Christian song faces backlash from TikTok users and their parents: 'It perpetuates some harmful ideas'
A new song from contemporary Christian singer Matthew West drew ire from TikTok users and their parents after it went viral.
The song âModest is Hottestâ and its accompanying music video were released on June 18. The music video has been wiped from the internet following backlash, but the song has continued to spread on social media.
i want to puke after hearing modest is hottest by matthew west. like i know itâs supposed to be more of a parody but oooof. no sir.
â sam đ«đ€ (@TheSamentha) June 23, 2021
In the original video, West gives his two daughters a lecture about modesty.
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âThe boys are coming round âcause youâre beautiful. And itâs all your motherâs fault,â he sang. âModest is hottest, the latest fashion trend is a little more Amish, a little less Kardashian. What the boys really love is a turtleneck and a sensible pair of slacks. Honey, modest is hottest, sincerely, your dad.â
West mentioned TikTok in the song, saying that if his daughters got caught âdoing dances on the TikTok in a crop top,â they would be âgrounded âtill the world stops.â
According to today.com, West wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post that the song was meant to be a âlight-hearted take on an age-old struggle.â Now, the only trace of his song on his social media accounts is a message just shy of an apology.
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âI wrote a song poking fun at myself for being an over-protective dad, and my family thought it was funny,â he wrote. âThe song was created as satire, and I realize that some people did not receive it as it was intended.â
Prior to its deletion from most platforms, âModest Is Hottestâ went viral on TikTok as a sound under the name âModesty culture is toxic.â
âMy issue with âModest Is Hottestâ is that it implies that womenâs bodies are for men to look at,â user @roanmclean wrote in a post that now has nearly 2 million views.
She clarified in the comments of her post that modesty as a choice, to her, is not toxic.
âCreepy this man is telling his daughters what he thinks is a âhotâ way to dress,â she continued.
User @blameitonthedareprogram shared a similar sentiment.
âCan we talk about how this song is a dad addressing his daughters and ⊠telling them to do what he thinks is hot?â she wrote.
Lyssa Creutzinger, a 30-year-old mom, told today.com that she enjoyed listening to Christian music as a child, but she wouldnât want her daughter to hear the song.
âWhat a girl wears does not equal her worth,â she said. âGirls donât wear clothes because itâs what âthe boys really love.â If youâre comfortable in modest clothing, rock it, and if you want to dance on TikTok in the clothes you love, donât let people like Matthew West tell you thatâs âbad.'â
Christian singer Audrey Assad also disagreed with the songâs message.
ââModest is hottestâ still centers men and their preferences in how women should lookâstill sets being found hot by men as the ultimate goal for womenâand positions all men as creeps who canât handle seeing a womanâs bare skin without turning into out of control monsters,â she wrote in a tweet. âOf course, I know the song that my tweet was inspired by is supposed to be a joke. But I still believe it perpetuates some harmful ideas.â
On the other hand, some people didnât think the song was that big of a deal.
âHis music is right, and itâs funny,â Christian pop culture blogger Brittany Valadez said in a YouTube video. âTake a joke ⊠he is an entertainer.â
âObjectifying women and misplacing blame to women are legitimate concerns. That is not what Westâs song was about,â a commenter said. âDo people really not understand the heart of a father that wants to protect his daughters? We truly live in a crazy world for it to be taken this way.â
West has done satirical music before. His song âQuarantine Lifeâ has garnered more than 2 million views since its release in April 2020. Whether or not âModest Is Hottestâ is effective satire is up for debate.
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