Gender Schemas in Song Lyrics Series (3 of 3)

This three part series on gender schemas in song lyrics concludes with an analysis of Aretha Franklin's rendition of Otis Redding's Respect and some final thoughts on the power of schemas.

An introduction to this series and an analysis of Just a Girl by No Doubt and be found in part 1. An analysis of 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton can be found in part 2.

Songs In This Series

As a reminder...

I have chosen the following three songs because they represent three different phases in women's lives: a young woman starting out in the world, a mid-career woman, and a woman who is successfully earned her own money:

JUST A GIRL by No Doubt

9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

RESPECT arranged and performed by Aretha Franklin, written by Otis Redding

I've included the lyrics to both Aretha Franklin's rendition and Otis Redding's original Respect for easy reference and comparison.

RESPECT by Aretha Franklin (written by Otis Redding)

[Verse 1]

What you want, baby, I got it

What you need, do you know I got it?

[Chorus]

All I'm askin' is for a little respect when you come home

(Just a little bit) Hey baby

(Just a little bit) when you get home

(Just a little bit) mister

(Just a little bit)

[Verse 2]

I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone

Ain't gon' do you wrong 'cause I don't wanna

[Chorus]

All I'm askin' is for a little respect when you come home

(Just a little bit) Baby

(Just a little bit) When you get home

(Just a little bit) Yeah

(Just a little bit)

[Verse 3]

I'm about to give you all of my money

And all I'm askin' in return, honey

Is to give me my propers when you get home

[Refrain]

(Just a, just a, just a, just a) Yeah, baby

(Just a, just a, just a, just a) When you get home

(Just a little bit) Yeah

(Just a little bit)

[Instrumental]

[Verse 4]

Ooh, your kisses, sweeter than honey

And guess what? So is my money

[Chorus 2]

All I want you to do for me, is give it to me when you get home

(Re, re, re, re) Yeah baby

(Re, re, re, re) Whip it to me

(Respect, just a little bit) When you get home, now

(Just a little bit)

[Verse 5]

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, take care of T-C-B

[Outro]

(Sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)

A little respect

(sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me, sock it to me)

Whoa, babe

(Just a little bit) A little respect

(Just a little bit) I get tired

(Just a little bit) Keep on tryin'

(Just a little bit) You're runnin' out of fools

(Just a little bit) And I ain't lyin'

(Just a little bit)

(Re, re, re, re) Start when you come home

(Re, re, re, respect) Or you might walk in

(Just a little bit) And find out I'm gone

(Just a little bit) I gotta have

(Just a little bit) A little respect

(Just a little bit)

RESPECT, original version Otis Redding’s (for comparison)

What you want, honey you got it

And what you need, baby you got it

All I'm askin' is for a little respect when I come home

Hey now, hey hey hey, yeah now

Do me wrong honey, if you wanna

You can do me wrong, honey while I'm gone

But all I'm askin' is for a little respect when I come home

Hey now, hey hey hey, yeah now

Hey little girl, you're so sweeter than honey

And I'm about to give you all my money

But all I'm askin', hey

Is a little respect when I get home

Hey little girl, you're so sweeter than honey

And I'm about to give you all my money

But all I'm askin', hey

Is a little respect when I get home

Respect is what I want

Respect is what I need

Analysis

Aretha Franklin’s 1967 signature masterpiece, Respect, is an enduring and powerful expression of women’s empowerment.

Her version of the song is a gender-nonconformist rebuttal to the original version written in 1965 by Otis Redding which served to reinforce the traditional gender schemas of its day. In Redding’s version, the male protagonist declares that since he financially provides for his dependent “little girl” he is entitled to “a little respect” when he comes home. Critics have insinuated that Redding’s “respect” is actually code for physical intimacy which may have been considered well within a man’s rights given the social schema of marital compacts at that time.

Franklin’s version flips this narrative on its head and turns the song into a woman’s urgent quest for dignity and respect. The in-your-face cognitive dissonance of this nonconforming idea and the catchiness of Franklin's vocal interpretation commands listeners to pay attention, pushing them to assimilate to an expanded definition of womanhood for the second half of the 20th century as they sing along.

Unlike Redding’s “little girl” who—as psychologist Sandra Bern’s Gender Schema Theory asserts— may have adjusted her behavior in early childhood to align with the traditional gender norms and values that existed in America, Franklin’s woman is clearly more progressive. In Gender Schema Theory terms, she is not a “sex-typed” individual like Redding’s character. Rather, she has adopted an attitude that is considered more “androgynous” for this time period, assuming traditional male gender schemas and attitudes.

She earns her own “money”, which is a convenient object schema to quickly signal to listeners that this woman is strong and independent. As she tells it, if she is not given her “propers” when her husband gets home, he “might walk in'' only to find that she is “gone.” This woman’s self-schema is that of a proud and confident feminist and she behaves accordingly. She knows she’s “got'' what her husband wants and needs and has no intention of “doing him wrong.” As a feminist—supported by her equally convicted female backup singers— she has no problem demanding, as a man would, that she be given her “propers” of equality and mutual respect.

Final Thoughts

From studying these songs, I have come to appreciate just how sticky and problematic female gender schemas are in our society. Otis Redding wrote Respect in 1965 and Gwen Stefani wrote Just a Girl in 1995 and, in both cases, full-grown women are referred to as girls. I was struck by how as someone born in the 21st century, I was instantly familiar with the schemas myself, further proving their pervasiveness.

In my opinion, gender schemas are restrictive and damaging to those that feel the need to conform to a set of ideals or rebel against them. Either way, people are forced to respond on some level as opposed to just freely being themselves.

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Enjoyed this post? Then you might enjoy part 1 and part 2 of this series, too!