From the Mouths of Rapists: The Lyrics of Robin Thicke’s 'Blurred Lines'

Using images from Project Unbreakable, an online photo essay exhibit.

Singer Robin Thicke performs on NBC's Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza on July 30, 2013 in New York City. (PHOTO: DEBBY WONG/SHUTTERSTOCK)

September 19, 2013 • By Sezin Koehler •

Robin Thicke’s summer hit "Blurred Lines" addresses what sounds like a grey area between consensual sex and assault. The images in this post place the song's lyrics into a real-life context. They are from Project Unbreakable, an online photo essay exhibit that features women and men holding signs with sentences that their rapist said before, during, or after their assault. Let’s begin.

I know you want it.

Thicke sings “I know you want it,” a phrase that many sexual assault survivors report their rapists saying to justify their actions, as demonstrated over and over in the Project Unbreakable testimonials.

You’re a good girl.

Thicke further sings “You’re a good girl,” suggesting that a good girl won’t show her reciprocal desire (if it exists). This becomes further proof in his mind that she wants sex: for good girls, silence is consent and “no” really means “yes.”

Calling an adult a “good girl” in this context resonates with the the virgin/whore dichotomy. The implication in Blurred Lines is that because the woman is not responding to a man’s sexual advances, which of course are irresistible, she’s hiding her true sexual desire under a facade of disinterest. Thicke is singing about forcing a woman to perform both the good girl and bad girl roles in order to satisfy the man’s desires.

Thicke and company, as all-knowing patriarchs, will give her what he knows she wants (sex), even though she’s not actively consenting, and she may well be rejecting the man outright.

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