What is the meaning of this song?
Masturbation is the generally accepted meaning.
I thought so!
No wonder why my Christian friends were rolling their eyes at me a couple of weeks ago. Everyone starting belting out 80’s songs. Then I starting singing “whip it”. They were like :rolleyes: :o :dubious:
Yeah. We all know good Christians don’t masturbate. 
Don’t tell him what “Turning Japanese” is about!!
Or Blister In The Sun.
And yet that’s NOT what it actually means. The phrase comes from something Mark Mothersbaugh’s father (lead singer for Devo, and Brother to Bob1) said growing up.
Basically it’s what the lyrics actually say…
When a Problem comes along - you must Whip It.
It’s actual a parody of 80’s style self-help slogans. Made even more meaningless because they’re so devoid of context.
VH1 had a short-lived series concerning song meanings. The guy who wrote this song (he was a music-biz lawyer) said it had nothing to do with masturbating. He said it was about the confusing feelings of being in love.
Most people don’t believe him.
And you can’t spell “devoid” without “Devo”!
Masturbation may be the generally accepted meaning but that does not mean it’s the actual meaning.
From Songfacts :
I’ve never thought of it as being about masturbation… which, of course, doesn’t mean that it isn’t. And I was 15 when Freedom of Choice was released – prime masturbation age.
For reference, the chorus is
Which doesn’t seem to reference masturbation. Just my $02.
I’m still trying to get my head around She Bop. To this day I don’t know, nor care, what the lyrics are. I always thought it was a throw-away* dance hit. Who knew?
- I almost wrote toss-off, but that would likely degrade this thread into something dirty and vile. And we all want to keep this cerebral, right? Right?!?
[sub]What?[/sub]
a) Anybody who listened to Cyndi Lauper going around proclaiming to everyone in sight that she wrote a song about female masturbation?
b) Anybody who listened to the lyrics?
c) Anybody?
21 years later, I can still remember that crazy song
They say I gotta get a chaperone
‘Cause I can’t stop messin’ with my danger zone
Gonna take a ride into the
DANGER ZONE!
Wanna hear something really disturbing? “She-bop” came out about the time I was in 7th-8th grade at a Catholic school back home. In one of our 8th grade music classes, our priest music teacher deconstructed the song for us! From what “Blueboy magazine” was to what she was supposedly doing…
Of course, I’m also the person who was taught the guitar chords and words to “House of the Rising Sun” by Sister Placida…
Or Dancin’ With Myself
Or I Touch Myself by the Divinyls … .