Abstract
On September 7, 2018, the band Paramore announced their decision to stop playing the song “Misery Business” live. After years of scrutiny and self-reflection, Hayley Williams recognized the detrimental role that slutshaming plays in society, and chose to right the wrongs presented in the song. Over the past decade, “Misery Business” has become a staple in the pop punk genre, despite the negative message it portrays: the decision to stop playing it shows a tremendous amount of growth and recognition both by the members of Paramore, and by the rest of society. While it is important to recognize how stigmatizing women for their sexual behavior can be damaging, it is also crucial to look at what is being done to move away from this problem and what created this problem in the first place. While little to no scholarly research exists about the song “Misery Business” itself, there are a multitude scholarly articles on feminism, traditional gender roles, the sexual double standard, slutshaming, and media’s role in perpetuating these ideologies. The point of this paper is not to patronize Williams or other artists for perpetuating the gender double standard, but rather to understand how that mistake affects society and how this discourse can be challenged. Popular media such as the song “Misery Business” are a result of the institutionalized discourse in society that maintains male dominance. This paper argues that slutshaming prominent in the song “Misery Business” reproduces gender inequality through internalized oppression; therefore, the researcher argues that the choice to stop playing the song live has far more societal impact and shows progression toward a single sexual standard for men and women.