Reply #154: Jagger seems to disagree.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_My_Thumb

Jagger's lyrics celebrate the satisfaction of finally having controlled and gained leverage over a previously pushy, dominating woman. The lyrics, which savor the successful "taming of the shrew" with nasty glee (comparing the woman in question to a "pet" and a "dog"), definitely provoked negative reactions among some listeners, especially feminists, who predictably objected to the suppressive sexual politics of the male narrator.

It can be reasonably argued, however, that the song is a vignette, or simply an examination of sexual malevolence and tension, and that the maliciousness of both the lyrics and Jagger's performance is theatrical and doesn't seriously advocate domination and/or sadism.

Many listeners also note that the woman who is the subject of the song was previously the dominant figure in the relationship, and that the narrator was originally submissive to her, making the implications of the song more complicated than simple chauvinistic nastiness.

Jagger later reflected on the track in a 1995 interview: "It's a bit of a jokey number, really. It's not really an anti-feminist song any more than any of the others.... Yes, it's a caricature, and it's in reply to a girl who was a very pushy woman."