Just Like A Woman - Alleged Misogyny

Alleged Misogyny

The song has been criticized for supposed misogyny in its lyrics. Alan Rinzler, in his book Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Record, describes the song as "a devastating character assassination...the most sardonic, nastiest of all Dylan's putdowns of former lovers." In 1971, New York Times writer Marion Meade wrote that "there's no more complete catalogue of sexist slurs," and went on to note that in the song Dylan "defines women's natural traits as greed, hypocrisy, whining and hysteria." Dylan biographer Robert Shelton noted that "the title is a male platitude that justifiably angers women," although Shelton believed that "Dylan is ironically toying with that platitude."

However, music critic Paul Williams, in his book Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Book One 1960 - 1973, has countered by pointing out that the song is sung in an affectionate tone from beginning to end. He further comments on Dylan's singing by saying that "there's never a moment in the song, despite the little digs and the confessions of pain, when you can't hear the love in his voice." Williams also contends that a central theme of the song is the power that the woman has over Dylan as evidenced by the lines "I was hungry and it was your world." Bill Janovitz, in his Allmusic review, has noted that in the context of the song, Dylan "seems on the defensive...as if he has been accused of causing the woman's breakdown. But he takes some of the blame as well; he was clearly taken by the woman at first, but apparently matured a little and saw through 'her fog, her amphetamine, and her pearls.'" Janovitz concludes by noting that "It is certainly not misogynist to look at a personal relationship from the point of view of one of those involved, be it man or woman. There is nothing in the text to suggest that Dylan has a disrespect for, much less an irrational hatred of, women in general."

Engaging with the accusation that Dylan's depiction of female strategies is mysoginistic, Christopher Ricks asks, "could there ever be any challenging art about men and women where the accusation just didn't arise?" Ricks has written that the speaker in the song seems to be referring to a woman who plays the "little girl card": "Someone who has times when she regresses to being childlike—who can’t live up to the best part of herself." Similarly, Gill has argued that the key "delimitation" in the song is not between man and woman, but between woman and girl, so the issue is one "of maturity rather than gender".