'80s Fun With Misheard Lyrics - Hall & Oates' "Maneater" a Foundation for Gynophobia?

First of all, let me point out that my tongue is placed firmly in cheek as I present the above suggestion, but also allow me to preemptively emphasize the key conceptual difference between the pathological fear of women (gynophobia) and the philosophical hatred of women (misogyny). Still, I think I'll refrain from going any deeper into this issue for fear of digging myself a deep hole and then becoming surrounded by a crowd of women that is less than sympathetic to my eventual state of entrapment within. But oh well. As Sally Albright says in When Harry Met Sally, a film that remains the greatest and most definitive template for romantic comedies as well as a major pop culture flashpoint for the complexities of gender relations, "You can't take it back; it's already out there."

Anyway, how's about we get to the point? Back in 1982, when Hall & Oates topped the pop charts with the infectiously catchy "Maneater," I immediately developed a strong and relatively long-standing belief that the verse lyric "She's deadly, man, she can really rip your world apart" actually stated that the song's title character might just rip a man's butt apart if he crossed her. Now, that's certainly a silly conclusion to draw, but it took me some months to learn that the duo's seemingly graphic portrait of this woman as a vicious predator was considerably more metaphorical than what I thought I heard in the track. While I assure you that I was not scarred for life by this humorous misinterpretation (I don't fear women any more than the average married man who has never been a Casanova - remember, tongue firmly in cheek), I was always struck by the violent if cartoonish imagery suggested by my version of the lyric. I think I can say one thing with confidence, though: Hall, Oates and songwriting partner Sara Allen probably never imagined their composition would inspire serious discussion in the arena of women's issues. Hey, it just goes to show that the waters of '80s music indeed run deep.

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