There are many empowering women in the music industry and some great empowering songs sending out positive messages to women and girls across the globe. So, whether you’re getting over a breakup, looking for some music to boost your confidence, or just need a pick-me-up, you should try listening to some inspiring feminist anthems. Listed in order of release, from the 1960s to the current day, here are our top 10 empowering songs for women of all time:
First recorded in 1963 when Lesley Gore was only 17 years old, “You Don’t Own Me” inspired young women to be more independent and quickly became linked with the second wave feminist movement due to its influential lyrics. The song features a woman telling a man that he doesn’t own her and that he can’t do what he likes with her, which challenges patriarchy and shows defiance, making this one of the most empowering feminist songs for women ever! The song reached No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the US and has been covered by rock chick Joan Jett and more recently by Grace, whose updated version still resonates with a modern audience. This is one of the most empowering songs for women! Here are some of the most memorable lyrics from “You Don’t Own Me”, making it one of the msot empowering songs for women:
You don’t own me
I’m not just one of your many toys
You don’t own me
Don’t say I can’t go with other boys
And don’t tell me what to do
Don’t tell me what to say
And please, when I go out with you
Don’t put me on display
Despite passing away recently, Aretha Franklin’s soul music will most definitely live on due to its enduring popularity. “Respect” was originally written and released by Otis Redding in 1967, and became a signature R&B hit for Franklin in 1967. She altered the lyrics and turned the song on its head, making her version a demand for respect from a strong, confident women who knows she has everything her man wants. Franklin said in an interview that at the time, everyone wanted respect as part of the civil rights movement and she believed everyone deserved it. Now, her chart-topping hit is considered a feminist anthem about women’s liberation due it is bold assertiveness. Here are some of the song’s most empowering lyrics women:
What you want
Baby, I got it
What you need
Do you know I got it
All I’m askin’
Is for a little respect when you get home (just a little bit)
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Find out what it means to me
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Take care, TCB
“I Will Survive” is a top-selling disco song released by Gloria Gaynor in 1978 which went straight to No.1 in the charts before winning a Grammy. The song is about a strong woman moving on from a bad relationship, as being unwilling to put up with her unfaithful partner. This survival song is now considered a female-empowerment anthem, as it symbolises the discovery of personal strength, promotes self-esteem and encourages women to stand up for themselves! However, its timeless lyrics also have meaning for anyone trying to overcome a difficult situation and will motivate any listener. Here’s why it is one of the most empowering songs for women ever:
Go on now, go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
‘Cause you’re not welcome anymore
Weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Do you think I’d crumble
Did you think I’d lay down and die?
Oh no, not I, I will survive
Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive
I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive
I will survive, hey, hey
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is a feisty, fun and rebellious hit released by Cyndi Lauper in 1983. This sing-along pop classic celebrates girlhood, promotes female independence and challenges double standards. Its Grammy-winning music video, which has over 600 million views on Youtube, promotes female solidarity by showing women of all ethnicities coming together in defiance. Now considered an anthem of women’s sexual freedom from a time when feminism was becoming a big part of cultural consciousness, the tune has been covered various times and its influential lyrics make it an empowering song for women to this day:
Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I want to be the one to walk in the sun
Oh girls they wanna have fun
Oh girls just wanna have
That’s all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Oh girls, they wanna have fun
This country-pop song was released by Canadian singer-songwriter Shania Twain in 1997, and is definitely one of the msot empowering songs for women. “Man I Feel Like A Woman” is a catchy, feel-good song which celebrates being a woman and has freeing lyrics about having fun and letting your hair down. This girl-power song reached the top 10 in six countries and also won Twain a Grammy. The song’s music video pays homage to Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love video, turning it on its head. Instead of scantily clad female backing dancers, Twain features fit men wearing tight tops and PU trousers in her video, cleverly challenging double standards. Here are some lyrics which make “Man I Feel Like A Woman” one of the most empowering songs for women:
The girls need a break-tonight we’re gonna take
The chance to get out on the town
We don’t need romance, we only want to dance
We’re gonna let our hair hang down
The best thing about being a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun and
Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy, forget I’m a lady
Men’s shirts, short skirts
Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin’ it in style
Oh, oh, oh, get in the action, feel the attraction
Color my hair, do what I dare
Oh, oh, oh, I want to be free yeah, to feel the way I feel
Man! I feel like a woman!
