in Prince's earlier songs, he might have been interpreted as being misogynistic.
I was thinking about the lyrics to "if a girl answers (dont hang up)"..and it's one of my favorite songs of his, but it's certainly not flattering to women.
many of his early songs as we all know revolved around sex..
my question to the org is..do you feel in Prince's earlier songs, he loved women and was celebrating their sexuality, or was he misogynistic, but now he's all growed up and sees women as more than just sex object..?

misogyny: hatred of women.
I guess it depends on how rote you take his lyrics. I've never thought Prince hates women. Just has a smorgasborg available. Probably encountered all types.
[Edited 5/27/07 17:54pm]

BlackAdder7, I think you are right, but I think it was more like a Love/Hate thing, which a lot of people have for the opposite sex. Prince has sung about it many times and why on earth was there so much violence against women in th Purple Rain movie?
[Edited 5/27/07 18:26pm]

He's probably just grown up over the years. Speaking from personal experience I was probably in a similar state of mind in my late teens/early twenties. Now that I'm almost 40 and have a somewhat more experienced point of view I now see women as equal if not superior human beings who deserve respect and adulation without being judged purely on sexual attractiveness.
Not that this excuses my previous immature attitudes but I have grown up ladies & gentlemen and I'm not ashamed to admit it! (Cue the laughter and derisory comments) As regards P's changing attitudes over the years... no doubt he too has matured and altered his ways somewhat. Although being a multi millionaire, world famous celebrity maybe kinda keeps you closeted into a semi reality state where you don't really grow out of your bad habits. As long as you got the cash you can be as nasty as you wanna, who knows?

Prince is so complicated, I DO think that it was love/hate because half the time he would dress and get made up like a woman and the other half he wanted to "fuck the taste out of they're mouths," Go figure
[Edited 5/28/07 1:27am]

According to one Prince biographer, even when Prince was in a relationship, he'd still sleep around with others. After his marriage to Mayte and the death of his baby, he seems to have matured. Also became religious. Cleaned up the lifestyle.

I dunno...

I've only heard a handful of his earlier material and it did seem like he was extremely egotisticial in his younger years (this goes all the way to Temptation in ATWIAD, but at least there he's honest and wants to be better). Computer Blue is probably another example where he faces up to his biggest flaw.

But 'Feel U up' kinda disapproves that he made much progression cuz it was a Batman B-side ('89).

He's a very complicated being... after hearing the above song, it kinda threw me for a loop. Just when I thought I was starting to understand him... oh well, back to square 1.

I am willing to bet he is a man a little on the chauvanistic side.

was? seems like he still is to an extent.

Prince isn't the only one. A lot of popular music has a misogynistic uncercurrent. But I agree with wlcm2thdwn, it goes beyond misogyny. I think it's a love/hate thing. Have you ever noticed that in almost every one of Prince's break-up sort of songs, it's always the woman who's done him wrong? He hardly ever takes any responsibility (in his work) for things.
[Edited 5/28/07 13:20pm]

Prince is misogynist, because he is a closeted homosexual

Raze said:

true.. although he does admit wrong in 'Strange Relationship' .. I dont think prince hates women.. cause wouldnt there be some type of signs of abuse? @ least verbal'... and i dont know of any of his ex's that have come forth talking about his abusiveness.. the love/hate thing ..i do agree with..

Flowerz said:

well, carmen electra mentioned he forces all his woman to wear make-up in bed, mayte said he would only communicate with her upon his request, then there's nonah gaye who has told about how she felt he fucked with her big time...

while not physical me thinks there is slight...slight...one more time, slight indications of mental abuse.

sosgemini said:

What did Nona say?

FruitToAttractBears said:

that they were dating and one night he brings mayte on stage and she is wearing a phat engagement ring...theres a thread on her in associated right now...check it out...its sad...

My favorite P album, hands down is 1999. But that album, lyrically, is P's most "pimpish". He's running game on women from top to bottom. P's all over the place on that album. He's showing dominence and a desire to be dominanted. He's flirting wih rape and s&m. He's not really saying that women are sex objects though. He's saying that women contol him to a degree. "Something In the Water".

I think his opinion of women back in the day is more closely involved with THEIR behaviour rather than his treatment. Not that he necessarily treated them like gold.

prince is a narcissist, in his 20's he was a chauvinistic ass like most young men me included . the difference is prince is wildly creative, pimpish and still engages in ambient mental/emotional abuse. no grown woman will tolerate that very long, which is why his marriages dont last. maytes only crime was growing up and showing imperfection .the real problem with the early messages he put out there and the way he treated apples in PR is a lot of misguided fatherless young men (who were starting to resent mom dating or whatever) internalized that shit as "how u treat women". i'll bet theres a whole generation of male prince fans (now grown) who unconciously worship and then scorn women 4 not being able to interpret silence LOL. Sad, as talented as he is he is yet to do an album about real life in the real world so lyrically there will always be a ceiling for him. Every mans "issues" with women start with mom, dont you think it's weird how absent she was from his narrative when he reached household name status?. his father, though mentally abusive and just as inept as a parent is lionized by prince in song and imagry (i'm gonna drive my daddy's thunderbird). Yet the mother was obscured, wheres "mamas' song"? oh that's right she's never satisfied.

sosgemini said:

that's messed up .. there is an article (somewhere in a thread) ..saying he was seeing both of them and some French model all @ the same time..