Video playlist by

"Respect" by Aretha Franklyn

achevalier18 — 2025-01-06 04:59:45 UTC

Two cultural aspects helps us understand the meaning of "Respect." From the lyrics we notice that the song is about a woman demanding respect from a man. This song was written by a man, made famous by another man (Otis Redding), and then re-recorded and transformed by Franklin. The song turns from a plea from a man to the woman he loves to a woman’s demand for, well, respect. Also, "Respect" was recorded in the height of the Civil Rights movement, and the song has the aspects of racial protest, as Aretha Franklin was a representative of the African American community.

-Angelis Chevalier

"The Man" by Taylor Swift

2025-01-07 18:01:07 UTC

The song "The Man" by Taylor Swift reflects aspects of both gender issues and biography. The lyrics "They'd say I hustled, put in the work. They wouldn't shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve," highlight the gender issue in society: the double standard that women face in the workplace and beyond. Women often have to work harder to achieve the same recognition and success that men do, but their accomplishments are still questioned.

On a deeper level, these lyrics also reference Taylor Swift's own experiences with the public. Even though she achieved more than her male counterparts in the music industry, her accomplishments are still questioned and undermined because she is a woman.

Nghi Britney Nguyen

"You Don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore

2025-01-07 23:08:16 UTC

This song talks about women's empowerment. Throughout the song, she talks about how the man she is with doesn't "own" her and shouldn't be allowed to control her. She talks about how she is young and should be free to be who she is and shouldn't be tied down to anyone.

- Jayleen Fonseca

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper

2025-01-08 08:10:23 UTC

This song express the gender issues in reality. It is expressing the societal expectations that are put on woman and the song is saying how girls just want to have fun and not be held back to these standards. This is still an issue in reality today as women are still expected to meet standards.

-Kaitlyn Hanlon

2025-01-10 05:10:56 UTC

The song "Earth is Ghetto" is about the division and hatred that we are seeing currently amidst the election and the struggle that citizens are facing to survive. The artist Aliah Sheffield sings about how the homeless are left hungry in the same streets that are too dangerous to drive down unless your doors are locked. This song touches on the issues that millions of families are familiar with in poverty-stricken areas of the country. As well as the parts of the country that are divided by politics.

-Joshlyn Houn

2025-01-10 07:08:53 UTC

This song is “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore. This song expresses that man can’t control women and that women are not objects for men to show off. Women are people too.

-Denise McMahon

2025-01-10 07:41:36 UTC

The song "You broke me first" talks about how people in relationships sometimes are selfish. Throughout the song, the artist mentiones how her partner does not seem to care about the relationship. For example, she sings about how he just calls her for help when things do not go his way. Even though he wants more opportunities, she reflected on how much he hurt her and how it's better to not be together.

-Evelyn Guzman

"What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish

2026-06-29 15:32:31 UTC

This song, used in the 2023 "Barbie" movie, adds another layer of meaning to the gender issues alluded to by the lyrics. The context of the movie creates additional meanings that focuses on the harmful stereotypes created by the Barbie doll on what the "ideal" woman should look like. In the biographical sense, the song expresses how Billie Eilish has felt with her own body being critiqued and sexualized from a young age. The song relates the fictional experiences of the character in the movie, as well as the reality that Billie Eilish faces as a female artist in the music industry.

-Angelina Song

"Black Girl Memoir" by Doechii

2026-06-29 15:39:02 UTC

The song "Black Girl Memoir" by Doechii is from her album called "Oh The Places You'll Go." The lyrics are personal to her, but are also meant for other black women to connect to her. Specifically, these two lyrics,

"I wish I wasn't dark so I could look like 'Yonce

I wish I had a big ego like Kanye, " address issues with her identity like her skin color and confidence. Other black women could relate to her experience since racism continues to be an issue to this present day. She intentionally released this album in 2020 when many people were protesting against the police department for murdering people because of the color of their skin. The time she released made it more meaningful to the black people who listened because they were a current target of that brutality, whether they were at home or present at the protests.

Francesca Hoyos

“Feeling Good” by Nina Simone

2026-06-30 01:38:51 UTC

The song “Feeling Good,” originally written by a pair of English composers for a musical, has its meaning greatly transformed by Nina Simone’s 1965 recording of it. She expands the song’s essence and meaning to one that’s empowering for the culture of the time, reflecting Black joy and boundless self expression – this is emphasized by the 2021 music video and also stated in its description.

The song’s meaning can also deepen with knowledge of Nina’s biography, like her experience of living with bipolar disorder and the hardship she experienced at the time with an abusive marriage to a police officer, a continually relevant gender issue. These personal struggles can be seen to shape the song’s meaning to one of resilience and self-affirming optimism in the light of difficult circumstances. “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me.”

Liv Ulloa 🌻

Hannah Williams- Late Nights & Heartbreak

miaperez2597 — 2026-07-01 16:51:41 UTC

In many classic heart ache songs, a heartbroken woman is framed as passive, fragile, or broken. Williams turns this on its head with her vocal power. Her voice is immense, heavy, and aggressive. The sonic architecture of the song presents a woman who is furious and possessing immense agency, rather than just sad.

Hannah Williams’ personal biography heavily dictates how the meaning is delivered. Raised by a deeply musical father who was a minister, her earliest exposures to singing were rooted in church music and gospel.

Mia Perez🎵

Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967] (Aretha's Original Version)

2026-07-03 04:46:55 UTC

I chose "Respect" by Aretha Franklin because I like the message Aretha Franklin is sending, and I think it is still important today. The song is about her wanting to be treated with respect, and at the time it became a symbol of women's rights and equality. Aretha Franklin sings "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me." Those words are powerful because she knows she deserves equal and fair treatment.

DANYA ESCALANTE