I've had problems with this video since it was released. In fact, this video made up most of the reason for my not buying Suzie's latest album or even seeking out her other singles. Now that I've got Dear Love on repeat, and it's full of genuinely great and eloquent pop songs, I have to revisit this video.
Possible trigger warning for mistreatment of mental illness.
I guess the problem is that I can't assume the problematic elements are present as a form of satire or social commentary. It doesn't appear that way. A woman who expresses her emotions physically is sent to "Drama Queen Rehab" by her über-rational male partner, where she is manhandled by male orderlies and labeled by a male doctor while surrounded by female patients. Is this a purposeful commentary on the treatment of emotional women?
The sexism is only part one. Part two is the fact that said "Rehab" is actually a psychiatric institution - AND the symptoms described in the song sound suspiciously similar to Borderline Personality Disorder. As a person diagnosed with BPD who has spent time in a psychiatric institution, this video feels like a mockery of my life experiences. (For one thing, the behaviours as described in the song would NEVER be enough to land one in the psych ward.) Either the singer is simply emotionally volatile and appropriating/making light of aspects of life with a mental illness, or she does indeed have/have potential for a diagnosis, in which case... what? The video is a coping mechanism? Coping mechanisms are great and valid as long as they don't hurt other people. I can't say all my peers would agree with me, but I find it insensitive and even (dare I say it?) triggering.
I don't really know who would have signed off on this concept as a good idea. I feel that it encourages the stigma attached to mental illness, especially women with Borderline Personality Disorder, even if that isn't the first thought on every viewer's mind. It reaffirms the idea that dramatic women have something wrong with them, them personally, and the people around them are the victims. Can't we discard this notion? Even therapy for BPD does not tell you to "stop being dramatic."
I actually like listening to the song, as long as I can dissociate it from the disturbing messages of the video, and I like the parts of the video where Suzie is dolled up and smiling, seemingly owning her dramatic tendencies. That's what I like to see! Not marginalization. Not mistreatment. Owning up and using your knowledge of yourself to learn to interpret your emotions effectively.
Can we have more of that, please?
