Introduction
Thérèse by Maya Hawke is a single from her sophomore album “Moss” coming out on September 23rd this year. The song was inspired by the painting Thérèse Dreaming by Balthus, which is still displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Like the painting, Hawke has sparked discussion regarding the male gaze and how it affects the sexualization of young women.
History
Painted in 1938 by a French artist named Balthasar Klossowski (Balthus), Thérèse Dreaming illustrates a young girl seemingly unaware of her surroundings and lost in thought.
Throughout his career, Balthus earned himself a controversial title over his consistent subject matter. He continuously painted girls between the ages of 11-15, in what some say to be “sexually suggestive” poses. And while some of his works (like his Guitar Lesson) display this more explicitly, he argues that these poses are “just how [little girls] sit.” He wasn’t alone in his philosophy, many other modern artists shared the idea that children were an excellent source of raw spirit because they were not yet influenced by society. Impressionist Paul Gauguin, Edward Munch, and even Pablo Picasso shared the idea that adolescent sexuality was “potent in physiological vulnerability.”
Mia Merrill in 2017 petitioned the Met to either take the painting down or add more context to the description, as she believed it “romanticized the sexualization of a child.” She garnered lots of online support, obtaining hundreds of signatures at the rise of the Me Too Movement to get the painting removed from the gallery, along with others like it. Ultimately, the Met decided to keep the painting up, their reasoning being that “moments like this provide an opportunity for conversation.”
There was never any evidence that suggested Balthus to be a pedophile, he stated that his subjects were “absolutely untouchable” to him. Yet the world still wonders as people take the opportunity to reflect on the painting and its artist.
Now in 2022, Hawke has another take on the infamous painting: Thérèse does not belong to any of them, and by extension neither does she.
Thérèse viewed by Hawke
As a young girl, Hawke viewed Thérèse as an “unencumbered young woman who was so confident and relaxed and unselfconscious.” Thérèse looked “free” to her but as she got older the painting began to hold a more complex narrative.
Girls are subjected to sexualization at a much younger age than they are mentally ready for. Some girls are sexualized at age 8, grade 2, as they continue to learn to take care of themselves. Some girls at 11, grade 6. Some at 15, grade 9. This is years and years of training to be desirable for someone other than themselves.
Humor me for a moment, if you are not a woman I would like you to think about something for a moment. I want you to think about how terrifying it would be to have all eyes on you and your growing body. Yes, men’s bodies change at a certain point, but not as so noticeable as when women’s do. We are granted no power over what we will look like after puberty yet we’re told what bodies are attractive and which are not. We are forced to take a back seat and hope that we’ll still be desired after all is said and done.
The media we consume plays the biggest role in this. Movies, television shows, books, magazines, and now the world of social media outlets teach us both directly and indirectly what is deemed “sexy,” “beautiful,” and “desirable.” These messages and images become so hardwired into our brains that it shapes the women we become. Hawke comments on this saying “as an adult woman, you have to rescue yourself from [those] narratives.”
As our bodies change we’re suddenly told to “cover-up” and to do things like a “lady,” and our bodies start to be treated like something we should be ashamed of. It’s not the fault of our mothers when they told us to stand up straight and keep our legs crossed because they were taught the same thing, they just wanted us to be safe. But how others perceived us wasn’t up to us, “that’s not about [us]. [We] didn’t do anything. It’s cause of how it makes you feel.”
Lyrics
Hawke sings “Thérèse does not belong to you,” telling the opposers to the painting, Thérèse wasn’t for the painter or the audience.
She brings Thérèse to life, describing the girl’s hopes, dreams, and feelings. Mention of horses and old sports cars along with desires to be older, humanize Thérèse to us as an audience for seemingly the first time in Thérèse’s history. Hawke gives her character, just as she has always seen her: free, unencumbered, and unselfconscious as a way to say she is someone apart from the conversation of sexualization, which is centered on the painter.
