and proceeds to set the car on fire with the unconscious man inside. It's not clear if the man was dead, or if he was conscious before the (presumed) sex occurred. One could assume he was exhausted from the sex, but let's take a look at what happens later on in the video.
She splatters the blood of another man (the blood is represented by blue colored paint) on the wall after she lures him into the bathroom. When she exits the stall, we see him covered with blood and slumped over, and Christina wiping the blue paint off her face casually. The bathroom stall looks like a scene from Dexter.
The final male character in the video, is perhaps the most important. His demise shows the attacks are premeditated. The final male character also is murdered before any sex happens.
The man meets Aguilera as he is working at a convenience store. She easily seduces him, and they both return to her place. As they are exiting the store, we see Aguilera has a baseball bat that she suspiciously hides behind her back away from the man's view. She brings him in the bedroom and proceeds to dance/grind on him suggestively. Then as things start to heat up, Aguilera takes the bat out. The viewer sees the man realize what is happening just before he is struck by the bat. Christina then dances in the glitter blood splatter as she sings the end of the song: "All I wanna do is love your body..."
I think this makes my reading fairly legitimate. Aguilera seemingly enjoys the glitter blood rain down. And if you take her literally, she still want to love his body. Even though the man is probably dead (though in reality one strike to the head from Aguilera probably wouldn't do the job). All three sequences with the men we see sociopathic joy from Christina as the men are killed.
Now, it's highly unlikely Christina, or the team of lyricist that wrote the song, intended for it to be an ode to necrophilia. Rather I assume they wanted it to be another brainless pop song where the female character is in charge. But certainly a strange subtext is found within the video and song. Either one on its own probably isn't enough to make this assumption. But the combination of the video and song really leaves this interpretation wide open.
I encourage you to check out the music video. I have submitted it for the lyrics on here already and you can easily find it on youtube.