sexism - my mistake

weird title you say? slightly. there's a story behind it.
from 2002 to 2004 i was playing accoustic guitar in a performance band called poulets-rouges. or maybe it was from 2000 to 2003, i don't remember exactly.
on of the titles in our setlist was called "is she really going out with him". the girls (everyone except me in the band was female) sang that acapella (no instruments, just voices). i naturally assumed the composer of the title was female because of the feminist or emancipational touch to it. the acapella arrangement was pretty so the girls were able to sing that without much adjustment. further indication of the song being written by someone female.
(if you know who wrote this song, keep it to yourself for now pls. or at least don't tell the other readers ^_^)

now here come the lyrics....

IS SHE REALLY GOING OUT WITH HIM

Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street
From my window Im staring while my coffee grows cold
Look over there! (where? )
Theres a lady that I used to know
Shes married now, or engaged, or something, so I am told

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
cause if my eyes dont deceive me,
Theres something going wrong around here

Tonights the night when I go to all the parties down my street.
I wash my hair and I kid myself I look real smooth
Look over there! (where? )
Here comes jeanie with her new boyfriend
They say that looks dont count for much
If so, there goes your proof

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
cause if my eyes dont deceive me,
Theres something going wrong around here

But if looks could kill
Theres a man there whos more down as dead.
Cause Ive had my fill
Listen you, take your hands off her head
I get so mean around this scene

Is she really going out with him?
Is she really gonna take him home tonight?
Is she really going out with him?
cause if my eyes dont deceive me
Theres something going wrong around here

####################################

now, i'm not an english native speaker. i do have a high proficiency in english but some things still elude me.
e.g. does a woman use the expression " I kid myself I look real smooth" or not?
if you re-read the lyrics assuming they were written by a woman, don't they take on a condescending tone all of a sudden? there's no line where the gender of the writer is given away (as in "a dead give-away").

so, imagine my situation. i'm playing guitar in this all-girl band outfit. i'm on stage with them and they sing:
"Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street" - hu?
"Is she really going out with him?
cause if my eyes dont deceive me
Theres something going wrong around here" - sung by a woman, these lines sound pretty harsh. imagine it the other way around:

"handsome men are walking with ugly broads down my street"
or
"is he really going out with her
if my eyes don't deceive me, there's something going wrong around here"

sounds sexist, doesn't it.
well, i felt offended for quite a while until i investigated the original singer/performer. it turned out to be Joe Jackson (wikipedia article) - not related to michael "can-you-leave-your-little-brother-with-me-and-turn-off-the-ligthts-for-a-sec" jackson. the song was written in 1979. unlike michael jackson, joe jackson turned out to be a man. no more sexist lines in that song. good on ya, mate.

i never talked about this with the red chickens (poulets rouges). i didn't think it to be that important and since i was not involved in picking the songs anway i didn't care. give me a guitar and a tape anytime and i'll accompany you, with a few exceptions, hip-hop being one of them (although it's possible as this article proves: public enemy played by a folk singer)

keep on rockin'

mindfall903