"What It Feels Like for a Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her eighth studio album Music (2000). It was released as the third and final single from the album on April 9, 2001, by Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Records. It was written and produced by Madonna and Guy Sigsworth, with David Torn as co-writer, and Mark "Spike" Stent as a co-producer. A mid-tempo electronic, synth-pop and glitch pop song, it lyrically conveys society's double standard toward women, addressing hurtful myths about female inferiority. To emphasize the message, the song opens with a spoken word sample by actress Charlotte Gainsbourg from the 1993 British film The Cement Garden. A Spanish version of the track, "Lo Que Siente la Mujer", was translated by Alberto Ferreras and included in the Latin American edition of Music.
"What It Feels Like for a Girl" received acclaim from most music critics, who declared it as a highlight from the album, while also remarking it as one of the most mature musical ventures of Madonna's career. Commercially, the song reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Romania, Spain, Scotland and the UK. In the US, it peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and atop the Dance Club Songs.
An accompanying music video for "What It Feels Like for a Girl" was directed by Madonna's then-husband Guy Ritchie and premiered on March 22, 2001. It features the singer as a reckless woman on a crime spree. The video was criticized for its depiction of violence and abuse, which caused MTV to ban it before 9:00 pm. The single was also released on DVD and became the highest weekly sales for a DVD release in the United States. Madonna performed the track on the promotional concerts for Music in November 2000 and on her 2001 Drowned World Tour, where a remixed version was used as a video interlude and also performed in Spanish. The song was covered by the actors of television series Glee, during the episode "The Power of Madonna", and was included in the accompanying EP.
Background and development
thumb|upright|[[Guy Sigsworth (pictured in 2007), one of the main producers of "What It Feels Like for a Girl"|alt=Guy Sigsworth holding a white tea-cup in his right hand and smiling down.]]
After the critical and commercial success of her seventh studio album, Ray of Light (1998), Madonna had intended to embark on a concert tour in September 1999, but the tour was cancelled due to the delay of her film The Next Best Thing (2000). She released one-off singles like "Beautiful Stranger" (1999) and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie" (2000). The singer also became pregnant with her son Rocco, from her relationship with director Guy Ritchie. Wanting to distract herself from the media frenzy, Madonna concentrated on the development of her eighth studio album, Music.
In April 2000, it was announced that French musician Mirwais Ahmadzaï was creating a melding of dance and pop songs with a disco feel for the album. Later, it was also announced that Madonna enlisted Guy Sigsworth to work with her on the album. The singer had followed Sigsworth's work, admired his love of understated technology in music, and contacted him for adding an ambient feel to her record. Madonna played him the rough demo tracks developed for Music, including the songs created with Ahmadzaï.
Madonna listened to the phrase uttered by Gainsbourg and started writing the song and the melody, resulting in "What It Feels Like for a Girl", a track described by her as a complaint about the politics of sexes. and glitch pop semi-ballad. Madonna and Sigsworth were listed as songwriters and producers on the track with additional production by Mark "Spike" Stent. American guitarist David Torn was credited as an additional songwriter after Madonna found out Sigsworth had sampled from Torn's 1987 album, Cloud About Mercury. Stent recorded "What It Feels Like for a Girl" using a Sony 3348 HR and a BASF 931 tape. He mixed it at London's Olympic Studios using SSL G Series Quantegy magnetic tapes. Tim Young mastered the track at Metropolis Studio at Westminster, London.