Talk:If I Was Your Girlfriend

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Songs, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to songs on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.

[edit] homosexual relationship

I don't see how this song was interpreted as being about a homosexual relationship, andI highly doubt that this was a "widespread" interpretation. I think it's more accurate to say that the gender-bending concept of the song alienated some listeners. It's quite clear that the song is sung from a male perspective to a woman (it was on a Prince album, that--aside from the whole Camille thing--was credited to a male, heterosexual singer); the concepts of the song are gender roles and the gender gap; but I really don't think that people actually thought the subject of the song was a concrete homosexual relationship--how could they? Certainly the implication is that if he was her girlfriend then there would be 2 women involved, but the song is about a relationship between a man and a women and the psychological barriers therein, not about homosexuality. The brilliance of the song is that it is quite clearly about the differences and barriers between men and women, and the androgynous nature of the switch in the title adds weight to that subject. So saying it was 'interpreted as being a song about homosexuality' is an oversimplification. I don't see how an audience--Prince's audience--could misconstrue it as being blatantly homosexual--I think the public reaction was more complicated than that. I actually think the allmusic song review (which doesn't mention homosexuality) says it better than I do: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:wju36j8471r0 Therefore, I'm changing this sentence right here.

New Topic: On Micheal Dean's Prince podcast, allusions were made to a backstory involving the Melvoin twins. Were they the inspiration behind "If I Was Your Girlfriend"? Any clarification would make for a fascinating, informative read.