John Lennon "Woman is the Nigger of the World"
Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it...do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance
If she wont be a slave, we say that she dont love us
If shes real, we say shes trying to be a man
While putting her down, we pretend that shes above us

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Ah, yeah...better scream about it

We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that shes too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeah...alright...hit it!

We insult her every day on tv
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When shes young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...if you dont believe me, take a look at the one youre with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is...if you believe me, you better scream about it

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance


With of all of our discussion about race and discrimination I was wondering how many people believe what John Lennon is saying is saying in this song. Because after I heard this song I began to realize that maybe it is true. African Americans could vote before woman and Indians could even own land before woman. Doesn't it same alittle strange that the world does not see a problem with constantly putting woman on the back burner?

Yes, Charlene, it does seem quite strange. Thanks for bringing this up! I hope you will get more responses regarding sexism. It's something we will spend time on in class, too.

As sad as it is, I can agree completely with what is said in that song. I do feel like there is still this silent struggle for women to be treated as fairly as men. It makes me upset when guys try to put you down every time you try to be as strong/equal as them. There is still an unspoken rule/line it seems that we are not suppose to cross because it makes some men feel uncomfortable. I feel like there is still a lot of fighting going on between men and women. I believe there is this gray area that makes me confused sometimes because yes I want to be a mom and stay at home with my children when they are younger (not able to go to school), but does that mean that I am just falling into the role that was laid out for me? Would it change if the roles of women in our culture were different?

I have talked to my fiance about whether he would ever be a stay at home dad if the opportunity arose. He did say that he would be up for it and that he would probably have some sort of business he would run out of our house (meaning a website or something of the sort). This actually surprised me when he said this, but I do feel like it shows that men have moved forward with having women and men be equal.

I am not trying to say that any sort of extreme statement like all men do not treat women equal or anything like that. I am just really sorting through things I have observed/witnessed and things that have been discussed in classes I have taken at ASU.

Another thing that just came to mind is my project I am working on for my Literacy Tech and Instr. class. My group is doing advertisement and body image and just going through the magazines and seeing what is our nations construction of beauty is makes me sad. It makes me sad because I know that I am affected by it, on a smaller degree than some women out there, but we are targeted with all these images of what they want us to look like and we have to strive for that. In my Social Deviance Class my teacher gave us the figures for the ideal figures for what a women was suppose to look like and what the reality was and it was kind of scary because it is really impossible to get the ideal unless you are born with the body type. Also when you look at the ideal and reality of men it really is not all that different.

This song has got it right. Its so sad to say, but its true. I think that women are still fighting for equal rights. Men's salaries still exceed women's in the exact same field at the exact same job. Strong women are considered "crazy feminist" when really they are simply defying what society thinks they should be. The "submissive" wife is still quite popular. Women are looked down upon by society, men, and even other women. We don't need to be told that we are equal by the government or anyone else, we need to start acting it out in everyday life and fighting for equal pay and equal treatment. I intend to speak up for what is right, equal, and fair.

Statistics obviously show that men's salaries are generally higher than women. I would love to be a stay at home dad but if I get payed more than my wife it doesnt seem like the logical decision for our family. I would also be very willing to take on an extra job to support my family while my wife stayed home with the children. I wouldnt allow my wife to do that instead of me if it was at all possible. I think that the song makes a good point but as a man I would rather take the heaviest burden.

I agree the song is horrible. I don't know though, in my life right now I don't feel inferior to any male. Maybe I have just not been out in the real world job wise, but I also think it is a generational thing. I believe our generation is more accepting of social differences than it used to be; examples women, homosexuals, different races etc. I guess that is just how I see it. Any thoughts?