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This is a list of songs described as feminist anthems celebrating women's empowerment, or used as protest songs against gender inequality. These songs range from airy pop affirmations such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper, to solemn calls to action such as "We Shall Go Forth" by Margie Adam.
Songs have been used for many years to bring people together to work for women's rights. In the United States, the 1884 song "The Equal-Rights Banner" was sung to the tune of the US national anthem by American activists for women's voting rights. [1] "The March of the Women" and "The Women's Marseillaise" were sung by British suffragettes as anthems of the women's suffrage movement in the 1900s–1910s.
The most prominent anthem of second-wave feminism is Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman", a pop song which appeared as an album track in 1971 without making a splash. It was released a second time in May 1972 after being altered and re-recorded. This improved version of the song slowly climbed the United States single charts, its airplay resisted by male deejays at radio stations, but urged forward by the demand of female listeners. The song finally hit number 1 in December 1972. [2] "I Am Woman", with its uplifting message of female strength, was played and sung many times by women promoting the cause of feminism. In 2020, a documentary about the making of the song was released: I Am Woman, starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey as Reddy. [3]
During the 1970s, earlier songs such as Aretha Franklin's "Respect" (1967) were brought forward as feminist anthems. Franklin's song, originally written by Otis Redding but significantly reworked by Franklin, serves multiple purposes including standing firm in personal relationships, advocating women's rights, and asserting racial equality for African Americans. [4] [5]
Before the women's liberation movement, popular songs sung by women often expressed subservience to men. Songs about independence from men were rare; many of these are now considered steps toward feminism. Examples include Sophie Tucker's self-explanatory "I Ain't Taking Orders From No One" (1920s), "No More" recorded in 1944 by Billie Holiday, [6] and 1965's "Ain't No Use" by Nina Simone—the latter two about a woman leaving her man after suffering too many abuses. [7] Shocking in its day, the 1963 song "You Don't Own Me" sung by Lesley Gore describes the singer standing up to her controlling boyfriend. [6] In 2015, singer Saygrace took Gore's song to No. 1 in Australia with a version featuring rapper G-Eazy. [8]
Women around the world have used songs to unite in feminism and to organize for women's rights. Mexican singer Vivir Quintana is known for her song "Canción sin miedo" (Song Without Fear) which in 2020 became an anthem to fight violence against women. [9] In the Philippines, the 1981 song "Babae Ka" (You Are Woman) was covered by activist Susan Fernandez and also by the duo Inang Laya in the early 1980s as a protest against the reactionary patriarchal policies of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. [10] In Chile starting in 2019, the song "Un violador en tu camino" (A Rapist in Your Path) by the collective Las Tesis has been performed by masses of women who sing and dance to protest police violence. This form of protest has spread to other countries. [11]
Year | Artist | Song | Album | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1884 | C. C. Harrah | "The Equal-Rights Banner" | An American anthem for women's voting rights, the lyrics were written by Reverend C. C. Harrah, sung to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner". The second verse mentions the evil of "License", referring to alcohol abuse by men, a central issue for women in the Temperance movement. [1] | |
1891 (text) c.1890s (music) | Lyricist: David Edelstadt Music: Traditional | "Arbeter Froyen" | A Yiddish-language poem that was adopted as a song by striking workers in the then Russian Empire. [12] [13] The song extols working-class women to stand up together in the fight for liberation as both a sex and as class. [12] [13] | |
1908 | Florence MacAulay | "The Women's Marseillaise" | The lyrics were written by Florence MacAulay to the tune of the French anthem "La Marseillaise". It was one of the anthems of the British Women's Social and Political Union, and it was also sung in other countries. [14] | |
1910 | Cicely Hamilton | "The March of the Women" | With words by Cicely Hamilton and music by Ethel Smyth, the song was the official anthem of British women fighting for voting rights, and was also sung worldwide. | |
