“Somebody’s gotta wear a pretty skirt, somebody’s gotta be the one to flirt, somebody’s gotta want to hold his hand, so God made girls…”

If you listen to modern country music at all, you’ll recognize those lyrics. They belong to RaeLynn’s hit God Made Girls, a song about how pretty and sweet women are.

It’s a catchy song for sure, but every time I catch myself singing along to it, I get annoyed. While that song is really cute, and I’m sure written with the best intentions, it’s actually pretty offensive.

Among the reasons listed for God creating girls: to be the one to cry, to let him drive, give him a reason to wash his truck, give him a reason to hold the door, to teach him how to dance, to drag him to church… and on and on it goes.

I don’t know if you caught it – it’s really subtle – but it seems like this song is saying we’re here for our lives to revolve around men and make them polite while we sit there and look pretty.

I’m paraphrasing, of course, but I challenge you to listen to that song and find one valuable trait RaeLynn gave women in this song – anything about intelligence, independence or hard work.

Believing women are here for those other reasons is a dangerous mindset. But unfortunately, it’s one that seems to be in a lot of today’s country music.

I grew up in California where you’re shunned if you admit you like country music, but I’ve always loved it anyway. I can normally get past the lyrics about women in cutoff jeans and bikinis and their “sugar-shakers.”

I love Girl in a Country Song by Maddie & Tae, which calls people out for those kind of ideas, but I’ve never thought any of those lyrics were too disrespectful or serious enough for me to pay them much mind.

What upsets me about God Made Girls is that it’s a woman singing it, and she’s not only playing into every stereotype about women but promoting it to others. I know the song is harmless and few people will take it seriously, but the idea of any woman reducing her identity to “wearing a pretty skirt” breaks my heart.

God made us for so much more than that.

So the next time you hear that song, feel free to sing along and enjoy the catchy tune, but take the time to listen to what she’s saying and ask yourself if any of it defines your purpose.

I’ll just be reading Genesis, looking for the part where God “stood back and told the boys ‘I’m ’bout to rock your world.'”