Is Bono a feminist or not?

[AnCatDubh]

I'm rather disturbed by the line in "trying to throw your arms around the world":

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle when you're trying to throw your arms around the world."

He's quoting Gloria Steinem here, and the obvious conclusion would be that this is a slam against feminism. Only reinforced by "woman be still..."

So here's the conundrum... I believe U2 to be one of the most socially conscious bands around, but this just doesn't quite add up. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[frank sinatra]

i think what bono is saying is that by making such a statement ("a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle"), gloria steinem is "trying to throw her arms around the world." she's trying to simplify life into one statement.

i don't think that bono is a staunch conservative when it comes to women's rights or that he is anti-feminism. i think he is making the observation that the gloria steinem quote is a generalization that can't be made. women and men both need each other. they can't live healthy lives without each other (by healthy, i don't mean heterosexual or anything like that - i just mean that influences from the opposite sex in one's life produces a more well-rounded person).

[This message has been edited by frank sinatra (edited 07-12-2000).]

 

[Salome]

I always thought Bono just liked the way that line sounded. I know I do.

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Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

 

[AnCatDubh]

Yeah...okay...but I still think the quote is wrongfully taken out of context. At the time Gloria Steinem was making this statement it was more in reference to the idea that a woman's life is worthless if she does not have a husband, that a woman has to depend on a man for a livelihood etc.
Don't get me wrong, I like the song and I like what it has to say about intimacy. But it has a kind of "feminists-are-hardhearted-
b******es-and-don't-understand-what-love-is-
about" echo to it. I don't believe it was meant this way, but I don't think this line should have been used.

 

[Salome]

"A woman needs a man needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle when you're trying to throw your arms around the world".
If you read the second part of this line like this "when she's trying to throw her arms around the world" it says the same thing Steinem said; A woman doesn't need a man to have a full life.


------------------
Salome
Shake it, shake it, shake it

 

[bicyclingfish]

This song exposes Bono's truest intentions- they are to expose to the listener that he doesn't know, that men don't understand- the females experience in this world. And we can't.

Through his songs Bono consistently reveals that he WANTS to know, that he's chasing after her, wanting to know her, but he CAN'T. That is one of the reasons why so many men like Bono (although at somewhat of a subconcious level): he can relay the passions, the desires, the dreams that so many of us have- but at the same time he shows the anxiety, the apprehension, and the frustration that many of us feel. We can't- and won't- ever be able to understand women.

That makes Bono an interperator of the MALE experience in a very real and tangible way- and for that he is more than a feminist (someone who believes that women are people too). His ability to translate our Masculine experience into an emotionally appealing lyric makes him a Humanist- because men are people too.

Yeah. Trying to throw his arms around the world.

 

[drowning man]

I'm pretty sure that Bono is not a machist, though that doesn't mean that he isn't an anti-feminist... as for that line, I think it may very well be about Ali. Bono spends a lot of tome "tryin' to throw his arms around the world", and he knows that in those times ali needs him as much as "a woman needs a bycicle", but still she remains there for him. I think that line is about guilt!

------------------
everything you know is wrong... if it wasn't Bono who said it!

 

[AnCatDubh]

Thanks for the insight, bicyclingfish. I've always rather liked his use of this line, then one day it struck me as condescending. But I'm over it now. What you said made a lot of sense. Actually there are several meanings I can discern, guilt, confusion, etc. In fact I think Ill go listen again now...

 

[partygirl]

I agree with Drowning Man. I think his interpretation is dead on.

 

[Achtung Bubba]

Yeah, I agree with Drowning Man, too. I haven't really spoken out on this one, because I've been looking for deeper meaning in the lyrics (and busy with other things that are far less important than U2

).

In the end, I think the song is little more than a hangover song, where "trying to throw your arms around the world" is a nice little euphamism for getting dru-u-unk. Apparently, when Bono's a little tipsy, Ali needs him like a hole in the head.

But she still puts up with him.

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- Achtung Bubba

 

[My Blue Room]

Originally posted by AnCatDubh:
I'm rather disturbed by the line in "trying to throw your arms around the world":

I think this line (From a woman's standpoint) is one of, if not my favorite; Bono is such an incredible writer; everyone INTO THE HEART BY Niall Stokes the song talks about the bands freedom and their restless desire to go back home as they have been out "TRYING TO THROW THEIR ARMS AROUND THE WORLD" GREAT SONG....NO SLAM AGAINST FEMINISM INTENDED..

 

[Ldybug33]

Hey guys...I think you are looking at that line all wrong....you see, in this song, it is BONO who is trying to throw his arms around the world. This song was written before the Zoo TV tour, and during this tour Bono really felt he needed to explore the world and during this time U2 set out to accomplish something, make a statement with Zoo TV, become the biggest band, glorify the bullshit so it wouldn't beat them ect....so really this song is about Bono exploring the world...and he does leave Ali behind. So I think he is singing to her..that he will run to her when this is all over. BUT..while he is exploring the world the traveling and everything...that must be hard on her, she doesn't need that...."A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle when you're (Bono) trying to throw your arms around the world.
Any thoughts?

Dream out loud!
*~Julie~*

 

[modsavage]

Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World is about a drunk guy trying to get home.
The Edge and Bono wrote it while in LA when they saw a drunk guy trying to get in his house.
Woman be still refers to the guy trying to keep him self up, not only does he want the woman to be still but he wants the whole world to be still.
Far from the women hating concept!
This is why Larry introduced it as an old "where ever they were" drinking song.
YAY
I love U2

)
me

 

[scappy]

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle (which is not at all) when he's tryin' to throw his arms around the world.

