Phenomenal Woman

One of the major themes of “Phenomenal Woman” is pride in yourself, regardless of how others see you. What others observe or measure does not need to influence how you view your attributes. Despite external pressure from “pretty women” (Line 2) or disappointing men to conform or diminish herself, the speaker has confidence and sees herself as a “phenomenal woman” (Line 12) whose “head’s not bowed” (Line 47).

The speaker of the poem recognizes that she is not considered conventionally beautiful, but she nevertheless acknowledges with pride the mysterious force that compels those around her to value and desire her. Those around her seem resentful of her ability to be charming or alluring. “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies” (Line 1)—their understanding of the prevailing culture, which holds up thin, white, straight-haired women as the beauty ideal, makes them incredulous that someone who looks like the speaker could be attracting positive attention. These women imply that the speaker must be “telling lies” (Line 4) when she explains why her non-traditionally appealing external and internal attributes have power. Even the men who “swarm around me” (Line 19) can’t always figure out why they’re drawn to her; even when she tries to explain her profound confidence to them, “they still can’t see” (Line 36).