Under My Thumb- Stones at their 'misogynistic' best

"The whole idea was that I was under HER, she was kicking ME around. So the whole idea is absurd, all I did was turn the tables around. So women took that to be against femininity where in reality it was trying to 'get back' against being a repressed male."
Mick Jagger (1984)

"Some 40 years ago, the Rolling Stones recorded a misogynist rant called "Under My Thumb." Today, it is one of the songs that fans most frequently request of these aging shamans of adolescent attitudinizing." - one outraged feminist, I guess

"Under my Thumb" is perhaps the most notorious of The Stones' sexist songs (and also one of the coolest). With lyrics like these there is no denying: "Its down to me the difference in the clothes she wears....Under my thumb is a squirmin' dog that just had it's day.....It's down to me the way she does what she's told....The way she talks when she's spoken to." (complete song) And this very song was played when a black man was stabbed at The Stones' Altamount concert (1969). (The stabbing was captured on video, and is there on the documentary 'Gimme Shelter')

Not only 'Under my Thumb', but songs like 'Some Girls' and 'Stray Cat Blues' have offended a lot of people. The former for its derogatory remarks about black women (Black girls just wanna get f**ked all night, I just don't have that much jam) and the latter for being an invitation by a man to two 15 year old girls to 'come upstairs'.(My o My, only from The Stones)

Whatever the issues, no other band has written so many great songs about women. Pair 'Under my Thumb' with a song like "Heart of Stone' (same era), and you get an idea how overwhelming was the presence of women in shaping up the band. "There've been so many girls I have known, I've made so many cry and so I wonder why / No matter how hard I try, I just can't make her cry."

There is no doubt that women were target of Stones dissatisfaction, but there were also women who played a vital role in the evolution of The Rolling Stones, from Marianne Faithful to the beautiful Anita Pallenberg.

The fact is that 'Under my Thumb' or 'Heart of Stone' or 'Wild Horses', all these songs beautifully describe various aspect of women. Nothing beyond that.

P.S: The photograph above is the best picture of Glimmer Twins I have come across. Every millimeter emits style. The look, the cramped stage, usage of black and white film. No wonder they are the most imitated. Check out Mr. Keef Riffhard. The slickmaster.