Why The Thong Inspired an Entire Culture

Every once in a great, great while, a song comes along that is cut from a different cloth. It moves you. It takes over your spirit and inspires you to become a better person. It changes the way you think about your own life, your transgressions, your personal struggles, and even your mortality.

The great musicians of our generation literally changed history with their dulcet tones. Think of Mozart, a child prodigy who captivated an entire planet; some say he was the first to truly globalize our world.*

*(I should state clearly, for the record, I have never heard anyone say this, ever.)

With that came so many others. Beethoven, Vivaldi and Brahms did the same, though this conjecture is not at all limited either to past centuries or to classical musicians. In more recent times, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller transcended life with their music, for songs that have withstood the test of time. The Beatles forever altered our musical history and became more than musicians but pop icons and historical figures. Michael Jackson's music became that with which an entire generation learned to see the world.

Few songs, save artists, could ever be included in this category. Sisqo is certainly one of them. Ooo, that dress so scandalous, he writes. How true. How poignant. Clearly, Mr. Sisqo means to comment on the evolution of women's sexuality. Dare he be so bold as to project that a woman's attire in this day and age is a result of an era of sexual freedom? It is, clearly, an indication that the advances in our treatment of women across this great nation - and in some cases, the world - have led women to feel more comfortable in their own sexuality. They feel as though they can wear the scandalous dress in question comfortably and without fear of prejudice.

But Mr. Sisqo doth not end there. Oh no. There's more. "I swear another n***a can't handle it." Yes. He speaks from the heart, ladies and gentlemen. The advances of our treatment of women have empowered them, yes; but in much the same way, it has weakened our men, who have spent decades objectifying women. We men cannot handle this newfound revolution. It makes us weak, for though we do not profess to have so many inherent weaknesses, we certainly "cannot handle" the juxtaposition between respecting our women and having them taunt us with their scandalous dresses. And what's more, these women dare to flaunt it, "shakin that thang like who's da ish/ with a look in ya eye, so devilish"

Notice the placement of the word "devilish." The biblical reference herein is not to be mistaken for common slang. Consider Isaiah 14:12, "How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which I didst weaken the nations!" Mr. Sisqo infers that women have weakened our nation. How thoughtful and wise.

It would be rather crude of me to infer that I fully understand all of what the great and wise Mr. Sisqo really meant by all of this. Much in the same way that a classic piece of music has layers, Mr. Sisqo surely didn't mean for his song to be politicized or cast about as a metaphor for our very existence, even if such a comparison is so apt. But if I may conclude with a final summarization of the inherent meaning behind Mr. Sisqo's true feelings on the state of our generation, he concludes each verse with a simple command, "Let me see that thong." It would be unfortunate to miss the true value of such a statement. Mr. Sisqo does not condemn these women for their flaunting. He instead blames the men for their inherent failure to adapt to the changes in our society. For men to truly be equal with women, they must not see women as sexual objects but rather be able to withstand their own personal urges in an attempt to create a more understanding culture in which men and women can express themselves in a suitable manner, devoid of a dominance of one sex over another based on latent physical attraction.

Years from now, when we look back on this man, and this song, which spawned generations of more mutual understanding of our own faults, we will see Mr. Sisqo's work not as a simple pop fad or a passing single in the lexicon of culture that is defined by Top 40 music. Instead, we will understand the greater meaning of a song that brought us together as human beings. It is indeed a song we'll find withstood the test of time and became a beacon of light for our culture.