I would take that to mean that women don't need men who are out every night getting drunk, not even if they're trying to make it back home. I would say he's AGREEING with Gloria, not disagreeing.

And I'm sure there's quite a bit of Bono's personal life in that song, but many other people's lives, as well.

------------------
Shelly Caplinger
"Dream out loud"

 

[Dalton Brother]

Bono is a humanist, nothing else.

Peace y'all

 

[BoNoLoVeRU2]

I AM SORRY THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH U2 AND "TRYIN' TO THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND THE WORLD" but I've gotta let this out and since we are talking about Women and feminists and stuff like that...

Eminem talks a lot of trash about gays and women as does Kid rock (more about Women).
I was flippin' through channels and "Maury" was on. So since commericals were on vh1 I decided what the hell, and the subject was "Men who control their women's lives." oh man that made me angry. Plus smart ass shows like "The Man Show" and "The X Show" (for those of u wit cable) and Howard Stern (who makes my skin crawl).

I am just as confused about men as men are confused about women. But I agree I don't remember which one of you said it but Men and Women need each other.

oh man this is a touchy issue.
I'm sorry if I've insulted anyone.



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I LOVE BONO
U2GIRL

 

[Achtung Bubba]

To quote Norm Peterson, from the 80's American TV classic Cheers...

"Women. Can't live with 'em, pass the beer nuts."

Sorry, I had to say it.

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- Achtung Bubba

 

[The Wanderer]

women, fish and bicycles (especially the ones that the mimes ride around on in those old french movies with one wheel i think they're called unicycles) anyway women, fish and bicycles confuse me, so I will leave this one alone . . .

note: this song was dedicated to the "Flaming Colossus" a famous (or infamous) late-nite club in LA (which someone up there talked about already)

does anyone here really think Bono has in any way hurt the public's perception of women? I think he has always projected an attitude of respect and adoration of women in general, while being somwhat mystified and tormented at how different women are from men and how little men understand women, and this is a far cry from most artists out there today talkin' bout pimpin' their "bitches and whorz," who are misogynistic pigs who only care about there own male-driven egos and treat women as sub-human objects . . . sorry, just wanted to chime in on the subject and put things in perspective



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"Well it was a fine thing, writing some songs and putting out a record while you're still on tour, but it's another thing trying to play the fucking things!" -- Bono, Dublin-1993

 

[oubah sa?d]

I really don't know if this makes sense but this is the way I understand.
A fish does not need a bicycle, yes?
That equals= A woman does not need a man to find the world
When you are trying to trow your arms around the world....who is trying?
THE WOMAN.NOT BONO. I think so. . Therefore Bono is NOT an anti-feminist, on the contrary, he is speaking for us. He is, maybe, speaking for his wife who he admires.
She is a very strong woman for handling a man like BONO. I think if it were not for her, there marriage would of ended along time ago.
Hey don't get me wrong I adore BONO. I love to death but I also admire ALI. And so does HE!!!

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

"A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle", in the context of "trying to throw your arms around the world" simply means that when a man is trying to throw his arms around the world, he is not always doing much good for his woman -- so it really does show more respect than anything. Kind of like a reason not to go out and try to conquer the world... I dunno

Woman be still -- that could be a sort of request for the woman to be there when the man returns from his night out on the town or whatever..

 

[11o´clock]

Trying To Throw Your Arms Around The World is about a drunk guy trying to get home.
The Edge and Bono wrote it while in LA when they saw a drunk guy trying to get in his house.

)
me

I have always thought that since I´ve read U2 By U2.

 

[BVS]

What a wierd bump...

 

[rihannsu]

The guy in the song is stumbling home, drunk off his keester and the whole world is spinning. "Woman be still." isn't a command, it's a plea for her to be the anchor, the one solid thing he can hold on to while the whole world is spinning out of control. Bono often talks about how he was attracted to Ali's stillness. I always took this song as a salute to women for the way they put up with men's BS.

Dana

 

[biff]

By the way, it wasn't Gloria Stienem who originated the "fish/bicycle" quote. That's a common misconception that she addressed herself a few years back. Here's what she said:

"You credit me with the witticism 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.' In fact, Irina Dunn, a distinguished Australian educator, journalist and politician, coined the phrase back in 1970 when she was a student at the University of Sydney. She paraphrased the philosopher who said, 'Man needs God like fish needs a bicycle.' Dunn deserves credit for creating such a popular and durable spoof of the old idea that women need men more than vice versa."

 

[OrARoundabout]

I'm rather disturbed by the line in "trying to throw your arms around the world":

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle when you're trying to throw your arms around the world."

He's quoting Gloria Steinem here, and the obvious conclusion would be that this is a slam against feminism. Only reinforced by "woman be still..."

So here's the conundrum... I believe U2 to be one of the most socially conscious bands around, but this just doesn't quite add up. Anyone have any thoughts?

Bono seems to praise the ground women walk upon...I think it's just the way the line sounds.

 

[flowerchildH]

I'm taking Women in US History at college right now, and you'd be amazed at how many influential women gave up raising their families and being with their husbands to do their social work. Especially those involved in the Hull House in Chicago. They gave up their family life to help other's. No saying that a good thing, but it worked. And I love that line. I didn't know about the Gloria Steinam thing though.