"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" is a song by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

with

Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory (also billed as Elephants Memory, without the apostrophe) was an American rock band formed in New York City in the late 1960s, known primarily for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from late 1971 to 1973. For live performance ...

from their 1972 album ''

Some Time in New York City ''Some Time in New York City'' is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in ...

''. Released as the only single from the album in the United States, the song sparked controversy at the time due to the use of the word "

nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...

" in the title.

Composition

The phrase "woman is the nigger of the world" was coined by

in an interview with '' Nova'' magazine in 1969 and quoted on the magazine's cover. Literary analysts note that the phrase owes much to Zora Neale Hurston's novel ''

Their Eyes Were Watching God ''Their Eyes Were Watching God'' is a 1937 novel by American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It is considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance, and Hurston's best known work. The novel explores main character Janie Crawford's "ripening from a v ...

'', in which the protagonist Janie Crawford's grandmother says "De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see." The song describes women's subservience to men and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practice ...

across all cultures. In a 1972 interview on ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...

'', Lennon said that Irish revolutionary

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

was an inspiration for the song. Lennon cited Connolly's statement that "the female worker is the slave of the slave" in explaining the pro- feminist inspiration behind the song.Television interview, 11 May 1972. ''The Dick Cavett Show'': John and Yoko collection ideo recordingDVD, 2005. .

Release and reception

Due to its use of the racial epithet "

" and what was criticized as an inappropriate comparison of

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

racism against Black Americans In the context of racism in the United States, racism against African Americans dates back to the colonial era, and it continues to be a persistent issue in American society in the 21st century. From the arrival of the first Africans in early ...

, most radio stations in the United States declined to play the record. It was released in the U.S. on 24 April 1972 and peaked at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, based primarily on sales, making it Lennon's lowest-charting U.S. single in his lifetime. The song also charted at number 93 on the '' Cash Box'' Top 100. The

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW) awarded Lennon and Ono a "Positive Image of Women" citation for the song's "strong pro-feminist statement" in August 1972. '' Cash Box'' described the song as the "most powerful epic to come out of the women's movement so far." ''Classic Rock'' critic Rob Hughes rated it as Lennon's 9th best political song.

Response to criticism

Through radio and television interviews, Lennon described his use of the term "

" as referring to any oppressed person.

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

placed an advertisement for the single in the 6 May issue of '' Billboard'' magazine featuring a recent statement, unrelated to the song, by prominent black Congressman Ron Dellums to demonstrate the broader use of the term. Lennon also referred to Dellums's statement during an appearance on ''The Dick Cavett Show'', where he and Ono performed the song with the band

. Because of the controversial title,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

asked Cavett to apologise to the audience in advance for the song's content; otherwise the performance would not have been shown. Cavett disliked giving the statement, saying in the 2010 documentary '' LENNONYC'':

I had John and Yoko on, and the suits said: "We're gonna write a little insert just before the song for you to say." I said, "You are going to censor my guests after I get them on the show? This is ludicrous." So they wrote this thing, and I went in and taped it in order to retain the song. About 600 protests did come in. None of them about the song! All of them about, quote: "that mealy-mouthed statement you forced Dick to say before the show. Don't you believe we're grown up..." Oh, God. It was wonderful in that sense; it gave me hope for the republic.

Lennon also visited the offices of ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...

'' and '' Jet'' magazines with comedian/activist

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

and appeared in a cover story, "Ex-Beatle Tells How Black Stars Changed His Life", in the 26 October 1972 issue of ''Jet''.

Reissues

An edited version of the song was included on the 1975 compilation album ''

Shaved Fish ''Shaved Fish'' is a compilation album by English rock musician John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band, issued in October 1975 on Apple Records. It contains all of the singles that he had issued up to that point in the United States as a solo art ...

''. The song was reissued as the B-side to " Stand by Me" on 4 April 1977. It was also included on '' Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon'' and the ''

Gimme Some Truth "Gimme Some Truth" (originally spelled "Give Me Some Truth") is a protest song written and performed by John Lennon. It was first released on his 1971 album '' Imagine''. "Gimme Some Truth" contains various political references emerging from t ...

'' box set.

In popular culture

An episode of the television series '' Better Things'', written by

Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Jung ...

and

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

, named "Woman is the Something of the Something", features characters discussing the saying "woman is the nigger of the world".

Chart performance

Personnel

Personnel on the single and ''Some Time in New York City'' recording are: *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

*Stan Bronstein –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

*Gary Van Scyoc – bass *Adam Ippolito –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, organ *Wayne "Tex" Gabriel – guitar *Richard Frank Jr. – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1972 songs 1972 singles John Lennon songs Apple Records singles Songs written by John Lennon Songs written by Yoko Ono Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements Songs with feminist themes Race-related controversies in music Obscenity controversies in music Plastic Ono Band songs Naming controversies