Pathos in "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore

The song “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore, appeals to women’s feelings of submission or being a submissive. In this song you hear Gore sort of rebelling against men in a kind of “don’t mess with me anymore” manner. Throughout the song she reminds the men that she can’t be owned or told what to do and this really appeals to a women’s sense of controlling her own life instead of being controlled by others. No woman wants to be told what to do because that makes her feel inferior. This song was inspirational during the time it came out, 1963, because it became a song of devotion to women’s rights during the second wave of feminism. When I first heard this song I immediately thought of women who had been pushed around by a man, as if her heartstrings were tugged at or damaged by the constant submission to her man. Lesley Gore is able to portray a sense of self-control when singing this song and even adds some attitude when performing this song for a show.  Also when singing, she points out the injustices that women endure. Lesley Gore nods at the fact that a country based off a freedom, sure doesn’t provide that for women in the 1960s. She also uses first and second person points of view to create a sense of relatedness with other women and to point out that “you,” the men, are creating a feeling of dominance over the women.

-Casey Tarman