1963 | Lesley Gore | "You Don't Own Me" | Lesley Gore Sings of Mixed-Up Hearts | |
1967 | Aretha Franklin | "Respect" | I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You | Written by Otis Redding and released by him in 1965, the song was changed by Franklin to suit a woman's viewpoint. [4] [15] |
1971 | Helen Reddy | "I Am Woman" | I Don't Know How to Love Him | The song was not a chart hit until it was remade in 1972 and released as a single. The hit version was included in the album I Am Woman released later that year. [16] [2] |
1972 | Yoko Ono | "Sisters, O Sisters" | Some Time in New York City | Accompanied by her husband John Lennon and the band Elephant's Memory, Ono encourages women to join and make the world a better place. [17] |
1977 | Margie Adam | "We Shall Go Forth" | Margie Adam | Adam sang the song at the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, and it became a feminist as well as a gay anthem promoting LGBT rights in the United States. [18] |
1980 | Dolly Parton | "9 to 5" | 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs | Created for the playful-but-anti-patriarchal comedy film 9 to 5 , the song was picked up as an anthem for women working in the office. [7] |
1980s | Naomi Littlebear Morena | "You Can't Kill the Spirit" | Sung by thousands at the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp in the 1980s. [19] | |
1983 | Cyndi Lauper | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | She's So Unusual | Described as a feminist anthem for its perky assertion of feminine solidarity. [20] |
1985 | Eurythmics | "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" | Be Yourself Tonight | Featuring Aretha Franklin, the song also appearing on her album Who's Zoomin' Who? . [15] |
1989 | Queen Latifah | "Ladies First" | All Hail the Queen | Featuring Monie Love. [21] |
1989 | Tears for Fears | "Woman in Chains" | The Seeds of Love | Featuring Oleta Adams. [22] |
1992 | Mary Chapin Carpenter | "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" | Come On Come On | A country music song in which an unappreciated wife leaves her husband of 15 years to join the workforce. [15] |
1993 | Bikini Kill | "Rebel Girl" | Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah | Produced by Joan Jett who also plays guitar, the song celebrates the sisterhood of punk. It is a leading example of the 1990s riot grrrl feminist movement. [15] [7] |
1993 | Queen Latifah | "U.N.I.T.Y." | Black Reign | A hip hop song that confronts violence against women, it provided Queen Latifah with her biggest chart hit and a Grammy Award. [15] [7] |
1995 | No Doubt | "Just a Girl" | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt's frontwoman Gwen Stefani rails against the assumption that women are submissive to men. [15] |
1998 | Rachael Sage | "Sistersong" | Smashing the Serene | Sage wrote "Sistersong" as a tribute to women's independence, honoring Ani DiFranco who established her own record label. In 2018, Sage reworked the song and released it in acoustic form as "Sistersong 2018" for the #MeToo movement, with proceeds benefiting Girls, Inc. [23] [24] |
1999 | Le Tigre | "Hot Topic" | Le Tigre | Riot grrrl band Le Tigre honors feminist heroes such as Yoko Ono, Joan Jett, Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. [15] |
2001 | Paulina Rubio | "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer" | Paulina | "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer" (I Am Not That Woman) shows the singer telling her man that she will not be subservient. [25] |
2003 | Christina Aguilera | "Can't Hold Us Down" | Stripped | Featuring Lil' Kim. [26] [27] |
2005 | Robyn | "Handle Me" | Robyn | [28] |
2007 | Annie Lennox | "Sing" | Songs of Mass Destruction | "Sing" is a charity single that features 19 other women singing, including Madonna, Faith Hill, k. d. lang, Dido and more. Proceeds benefited Treatment Action Campaign. [29] |
2008 | Beyoncé | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | I Am... Sasha Fierce | "Single Ladies" brings women together to celebrate independence. [30] [31] |
2011 | Beyoncé | "Run the World (Girls)" | 4 | "Run the World (Girls)" encourages female empowerment. [32] |
2012 | Marina Diamandis | "Sex Yeah" | Electra Heart | A track about societal gender roles assigned at birth, described as a "feminist statement". [33] |
2013 | Lily Allen | "Hard out Here" | Sheezus | "Hard out Here" received critical acclaim upon release. Rolling Stone praised the song calling it a "feminist anthem through and through", and noted the subjects which Allen tackles including "tired gender roles and expectations to double standards regarding sex and appearance for men and women". [34] |
