"Not a Pretty Girl": Ani Difranco and Writing on the Body  

Bodies are written on constantly in contemporary music.  From rap to alternative to country, lyricists and performers alike use music to write on the body or explore the ways in which others write on our bodies.  As with any text, this disourse can be embedded or literal.   I have chosen two songs by alternative artist Ani Difranco, "Both Hands" and "In or Out," which appear on her CD Living in Clip. I will be exploring the ways in which writing on the body functions in the texts.  It is interesting to look at Ani's work from this standpoint in that she has written on her own body over and over again with hair dye, multiple piercings, and tattoos.   

Analysis of "Both Hands"

"Both Hands" is a track that has appeared on four of Ani's CDs:  Ani Difranco (1990), Like I Said (1993), More Joy Less Shame (1996), and Living in Clip (1997).  It is a song that has been with her from her very first release and has taken many forms.  In the different versions, she adds more improvisation, instrumentals or words.  I have chosen to look at "Both Hands" from Living in Clip, because it is my favorite version.   First, let's look at a section of the lyrics from "Both Hands."

In this song, there is a somewhat literal writing on the body.  Ani sings, "I am writing / graffitti on your body / I am drawing the story of / how hard we tried."  She is using both hands and her own body to write the story of their relationship on her lover's body and requests her lover to do the same: "now use both hands / oh, no don't close your eyes."  Then she sings:  "I am watching your chest rise and fall / like the tides of my life, / and the rest of it all."  Here she is reading her own life off of her lover's body. 

Later in the song, she describes how their relationship began to fail as they wrote on each other's bodies:  "in each others' shadows we grew less and less tall / and eventually our theories couldn't explain it all."  She ends this section by singing: "and I'm recording our history now on the bedroom wall / and eventually our landlord will come / and paint over it all."  In this case, she is using the mention of shadows in the few lines before to make the listener recall the love-making shadows they had written on the walls together.  Even those inscriptions/reminders will be gone after she moves out and the landlord paints over them all. The background music and the lengthy instrumental adds to the song by creating a slow and rhythmic flow that feels much like writing.   

Analysis of "In and Out"

While writing on the body is apparent in "Both Hands," "In or Out" presents a challenge to the listener.     First, read the lyrics of "In or Out," then click here to listen to a clip of the songs. (In order to listen to this clip, you must download a Real Player. It takes a few minutes, but it's worth it. And it's FREE!)

Ultimately, "In or Out" discusses Ani's struggle with people who try to "make" her heterosexual or homosexual by reading her body.  She doesn't want to be defined as either.  She just wants "more than one membership / to more than one club."   The man in the second stanza sexualizes her and attempts to dominate her:  "like he's got [her] number / like he thinks it's his."  She responds to his writing on her body ("he looks me up and down") by telling him that "it's Mr. Difranco to you."  She is unwilling to have her gender and sexuality defined by his gaze on her body. She reinforces her unwillingness in the next stanza by singing "somedays the line I walk / turns out to be straight / other days the line tends to deviate."  

In the fourth stanza, she has a similar encounter with a woman who tries to force a lesbian identity onto her:  "she looks me up and down / like she thinks that I'll mature / like she's got my number / like it belongs to her."  Ani's response is "you know I've got spots / mind if I've got stripes too?" In other words, the woman has read a text written on Ani's body, then has written her own narrative of what she believes that text represents.  Ani clearly points out, though, that her body text is not just what the woman believes it to be, but there are more words.   She further comments on this idea of societal inscription in the fifth stanza:  "their eyes are always asking / are you in or are you out / and I think, mmmmm / what is this about?"  Not only do others try to write her identity as a heterosexual or a homosexual, but they are also asking a myriad of questions about her identity as a whole.  

Questions for Further Contemplation

• In what other ways can you interpret writing on the body in "Both Hands" and "In or Out"?
• Look at other songs by Ani Difranco.  How can these be read by looking at writing on the body?  Is there a theme or trope with writing on the body in Ani's music?
• Does Ani's writing on her own body influence the presence of this aspect in her music?  How?  Why or why not?  

Awesome Ani Links

AJ's Ani Page-- This site is crammed full of everything Ani:  articles, bootlegs, discography, lyrics, sounds, trading boards , tour dates, and tour archives.  It is well presented and extremely informative.  If you want to know more about Ani, this is the place to go.   

Righteous Babe Records--A brief site that discusses the albums and merchandise, but also has an open letter from Ani, a mailing list, tour schedules, guitar tablature, and quotes.  There is also a link here to Ani's newsgroup.   

Ani Difranco Page--If you are looking for cool Ani links and a storehouse of Ani photos and reviews, then this is the place to go.