Pinpointed: Female Rage

By: Bailey Tolentino

Music can be used to make a political statement, deliver unsent letters to lovers, empower others, seek revenge, show appreciation to friends and family, process the emotions and milestones of life, and so on and so forth… ultimately, it is the best outlet for all the things we cannot quite say in other contexts. In our society, for example, the main emotion women and girls are told to suppress in this society is our anger; but these songwriters broke that unfair expectation with these songs. Here are five of my favourite expressions of female rage in music.

1. The Black Dog – Taylor Swift

This is one of my favourite female rage songs ever, for Swift focuses more on her anger about being abandoned so suddenly and how she never got the chance to express it, rather than on the relationship itself. She begins with confusion, unsure about how she will continue to live her life without her ex, as well as how much it irks her that he is seemingly just fine going on with his. Her frustration escalates from “I just don’t understand how you don’t miss me…” to “and it kills me / I just don’t understand / Do you hate me?” Then, the confusion and frustration all climaxes at the final chorus, where some slightly more intense percussion comes in to emphasise the anger in her final exclamation: “I hope it’s shitty at The Black Dog!” Long gone are Swift’s days of pathetically dreaming that some man will come back to her even if he was not worth it. Now, she hopes he feels shitty. And I love it.

2. jealousy, jealousy – Olivia Rodrigo

A strong contributor to female rage, besides romance, is the unachievable beauty standards that we put on ourselves; the ones that cause us to “kinda wanna throw [our] phone[s] across the room.” The bridge is a sudden rant of all the things Rodrigo hates to see some random girl on social media have: “All your friends are so cool, you go out every night in your daddy’s nice car, yeah, you’re living the life / Got a pretty face, a pretty boyfriend, too” and most importantly, she exclaims, “I wanna be you so bad, and I don’t even know you!” Appropriately, that entire section is screamed aloud. Never once does Rodrigo address the fact that she is the one at fault for making herself this miserable, but it is a very relatable prospect in the age of social media where comparison feels absolutely inescapable. This song is important as it addresses a feminine anger that has nothing to do with men; it’s all about self esteem and how we all wish to break the cycle but cannot seem to. It’s a great song to scream along to. I like playing it while getting ready for a night out, while I slap on makeup and try to cover up my insecurities using pure anger. Surprisingly, it works!

3. F**k You – Lily Allen

This is the most straight-up song on this list, with zero apprehension or hesitation. Allen begins with simple requests such as “please don’t stay in touch” and “look inside your tiny mind.” Throughout the song, she sprinkles constant jabs such as “you want to be like your father, it’s approval you’re after” and “you’re losing control a bit and it’s really distasteful.” This is all tied up in the chorus with an almost relieved demand: “F**k you, f**k you very, very much!” Allen’s interjections could not be taken any way but literally and personally. The happy-go-lucky melody gives an ironic tinge to the message and shows a total disinterest in returning to the person or their relationship. It bridges an interesting gap between anger and ecstasy: two equally charged emotions. There is no attempt to hold back; and I do not know what this person did, but I know we have all been there and can thus feel a similar relief in this sort of rage.

4. DENIAL IS A RIVER – Doechii

This one puts forward an internalised anger — Doechii argues with her inner monologue the whole time. She flips between loving and hating herself and admits that her vices are what keep her going, but she also expresses that was not the case. The inability to decide between self-awareness and self-preservation define the tone of this song. There is plenty of reflection but also irony, as she protests but also confesses to her inner voice, who calls her a drug addict and liability. Her outer monologue goes on to explain the life events that have led her to this point, but she also says even worse things about herself, without shame. I love how she explodes and admits to her truth towards the end: “I mean f**k, I like pills, I like drugs, I like gettin’ money […] and my self-worth’s at an all time low.” Another song on this album, ‘DEATH ROLL’ (my personal favourite track), shows a more defeated side of this internal rage. She asks herself the most important question halfway through: “I wonder what’s the point, I wonder why fight?” I like that this song has a sense of giving up in it; the slow withdrawal of the beat at the end shows that she gets tired of talking to herself. Both bring light to the female expectation to present oneself as poised and humble, and the amount of inner conflict that must be ignored to manufacture such an appearance. The worst part is Doechii doesn’t know who she’s doing all of this for, if not for herself. I like the way both songs go in circles and never come to a conclusion; they are great representations of how it feels to spiral about one’s place in the world.

5. Me & Mr. Jones – Amy Winehouse

Sass is sometimes the best way to deflect our anger. Winehouse starts off strong, asking her ex-lover, “what kind of f**kery is this?” Instead of expressing her heartbreak over Mr. Jones (assumably) cheating on her, she points out what a sorry case he is and that he should feel bad about himself after having made such a stupid mistake. She reminds us over and over that “nothing stands between [her] and [her] man,” emphasising that he is the only party guilty of screwing everything up. While there is no sense of empathy for Mr. Jones, there is also no self-pity, here. She doesn’t even wish bad upon him like Swift does in ‘The Black Dog’, for she figures that having to live the sad life that he’s made for himself is punishment enough. The dismissive tone is what makes this type of rage so unique; it comes from a place of acceptance and self-assurance.