Nice Guy Anthem

This week in my Construction of Femininity class, we're going to discuss, in depth, sexualized violence against women. One of the many topics I want to bring up is the belief that men are entitled to women's bodies. I thought one way to introduce that idea would be via a discussion of the "Nice Guy™" syndrome. As conversation starters, I'm using this brief definition from the Feminism 101 blog and this xkcd cartoon.

And then I thought of the perfect "Nice Guy™" song that many of them will be familiar with, given its ubiquity:



Lyrics below the fold. What do y'all think--anyone else read this song this way?

Cooler than Me (sung by Mike Posner)
If I could write you a song,
and make you fall in love,
I would already have you up under my arm.
I used to pull all my tricks,
I hope that you like this.
but you probably won't,
you think you're cooler than me.

you got designer shades,
just to hide your face and
you wear them around like
you're cooler than me.
and you never say hey,
or remember my name.
its probably cuz,
you think you're cooler than me.

you got your hot crowd,
shoes on your feet,
and you wear them around,
like they ain't shit.
but you don't know,
the way that you look,
when your steps
make
that
much
noise.

see I got you,
all figured out,
you need everyone's eyes just to feel seen.
girl, your so vain,
you probably think that this song is about you.
don't you? don't you?

if I could write you a song,
and make you fall in love,
I would already have you up under my arm.
I used to pull all my tricks,
I hope that you like this.
but you probably won't,
you think you're cooler than me.

you got designer shades,
just to hide your face and
you wear them around like,
you're cooler than me.
and you never say hey,
or remember my name.
it's probably cuz,
you think you're cooler than me.

you got your hot crowd,
switching your walk,
and you don't even look when you pass by.
but you don't know,
the way that you look.
when your steps make
that
much
noise.

and don't you dare act like you don't know,
know what's up,
cuz your nose is up.
I'm approaching up.
like I can't give you winter in the summer
or summer in the winter
Miami in December
trying to look bored in them Dior's.
she probably is,
Was acting shallow 'til she found out
how deep that my pockets is
Mrs. pre-Madonna, this is your reminder
That I think you're fine, but I'm finer

'Cause it sure seems
('Cause it sure seems)
You got no doubt
(That you got no doubt)
But we all see
(We all see)
You got your head in the clouds
(Clouds)

if I could write you a song,
and make you fall in love,
I would already have you up under my arm.
I used to pull all my tricks,
I hope that you like this.
but you probably won't,
you think you're cooler than me.

you got designer shades,
just to hide your face and
you wear them around like,
you're cooler than me.
and you never say hey,
or remember my name.
its probably cuz,
you think you're cooler than me.