2015 | Marina Diamandis | "Can't Pin Me Down" | Froot | “Can’t Pin Me Down” provides a candid and direct callout of misconceptions surrounding feminism and the actions of women. [35] |
2015 | Downtown Boys | "Monstro" | Full Communism | Downtown Boys are a "sax punk" band from Rhode Island, with several women members. Spin magazine described the band's lead single "Monstro" as a "thrashing feminist anthem". [36] |
2015 | Speedy Ortiz | "Raising the Skate" | Foil Deer | Described by Flavorwire as a feminist anthem, the singer faces her male opposition to "prove 'em wrong". [37] |
2017 | Milck | "Quiet" | The song "Quiet" was performed by Milck and 26 singers for the 2017 Women's March. Uploaded videos went viral. [7] [38] [39] | |
2017 | Zolita | "Fight Like a Girl" | Sappho | i-D magazine wrote that the contemporary R&B song "Fight Like a Girl" is "a bewitching feminist power anthem championing equal rights and diversity." [40] |
2017 | Rachel Platten | "Broken Glass" | Waves | Idolator wrote that the song is "an uplifting feminist anthem". [41] |
2017 | Mona Haydar | "Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab)" | "Hijabi" was a viral video in 2017, Haydar's first international hit song. Billboard magazine named it one of the “Top 25 Feminist Anthems." [42] | |
2018 | Kesha | "Woman" | Rainbow | The funk/pop song "Woman" emphatically asserts the singer's self-sufficiency and independence. Parade listed it as one of Kesha's "empowering feminist anthems". [43] |
2018 | Christina Aguilera | "Fall in Line" | Liberation | Featuring Demi Lovato. [44] |
2018 | Ariana Grande | "God Is a Woman" | Sweetener | This anthemic fusion of hip hop and pop ends with a gospel-inflected swell. The song's video shows the singer embracing her feminine power, rejecting the insults of small-minded men, and allowing her womanly divinity to shine out. [7] |
2018 | Little Mix featuring Nicki Minaj | "Woman Like Me" | LM5 | Jess Glynne and Ed Sheeran wrote the song for Glynne, but they offered it to Little Mix instead. Nicki Minaj raps on the third verse. MTV said the "girl power" song challenges the stereotype of submissive women. [45] |
2018 | Lynzy Lab | "A Scary Time" | Hollywood Reporter classified this viral video as a feminist anthem, the singer protesting against comments made by Donald Trump related to the media attention surrounding Brett Kavanaugh's sexual attack of Christine Blasey Ford. [46] | |
2018 | BoA | "Woman" | Woman | The Korean language song "Woman" was described by Rolling Stone India as a K-pop feminist anthem promoting women's self-sufficiency and diversity. [47] |
2018 | Meg Mac | "Give Me My Name Back" | Hope | Australian singer-songwriter Meg Mac broadens the scope of this anthem to include women's rights, the rights of indigenous Australians, civil rights for the LGBT community, and reparations for those who suffered Catholic Church sexual abuse as children. [48] [49] |
2018 | Little Mix | "Joan of Arc" | LM5 | Idolator wrote that this upbeat dance number was a "fiercely feminist anthem". [50] |
2018 | Sara Bareilles | "Armor" | Amidst the Chaos | Bareilles wrote and released "Armor" as part of the #MeToo movement. [51] |
2019 | Avril Lavigne | "Dumb Blonde" | Head Above Water | Featuring Nicki Minaj. [52] |
2019 | Las Tesis | "A Rapist in Your Path" | Chilean protest song and performance piece to protest police violence against women. [11] | |
2019 | Tamara Todevska | "Proud" | Todevska performed the song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, representing North Macedonia. The song celebrates womanhood and feminism, but is also intended for any downtrodden person striving for equality. [53] | |
2020 | Vivir Quintana | "Canción sin miedo" | Commissioned by Chilean singer Mon Laferte to perform at a women's equality festival in Mexico City, Quintana's recording of the song "Canción sin miedo" (Song Without Fear) went viral on WhatsApp prior to the festival. [9] | |
2020 | Ava Max | "Kings & Queens" | Heaven & Hell | Max sings to the power of women, requiring equality with men. [54] |
2021 | Loud Women | "Reclaim These Streets" | A charity single written by Cassie Fox with additional lyrics performed by Brix Smith, featuring 60 British women singing, including Siobhan Fahey, Debbie Googe, Charley Stone, Debbie Smith, Laura Kidd and many more. Loud Women, a non-profit organization, released the song as part of protests against the death of Sarah Everard. | |
2021 | Samanta Tīna | "The Moon Is Rising" | Tīna performed the song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, representing Latvia. The song describes women taking control of their lives. [55] | |
2021 | Yola | "Stand for Myself" | Stand for Myself | Consequence called the song "a Black feminist anthem". [56] |
