What love songs are not sexist?

[DeviTheGaelet]

Discuss....

Prince really got women. "If I was your girlfriend " is brilliant.

Pity about the grammar.

The reasons by the Weakerthans. Fucking love that song. Always makes me think of OH. "How you make me laugh so hard.l How the years refuse to stay, where we told them to, bad dog!" So true...

Every breath you take is about sting being divorced from his wife. He is stalking her as she has dumped him. This song gives me the creeps as I was stalked by an ex.
It's so weird as when I read 'love song ' I immediately thought of Gloria Gaynor I will survive. Love for myself!!

If I will survive is in there, can I include Firework by Katy Perry? Even though it makes me think of dd rather than a romantic love.

It is about a werewolf turning her beloved man into a werewolf too and them prowling the forests at night forever together ... but it works for both sexes, and can be sung by a man without it sounding strange.

Ok, this is neither here nor there, but I've always wondered, and maybe you sarky bitches wise people can help with this:

When a boy band is singing - indeed, taking it in turns to sing - all sorts of blether to (almost always, just a generic...) "girl", are all 3-5 members of the band singing to the same girl, or different ones? If the former, isn't that a little kinky? Or at very least a recipe for heartbreak and disaster?....

Nothing else matters by Metallica is just beautiful. It was out first dance song and remains one of my favorites of all time

Isn't she lovely - Stevie Wonder (written for his newborn daughter)

That's what makes you beautiful - One Direction

Devi that singer is Natalie Merchant and she's made lots of solo albums since then, She is magnificent. Have a listen.

oops sorry that's already been said! She's one of my favourites.

George Benson - In Your Eyes
Lene Marlin - Maybe I'll Go

Prettiest Eyes- the Beautiful South
Fairytale of New York

Both songs about established relationships reflecting on the good and bad times, neither party idolises the other and they acknowledge the bad stuff too.

Natalie Merchant is an amazing singer. I could listen to "Tiger Lily" for ever.

Olenna, I disagree about thats what makes you beautiful. To me it seems like the girl's view of herself is irrelevant, she should be delighted that he's looking at her and deemed her worthy of his gaze. And to cap it off, no matter how she feels, his view (of her looks and hair flicking) trumps hers, "to prove I'm right I put it in a song".

The main message of That's What Makes You Beautiful is that low self-esteem is a highly attractive quality in a woman.

I Got Love by The King Blues

A friend of mine had it as their wedding song and it was lovely. It even says in one of the verses "We are one people, we are equal."

Nothing else matters by metallica.

^You're insecure,
Don't know what for,
You're turning heads when you walk through the door,
Don't need make-up, to cover up,
Being the way that you are is enough

Everyone else in the room can see it,
Everyone else but you

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful,
If only you saw what I can see,
You'll understand why I want you so desperately,
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh,
That's what makes you beautiful

So come on, you got it wrong,
To prove I'm right, I put it in a song,
I don't know why, you're being shy,
And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes

Everyone else in the room can see it,
Everyone else but you

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful,
If only you saw what I can see,
You'll understand why I want you so desperately,
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful, oh oh,
That's what makes you beautiful

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,
But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,
You don't know, oh oh,
You don't know you're beautiful^

Hmmm, could be sung by a woman to a man with very few changes. The only body parts mentioned are eyes (in passing) and hair (and then only in relation to being touched).

Works pretty well for me as a non-sexist song (note - am not trying to claim that it's a feminist anthem )

Yy to the Carpenters' Top of the World

Sorry Oleanna but those lyrics are crap ! I can't imagine them being sung by a woman to a man, or a man to a man or a woman to another woman.

In complete contrast to On top of the World - Love has No Pride

I recommend Bonnie Raitt's version but Billy Bragg, amongst others, turns it round.

Every Breath You Take isn't a "slightly stalkerish" love song. It's a song about obsession. It's not even trying to be a love song.

Again, not claiming that they are a lyrical masterpiece!

I read it as "you don't think you are, but to me you are beautiful" - which is a pretty great message for people who don't think that they are attractive, or who aren't conventionally beautiful

But yy Hardcore - Every Breath is frankly terrifying, get a restraining order song

I think the Beautiful South have a huge misogyny problem. The men in the band have denied it but fact remains that one of their female colleagues refused to sing some of the songs. I think she was right.

Total Eclipse of the Heart works sung by a man. So does My Immortal but neither are exactly classic love songs.