"Nasty Woman" noun \ nas·ty \ˈna-stē \ˈwu̇-mən
If you identify as a Nasty Woman, or a Nasty Woman enthusiast, then these songs about female empowerment, fighting double standards, and the importance of standing up for what you believe in will speak to you.
And if we missed any songs that belong in the Nasty Woman archive, add them in the comments!
1. Beyoncé, "Sorry"
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Key nasty lyrics: Middle fingers up / Put them hands high / Wave it in his face / Tell 'em boy bye
2. Lesley Gore, "You Don't Own Me"
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Key nasty lyrics: I don't tell you what to say / Oh, don't tell you what to do / So just let me be myself / That's all I ask of you
3. M.I.A., "Bad Girls"
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Key nasty lyrics: Accelerating fast I could do this in a second / Looking in the rear view swagger going swell / Leaving boys behind cause it's legal just to kill
4. Meredith Brooks, "Bitch"
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Key nasty lyrics: So take me as I am / This may mean / You'll have to be a stronger man
5. Christina Aguilera, "Can't Hold Us Down"
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Key nasty lyrics: This is for my girls all around the world / Who have come across a man that don't respect your worth / Thinkin' all women should be seen and not heard / So what do we do girls, shout out loud
6. Janelle Monáe featuring Erykah Badu, "Q.U.E.E.N."
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Key nasty lyrics: Am I a freak for dancing around? / Am I a freak for getting down? / I'm cutting up, don't cut me down / Yeah I wanna be, wanna be Queen
7. Lily Allen, "Hard Out Here"
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Key nasty lyrics: You'll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen / I won't be braggin' 'bout my cars or talkin' 'bout my chains / Don't need to shake my ass for you 'cause I've got a brain
8. Dolly Parton, "Just Because I'm a Woman"
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Key nasty lyrics: Yes I’ve made my mistakes / But listen and understand / My mistakes are no worse than yours / Just because I’m a woman
9. Kelis, "Caught Out There"
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Key nasty lyrics: This song is for all the women out there / That been lied to by their men / And I know you all been lied to / Over and over again
10. Whitney Houston, "It's Not Right, But It's Okay"
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Key nasty lyrics: Things are gonna change / 'Cause I won't be your fool anymore / That's why you have to leave / So don't turn around to see my face / There's no more tears left here for you to see
11. Peaches, "Boys Wanna Be Her"
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Key nasty lyrics: The way you rock, don't stop / Girl, you got the chops / Flip flop / She bop / Self-taught / You lick so hot
12. No Doubt, "Just a Girl"
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Key nasty lyrics: 'Cause I'm just a girl, little ol' me / Well don't let me out of your sight / Oh, I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite / So don't let me have any rights / Oh, I've had it up to here!
13. Tegan and Sara, "Proud"
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Key nasty lyrics: Freedom and blood / I make my mark and fight for tomorrow / Finally I've got something / Something I can raise my voice for
14. Jenny Lewis, "Just One of the Guys"
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Key nasty lyrics: No matter how hard I try to be just one of the guys / There's a little something inside that won't let me / No matter how hard I try to have an open mind / There's a little voice inside that prevents me
15. Helen Reddy, “I Am Woman”
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Key nasty lyrics: I am woman, hear me roar / In numbers too big to ignore / And I know too much to go back an' pretend / 'Cause I've heard it all before / And I've been down there on the floor / No one's ever gonna keep me down again
16. Aretha Franklin, "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"
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Key nasty lyrics: A woman's only human / You should understand / She's not just a play thing / She's flesh and blood just like her man
17. Madonna, "Human Nature"
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Key nasty lyrics: And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry) / It's human nature (it's human nature) / And I'm not sorry (I'm not sorry) / I'm not your bitch don't hang your shit on me
18. Marina and the Diamonds, "Can't Pin Me Down"
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Key nasty lyrics: Time to back off, motherfucker / Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem / I'm happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband
19. Salt-N-Pepa, "None of Your Business"
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Key nasty lyrics: If I want to take a guy home with me tonight / It's none of your business / And she want to be a freak and sell it on the weekend / It's none of your business
20. Joan Jett, "Bad Reputation"
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Key nasty lyrics: I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation / You're living in the past it's a new generation / A girl can do what she wants to do and that's / What I'm gonna do
21. Janet Jackson, "Nasty"
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Key nasty lyrics: No my first name ain't baby / It's Janet / Miss Jackson if you're nasty
22. Jennifer Lopez, "Ain't Your Mama"
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Key nasty lyrics: I ain't gon' be cooking all day, I ain't your mama / I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama / I ain't your mama, boy, I ain't your mama / When you're gon' get your act together? / I ain't your mama
23. Sleater-Kinney, "Anonymous"
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Key nasty lyrics: Feel safe, inside, inside those well drawn lines / Boyfriend, a car, a job, my white girl life / She swallowed the spider to catch, to catch that fly / But I don't know why, why she swallowed that lie
24. Bikini Kill, "Feels Blind"
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Key nasty lyrics: I'm the woman I was taught to always be: hungry / Yeah women are well acquainted with thirst / Well, I could eat just about anything / We might even eat your hate up like love
25. 7 Year Bitch, "Dead Men Don't Rape"
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Key nasty lyrics: I don't have pity not a single tear / For those who get joy from a woman's fear / I'd rather get a gun and just blow you away / Then you'll learn first hand / Dead men don't rape
26. Gossip, "Fire With Fire"
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Key nasty lyrics: Now, it ain't the end of the world girl / You'll find your place in the world girl / All you gotta do is stand up and fight fire with fire
27. MUNA, "Loudspeaker"
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Key nasty lyrics: What you've done to me / Well I've seen many a friend be silenced / Thinking nobody would believe them / Well baby you've got another thing coming / You can try to make me stop, call it delusion / But every time I don't shut up, it's revolution
28. Metric, "Glass Ceiling"
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Key nasty lyrics: Only know what I'm told, only know what I'm told / Fast asleep daydreaming / Start to push, break your own glass ceiling / Can't count, can't catch the pieces falling
29. Laura Jane Grace, "True Trans Soul Rebel"
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Key nasty lyrics: Who's gonna take you home tonight? / Who's gonna take you home? / Does god bless your transsexual heart / True Trans Soul Rebel?
30. Lion Babe, "Jump Hi"
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Key nasty lyrics: Yeah, we finally made it / You know they hate it / I swear to God / Knowing just what you are / Made you into a star
31. Joseph, "White Flag"
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Key nasty lyrics: I'll be an army, no you're / Not gonna stop me getting through / I'll sing a marching song and / Stomp through the halls louder than you
32. Lizzo, "Worship"
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Key nasty lyrics: Hands to the sky, show me that you're mine / And baby, worship me / Worship me / On your knees / Patiently, quietly, faithfully, worship me
33. Spice Girls, "Wannabe"
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Key nasty lyrics: If you want my future, forget my past / If you wanna get with me, better make it fast / Now don't go wasting my precious time / Get your act together we could be just fine
34. Empress Of, "Woman Is a Word"
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Key nasty lyrics: I'm only a struggle if I get in your way / You made the road / Made the road one-way
35. Pat Benatar, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
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Key nasty lyrics: You come on with it, come on / You don't fight fair / That's okay, see if I care / Knock me down, it's all in vain / I get right back on my feet again
36. Aretha Franklin and the Eurythmics — "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves"
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Key nasty lyrics: So we're comin' out of the kitchen / 'Cause there's somethin' we forgot to say to you / We said, "Sisters are doin' it for themselves" / Standin' on their own two feet / And ringin' on their own bells