2021 | Emmy Meli | "I Am Woman" | Filled with self-affirmations, the song went viral on TikTok in October 2021, inspiring many more cover versions. [57] | |
2021 | Christina Aguilera | "Pa Mis Muchachas" | Aguilera | Aguilera joins American Becky G and Argentines Nicki Nicole and Nathy Peluso to perform the song "Pa Mis Muchachas" (For My Girls) which has been called a "decadent, grrl-power–filled showcase" [58] and "a modern-day girl-power anthem that honors the Latinas that came before us". [59] |
2022 | St. Vincent | "The Melting of the Sun" | Daddy's Home | Rolling Stone wrote that in "The Melting of the Sun" Anne Clark muses on women who have been crushed or otherwise mistreated by the entertainment industry, as she explains it is "a love letter to strong, brilliant female artists." [60] |
2022 | Florence and the Machine | "King" | Dance Fever | Grazia magazine wrote that "King" is 2022's feminist anthem. The singer reflects on the contradictions of womanhood. [61] |
2023 | Vesna | "My Sister's Crown" | This song, described by BBC News and The Times as a feminist anthem, represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. [62] [63] | |
2023 | Demi Lovato | "Swine" | Lovato wrote and released "Swine" in response to the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Billboard describes "Swine" as a "long lost nu-metal anthem" in which Lovato "rage[s] against the system that aims to strip women of their bodily autonomy." [64] |
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone twice named her as the greatest singer of all time.
Lady Soul is the twelfth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin released in early 1968 by Atlantic Records. The album stayed at number 1 for 16 weeks on Billboard's R&B album chart, and it hit number 2 on the pop album chart during a year-long run.
Helen Maxine Reddy was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the television program Bandstand in 1966; her prize was a ticket to New York City and a record audition, which was unsuccessful. After a short and unsuccessful singing career in New York, she eventually moved to Chicago, and subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles "One Way Ticket" and "I Believe in Music" in 1968 and 1970, respectively. The B-side of the latter single, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", reached number eight on the pop chart of the Canadian magazine RPM. She was signed to Capitol Records a year later.
"Spanish Harlem" is a song recorded by Ben E. King in 1960 for Atco Records. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. "Spanish Harlem" was King's first hit away from The Drifters, peaking at number 15 on Billboard's rhythm and blues and number 10 in pop music chart.
"Respect" is a song written and originally recorded by American soul singer Otis Redding. It was released in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul and became a crossover hit for Redding.
"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at number eight.
"I Am Woman" is a song written by Australian musicians Helen Reddy and Ray Burton. Performed by Reddy, the first recording of "I Am Woman" appeared on her debut album I Don't Know How to Love Him, released in May 1971, and was heard during the closing credits for the 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted. A new recording of the song was released as a single in May 1972 and became a number-one hit later that year, eventually selling over one million copies. The song came near the apex of the counterculture era and, by celebrating female empowerment, became an enduring feminist anthem for the women's liberation movement. Following Reddy's death in September 2020, the song peaked at number 2 on the Australian digital sales chart.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label. The words were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history on the UK Singles Chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released, entering at No. 79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.
"Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics and American singer Aretha Franklin. A modern feminist anthem, it was written by Eurythmics members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and featured on both Eurythmics' Be Yourself Tonight (1985) and Franklin's Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985) albums. The duo originally intended to perform with Tina Turner, who was unavailable at the time and so they flew to Detroit and recorded with Franklin instead. The track also features three of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers: Stan Lynch on drums, Benmont Tench on organ, and Mike Campbell on lead guitar, plus session bassist Nathan East.
