On episode 152 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast, I try to make heads or tails of the not very explicit except for the song title, “Vagina.” A garage rock anomaly about a “half-boy, half-girl” that has mesmerized our narrator. Did we get what we wanted with this vault track?
https://press-rewind.blubrry.net/2022/11/29/vagina-press-rewind-prince-lyrics-podcast/
“Vagina was half boy, half girl.”
A vault track with a completely misleading title, especially considering the era in which Prince wrote and recorded it, “Vagina” should have been raunchy and nasty. It’s totally not, though. Instead, it’s a bit of a story song about a person Prince might have met Uptown. Short hair, don’t care. Maybe the pronouns and descriptions used here aren’t 21st-century woke, but I still think the subject is fascinating for 1981.
The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to:
- Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discography
- Discuss my own interpretation of each song’s lyrics along with any guest I may have
- If submitted, discuss listener’s interpretations of each song’s lyrics
Thank you for joining me on this journey through Prince’s catalog!
“Vagina” is about a masculine-presenting, gender-nonconforming woman who is attracted to other women (Tomboy/Butch). The narrator meets her and she’s (“kissing another girl”) and openly admires her short hair and dominant presence. When she’s referred to as “half-boy, half-girl,” it is entirely metaphorical, the narrator was simply using the language of the era to describe her butch/tomboy aesthetic and powerful, androgynous energy (balancing of the masculine and feminine). Prince knew a title and phrase like that would entice shock, which was exactly Prince’s brand at the time. In fact, the track was originally tracked for his early female group, “The Hookers,” and he even tried to name Denise Matthews, “Vagina” (which she famously rejected before they settled on Vanity. Even though the song was possibly written prior to their dating, it shows Vanity reminded him of a character like Vagina. A confident female that had a dominant presence. No matter how glammed up Vanity would get, when she was dressed regular, she was a tomboy and balanced her masculine and feminine energy. Even the way she flirted was dominant). It is important to look at the song through this specific historical lens. Lesbians have a long, rich history of being gender-nonconforming, and Prince explicitly refers to her as a girl throughout the track. When modern listeners try to retroactively apply today’s gender terminology to this song, it can unintentionally erase the identity of masculine lesbians (who were ignorantly/notoriously referred to as “he-she’s”, even though they were female). While people might think they are being progressive by doing so, it actually has a regressive effect by overlooking a distinct and historical lesbian culture, and rewrites the true meaning. Ultimately, the song is a brilliant early example of Prince honoring a butch/tomboy woman who proudly broke traditional gender roles.
Vagina is about a woman with a tomboy/butch aesthetic, who is attracted to other women (“she was kissing another girl”). While the character is female, lines like “half boy, half girl” and “she could’ve been king” are metaphors for her defiance of traditional gender roles “her hair was shorter than mine”. In the early 1980s, lesbians were known for being tomboys and gender non conforming. Prince recorded the track as a demo for his protégé girl group to sing and used provocative language for shock value, knowing it would garner attention from the mainstream audience. Prince wanted to use “Vagina” as the stage name for his then-girlfriend, Denise Matthews, who was the lead singer of said girl group. She famously shot him down, saying she’d only do it if he changed his own name to “Dick,” so they eventually compromised on the name Vanity.