“Bitch” made a bold statement when it was first released in 1997 and due to its slightly risqué title, it was also known as “Nothing In Between”. The name can be understood as a reclamation of a derogatory term stereotypically used by men against women, which was a key feature of third wave feminism in the 1990s. Shelly Peiken who co-wrote the song with Brooks, said that it was born from her frustration after 10 years of album cuts. This feminist, girl power anthem of the 90s explores the complexities of being a woman and highlights how one label can’t define you. Featured in the film What Women Want, this song’s rebellious tone and clever, sassy lyrics remind women that they are not one dimensional. Although a one-hit wonder, Meredith Brooks’ “Bitch” remains a daring and empowering song for women today:
Yesterday I cried
Must have been relieved to see
The softer side
I can understand how you’d be so confused
I don’t envy you
I’m a little bit of everything
All rolled into one
I’m a bitch, I’m a lover
I’m a child, I’m a mother
I’m a sinner, I’m a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I’m your hell, I’m your dream
I’m nothing in between
You know you wouldn’t want it any other way
“Fighter” is one of Christina Aguilera’s most empowering songs for women. While her hit “Beautiful” is considered her most empowering song by the LGBTQ community, “Fighter” is a courageous girl power anthem which encourages women to speak up for themselves and to be strong. The hybrid rock and R&B song is about transformation and turning negative experiences around, and it is unapologetically feminist by empowering women to overcome obstacles. Aguilera aggressively thanks a man for making her the “fighter” she has become and her gritty vocals express all the ways she has grown since leaving her cheating boyfriend. This isn’t a song about heartbreak, but about self-empowerment and strength. Here are some of the song’s most inspiring lyrics for women:
After all of the stealing and cheating you probably think that
I hold resentment for you
But uh uh, oh no, you’re wrong
‘Cause if it wasn’t for all that you tried to do, I wouldn’t know
Just how capable I am to pull through
So I want to say thank you
’Cause it
‘Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter
Beyoncé’s “Run The World” is a more up-to-date, aggressive female empowerment song, first released in 2011. This high energy R&B song with electro-pop elements, is unashamedly loud and proud, with sassy lyrics and a catchy dance beat. The song makes a bold statement by repeating the phrase “Who run the world? Girls” throughout. While we may not be there, “Run The World” sends an empowering feminist message to challenge patriarchy and shows that attitudes are changing and we’re heading in the right direction. The song sends a message of strength to women, encourages them to aspire to bigger things and celebrates how powerful women are. Here are some of the song’s most empowering lyrics for women:
Boy you know you love it
How we’re smart enough
To make these millions
Strong enough to bare the children
Then get back to business
See, you better not play me
Don’t come here baby
Who are we?
What we brought?
We run the world
Who run the world? Girls
“Roar” is a pop song with arena-rock elements, first released by Katy Perry in 2013. The song achieved commercial success, selling over 9 million records and making it to No.1, and it is currently the tenth most viewed video on Youtube with over 2.6 billion views! “Roar” has become a quintessential pop anthem about being knocked down and getting up stronger and is particularly popular with feminists due to its positive message about letting your voice be head. With diva-like vocals and booming bass drums, Perry released all her emotions into the song after a year of heartbreak. “Roar” is an empowering song for women, which is centred on standing up for yourself and not backing down. Here are some of its most inspiring lyrics that make it one of the best empowering songs for women:
I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter
Dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar!
Rachel Patten topped the UK charts in 2015 with her hit “Fight Song”, which is a defiant female empowerment song. Written after many rejections and inspired by the singer’s own painful life experiences, “Fight Song’s” chorus come mantra sends a positive message to encourage women to believe in themselves and fight for what they want. It is an inspirational anthem about overcoming struggles and being resilient in the face of adversity. Less aggressive than some of the other songs on this list, “Fight Song” is still an unapologetically feminist song, which reminds women not to underestimate themselves, while tugging at the heart strings. Here’s some of the lyrics which make it one of the most empowering songs for women:
Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion
This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I’m alright song
My power’s turned on
Starting right now I’ll be strong
I’ll play my fight song
And I don’t really care if nobody else believes
‘Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me
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