Clarkson (and the song's writers: Greg Wells, Katy Perry, and Kara DioGuardi) are clearly referencing the Russian poetic tradition of the late 19th and early 20th century with "I Do Not Hook Up." Similarly to Iakov Polonsky's "Tsar-Maiden" ("Tsardevitsa," 1876), Clarkson's heroine derives her strength from her chastity. By renouncing eros, she gains masculine characteristics and abilities that allow her to become the "androgyne" that the religious philosopher and poet Soloviev idealized in his writings (see "Smsyl liubvi," 1892-1894).
Catherine Ciepiela, professor of Russian at Amherst college and author of a fine piece of scholarship entitled The Same Solitude: Boris Pasternak and Marina Tsvetaeva, points out that in Polonksy's poem, the maiden's power must unfortunately be short-lived to maintain a true gender balance: "the hero, after undergoing many trials, gains entrance to the tsar-maiden's castle and subdues her, after which his powers wax while hers wane....The logic is similar to the logic of numerous romantic texts in which 'the woman must finally be enslaved or destroyed...'"
I'll be looking forward to Ms. Clarkson's next album, in which she is sure to explore these themes in full.
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http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=299
ReplyDeleteThey didn't use my comment, but still.
What was your comment? You should put it here if the losers over at The Singles Jukebox won't put it up.
ReplyDeleteAww, be nice. They can't put up all my blurbs, it wouldn't be fair. Mine was,
ReplyDelete"Not just anti-meaningless sex (which is not the same as casual sex, a distinction one hopes Kelly is aware of), but anti-alcoholism too... it's like that enriched white bread that sneaks in all the vitamins through the back door. But while I hate white bread I admit to a fondness for Clarkson, and her powerful-but-not-flashy performance is solely responsible for elevating this otherwise slightly pro forma single into enjoyable territory. The good news, in addition to that surging chorus, is that it’s not nearly as strident as the contraction-avoiding title might lead you to think."
I think that's a great comment. They probably aren't losers, but they still should have put that one up. Do you do blurbs for them a lot?
ReplyDeleteThis post is full of win.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you think so. Also, on a related note, your face is full of win.
ReplyDelete