Shakira’s “She Wolf” Speaks Sexual Truths
“Nocturnal creatures are not so prudent,
The moon’s my teacher, and I’m her student.“
Athol Kay of Married Man Sex Life was the first writer/blogger to turn me on to the idea that a woman’s menstrual cycle influenced her sexual response. Since then, lots of research has penetrated the mainstream about the interplay between menses, a woman’s sexual preferences (her body agenda seeks more of an alpha lover when ovulating), and her situational awareness (one study suggested psychological perceptions morph during ovulation to make cads look more like dads).
Athol was also one of the resonant voices discussing how indirect female sexual strategies mean that women are often concealing the full force of their sexuality, and that the corollary of that fact is that as a man you need to create a space where she can safely express that side of her. In short: a lot of women are freakier than they let on, and if you can’t bring that out, she’s going to mark you down for it.
I wasn’t quite considering all of this when I was recently, er, distracted by Shakira and the video for her “She Wolf” video.
The Colombian singer holds the notable distinction of recording the best-selling single worldwide since the year 2000 (“Hips Don’t Lie,” with former Fugee Wyclef Jean). Like Madonna and Prince, her mononymous moniker is in fact her given first name. I’m not one to give a rip about a musician’s dance moves, but she can really do some impressive things with her body.
What struck me about “She Wolf” were not the visuals, but the lyrical content. The song begins with a reference to the sexual concealment strategy discussed above.
“S.O.S she is in disguise
S.O.S she is in disguise
There’s a she wolf in disguise,
Coming out, coming out, coming out”
The song goes on to describe a sexually frustrated woman whose man is unable to grok her sexual longing.
“A domesticated girl that’s all you ask of me,
Darling it is no joke, this is lycanthropy.
Moon’s awake now, with eyes wide open
My body is craving, so feed the hungry“
“Lycanthropy” refers to the transformation of a human into a werewolf. Combined with the reference to the moon, this stanza is a (probably unintentional, I admit) allusion to the effects of the menstrual cycle and the intense sexual longing felt around the ovulation period.
The lady confesses that she’s not feeling the payoff of her investment and is planning on going elsewhere:
“I’ve been devoting myself to you
Monday to Monday
And Friday to Friday
Not getting enough retribution or decent incentives to keep me at it
Starting to feel just a little abused
Like a coffee machine in an office
So I’m gonna go somewhere closer
To get me a lover and tell you about it”
The chorus…
“There’s a she wolf in the closet,
Open up and set it free
There’s a she wolf in the closet,
Let it out so it can breathe”
…brings the sexual concealment strategy home; the woman’s raucous sexual vibe needs to be brought out by a competent lover.
“Sitting across the bar, staring right at her prey,
It’s going well so far, she’s gonna get her way.
Nocturnal creatures are not so prudent,
The moon’s my teacher, and I’m her student.”
Denied her fantasy at home, she goes on the hunt for a man who can do the job.
“To look at the single man I’ve got on me a special radar,
And the fire department’s hotline in case i get in trouble later
Not looking for cute little divas or rich city guys that just want to enjoy
I’m having a very good time and behave very bad in the arms of a boy”
It may have been Athol himself who said “half the fun of dating a bad boy is getting to play the bad girl.”
With regard to the overall frame of the song, consider that a wolf is a stark contrast to the normal female sexual metaphor of a “sex kitten” (or a sex panther) – cats are capricious and moody, wolves are aggressive hunters.
In the interest of a full analysis: the video itself is narratively unimpressive and serves as a vehicle for a variety of Shakira’s celebrated dancing skills. Woken up by the full moon, Shakira leaves her lover in bed and retreats to her closet as the music starts. From there she is featured in a cage, in a club, on a rooftop and in what appears to be a cardiac ventricle.
After returning to her bed through the lyrically-referenced closet, she glances at the full moon; her less-than-thrilling lover is sound asleep, none the wiser (another concealment).
For kicks I checked out the Spanish-language lyrics of the song (entitled “Loba,” or female wolf). I won’t translate them here, but let’s just say that from what I could pick up they are even more racy and sensual in Shakira’s native language.
Going back to Athol Kay, he among many has done an excellent job expressing the practical reality that if you can’t provide something your partner craves – sexually or otherwise, but usually sexually – they’ll find someone else who will. The She Wolf’s testimony certainly bears that out.
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