She even mocks the opposers with lines like “get her down, take her off the wall” and mention of the white kitten in the corner of the painting. The kitten has been said to represent predatory and sultry behavior, suggesting Thérèse was seducing the painter or audience. But Hawke is clear as she repeats, “it’s just Thérèse,” and it’s just a cat.
Thérèse is what Hawke says to be “a portrait of herself.” It’s fair to assume that these characteristics she gives to Thérèse reference her own hopes, dreams, and feelings at one point or another in her life. Could this song be part of the effort to save her younger self from the narratives of the male gaze?
Hawke grew up in the eyes of the media because of her parent’s stardom, she might have felt the pressure of what she was “supposed” to be at a young age. This song and it’s meaning might remind her of her younger self and her ability to change the narratives she might have internalized.
She also mentions that the speaker in the song is both the same person and different people to her. One way I see it is the inner child as one person and her adult self as another. The child now protected by the adult version of herself.
I go see Thérèse dreaming She's stretching out her sore shoulder Leaning back, eyes closed, reaching up She's wishing she was older Dreaming of an appaloosa Saddled up, riding out of town Dreaming of a Shelby cobra Digging her tires in the ground Bleeding, bringing in a new year's mess Unaware of the stain on her dress It's tactless, its a test It's just Thérèse It's just Thérèse White kitten in the corner Obscene It really says it all Milk matches her underwear Get her down Take her off the wall She dreams of Marlon in Austin Their bodies tangled in a net She thinks of him every so often When she feels like a space cadet She empathizes with your feelings She's more interested in ceilings It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse It's just Thérèse It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse It's just Thérèse She reminds me of memories Sleeping off the growing pains We were see anemones Spelling out each others names Whispering inside our red house While the adults were a-sleeping I guess Thérèse is just for me A quiet I keep on keeping Thérèse does not belong to you The horses, cars, and cowboys do It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse It's just Thérèse It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse It's just Thérèse It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse It's tactless, it's a test It's just Thérèse
Thérèse, Rated X
“it reminded me of ways I felt about myself and ways my friends have felt… it’s about the relationships we build, where things like gender don’t matter. Where you build these little quiet rooms and these places where you’re free and you’re yourself and you don’t feel encumbered by those gazes… and how amazing those spaces are and how life-changing they are and much society does not want you to have them and encroach upon those spaces and try to make you jealous of each other and hate each other, or make you feel ashamed of your desires.”
– Maya Hawke
Described as a “queer orgy being interrupted by [the mind] police,” the video really explores the two themes of the song.
It’s a beautiful commentary on hyper-sexualization in art and on societal encroachment on safe spaces.
Overall, this song and video’s message is so important and I’m glad to see it talked about by someone with so much attention recently.
I LOVE listening to this song, it makes me feel young again. I feel like my younger self gets to visit and we can sit for a while smiling about growing up and feeling older. It’s such an empowering feeling too. It reminds me that I am able to protect and heal aspects of my younger self that might have been hurt by the male gaze growing up.
The video made me feel beautiful in an unexpected way. I often feel like my body isn’t mine to enjoy but for others and their desires. It never seemed fair to me that I wasn’t able to have an opinion of my body without being scrutinized for it. I’ve been told that my body is for others to enjoy when the time came and I hate that sentiment. My body is my body and I can do what I please with it. I don’t want to be sexualized by the people around me and I shouldn’t need to explain why not.
The video also made me feel seen. Maybe it’s because I want to be as unapologetically expressive as Hawke demonstrates. I want to be as comfortable and confident in my body and in a place where it’s just my body and not this complex idea of living to please others. I want to be more intuned with myself and what my body wants and not feel shame for it. I want to be braver, stronger, and unapologetically expressive. I don’t know how to go about this but Thérèse reminds me I can and more importantly, that it’s okay for me to do so.
Thérèse is human and vulnerable and beautiful. Thank you Maya for this song, message, and video. I know it will help a lot of people. <3