When He's Jealous of Your Girlfriends

In the popular song, “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” by Prince, images of sexuality are used to claim that heterosexual women are more intimate in their friendships with other women than they are in their relationships with men. Through repetition of the phrase “If I was your girlfriend,” the speaker immediately distinguishes the difference between the two types of relationships. Many women enjoy talking about the opposite sex and sharing feelings about intimate relationships that they may not necessarily feel comfortable discussing with their boyfriends. In this song, the speaker desires a more intimate connection with his girlfriend. He wants to know the things she refuses to say to him. The speaker even goes as far as suggesting that he pick out his girlfriend’s outfit, because “those are the things that bein’ in love’s about.”

Stereotypically, women are more sensitive than men. The speaker of this poem wants his girlfriend to be more sensitive around him when he asks if they “could go to a movie and cry together.” This activity is one that women have come to know as a ritual between close friends, but a heterosexual man’s participation is seldom acknowledged. The speaker also mocks women for their behaviors within close friendships. The first line of the poem, “look at the bargains over here ladies,” is something women might say while shopping together. Similarly, “If I Were a Boy,” by Beyoncé Knowles portrays the relationships between men to be unique. The lines “drink beer with the guys/ and chase after girls” paint a picture of stereotypical male-bonding activities. In both situations, the speakers make a generalization about the opposite sex.

The final stanza of “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” discusses details of a sexual relationship between the man and woman in the song. Ambiguously, the speaker continues to use the phrase “If I Was Your Girlfriend” while suggesting very intimate situations for the couple. Either he has the wrong idea of what “girlfriends” do when they spend time together, or he is metaphorically portraying himself as a sensitive female who knows exactly what women desire. If so, his desire is to be more than a boyfriend and “take care of [her] and do all the things that only a best friend can.”