These are the songs about standing tall, taking no nonsense and owning your worth out loud. They span sixty years, from a Motown demand for respect to stadium-sized anthems of self-belief.
Updated 2026
Respect by Aretha Franklin 1967
She took a man's song and turned it into a demand heard everywhere.
You Don't Own Me by Lesley Gore 1963
A teenager in 1963 flatly refusing to be anybody's possession.
Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce 2011
A pounding roll call for women who carry everything.
Independent Women, Part I by Destiny's Child 2000
Paying your own bills and answering to no one.
These Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra 1966
A cool, deadpan warning to a man about to get left.
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett 1980
Two minutes of not caring one bit what anyone thinks.
Just a Girl by No Doubt 1995
Gwen Stefani turning a backhanded phrase into a battle cry.
Roar by Katy Perry 2013
Finding a voice after a long stretch of staying quiet.
Fight Song by Rachel Platten 2014
A small, stubborn spark deciding to take her life back.
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys 2012
A woman walking through the world fully alight.
Confident by Demi Lovato 2015
Daring anyone to have a problem with her self-assurance.