This discography documents the releases of albums and singles by Aretha Franklin. Widely regarded as the "Queen of Soul", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling R&B female artists of all time. Billboard ranks her as the 34th Greatest Artist of all time. Franklin has scored 73 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, the most among women for nearly 50 years until Nicki Minaj passed her in 2017. Billboard listed her as the 41st Top Gospel Artist of the 2010s. She has accumulated 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
"You Don't Own Me" is a pop song written by Philadelphia songwriters John Madara and David White, and was recorded by Lesley Gore in 1963, when she was 17 years old. The song was Gore's second most successful recording and her last top-ten single. Gore herself considered it to be her signature song claiming “I just can’t find anything stronger to be honest with you, it’s a song that just grows every time you do it.”
"Yo No Soy Esa Mujer" is a song recorded by Mexican singer Paulina Rubio for her fifth studio album, Paulina (2000). It was released as the fourth single from Paulina on April 2, 2001. After meeting with its writers Christian De Walden and Ralf Stemmann in Spain, Rubio recorded several versions of the song, including a Spanish version written by Carlos Toro Montoro. The pop rock-inspired song, produced by Marcello Azevedo, has self-empowerment lyrics.
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" is a song written by Chips Moman and Dan Penn, and made famous by Aretha Franklin. Her version was released on February 10, 1967. Rolling Stone listed it as number 476 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released five studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including the 2016 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
The lack of respect that black women received in the music industry gave rise to hip-hop feminism, as singers such as Monie Love brought attention to the differences in acknowledgment that exist even for equal talent. The movement tackles problems arising from deindustrialization, racial wealth disparities, and conservative backlash. It was molded by the social environment of the 1980s and 1990s. Me'Shell Ndegeocello an American rapper, singer and bassist and Angie Stone a singer are two artists that have shaped the conversation. Hip-hop feminism goes beyond gender issues to support the rights of women, African Americans, and LGBTQ+ people. Prominent figure in the genre Queen Latifah used "the politics of respectability" to promote women's rights and racial empowerment. Ndegeocello is one of the rising queer feminists of color who brings a nuanced viewpoint to problems like abortion and unjust beauty standards. Changes in perspectives are reflected in the transition from male-dominated hip-hop to women-centered hip-hop soul, which allows for a diversity of narratives within black communities. The Grammy-winning song "U.N.I.T.Y." by Queen Latifah was a historic moment that validated the powerful voice of black women in a male-dominated field and sparked discussions about domestic abuse and the commodification of black women's sexuality. In the United States, the introduction of new styles of music came during the Transatlantic Slave Trade era. The genres of music include, but are not limited to, blues, rock, gospel music, jazz, bluegrass, and Hip-hop. African American women in the music industry have made significant contributions over the years.
"Joan of Arc" is a song recorded by British girl group Little Mix, and appears as the sixth track on their fifth album LM5 (2018). It was released on November 2, 2018 as the album's first promotional single. It was written by group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, along with Loosechange handling the production.
Woman is the ninth Korean-language studio album by South Korean singer-songwriter BoA. It was released on October 24, 2018, by SM Entertainment, with distribution by iRiver. The album features ten tracks in total, including the lead single, which shares the same name as the title of the album. The album is BoA's first Korean full-length release since Kiss My Lips (2015).
Unjoo Moon is an Australian film director, best known for the 2020 biopic I Am Woman, that tells the story of international feminist icon Helen Reddy.
Connie Kimberly Lim, professionally known as Milck, is an American singer-songwriter. A child of immigrants from Hong Kong, she initially performed as an independent artist for several years, and rose to widespread attention after a video of a performance of her song "Quiet" at the 2017 Women's March became popular, and became embraced as a feminist anthem for the movement. She was eventually signed to Atlantic Records, and released her debut EP This Is Not The End in 2018.
American singer-songwriter Madonna is seen by some as a feminist icon. Throughout best part of her career, Madonna's forays into feminism, womanhood and media representation of women have sparked discussions among numerous feminist scholars and commentators worldwide. She has also been noted for her advocacy of women's rights.
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