Maisie Peters has something every woman has: aspirations. She is an English indie pop artist that has done some impressive work; releasing two EPs, two albums, and writing music as a soundtrack for an Apple TV original series all by the age of twenty-three years old is quite an amazing feat. One that, most likely, has earned her criticism. The thing about being a woman, the thing that many women experience, is that nothing is enough. According to some, Taylor Swift cannot sing despite all the awards she won. According to some, Olivia Rodrigo didn’t deserve to win the three Grammys she won in 2021 despite how well her songs performed. According to some, Medusa was an evil monster that got what was coming to her when she was transformed into a gorgon. It's a "Tale as old as honey" as Peters says, "a moment everybody knows" from the beginnings of history to today, women have always suffered at the hands of sexism, both in relationships and in the real world.

Of course, there are plenty of instances where women achieve greatness despite all of the sexism that came their way. Like just this year when Taylor Swift became the first artist to win Album of the Year four times, or in 1930 when Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice in the Supreme Court, or in 1863 when Harriet Tubman became the first woman to lead an armed assault. There are plenty of success stories, but throughout history women's stories, whether it be their side of it or ether successes, have been overwritten by the men around them, and in her song "History of Man" Maisie Peters uses her genius lyrics to tell this very story, the one that many women of all ages can relate to.

While there are many women in loving and healthy relationships, the stories that are more prominent are the ones that are not like that, an unfortunate truth that Masie Peters shines a light on in her song. What is commonly seen in relationships (and in the media in general) is women being mocked. Like in the 2024 Golden Globes. Jo Koy, a comedian, mocked the Barbie movie, implying that it was nowhere near as good as Oppenheimer was. That Oppenheimer was much more complex than it was. This mindset of his is unfortunate, but common. The meaning of the movie flew over so many men's heads (despite the fact that a theme of the movie is that men are victims of the patriarchy too) and so many boys mock girls for liking it or mock its existence, just like how many mock girls for their interests or behavior (how many videos have I seen of boys making fun of how girls are on their periods? Too. Freaking. Many. How many boys mock girls that say they like sport? Way. Too. Many).

Having something important to you mocked is an awful feeling, and Maisie Peters depicts that perfectly when singing "You burnt down Easter Island. As if it wasn't sacred, as if it wasn't sacred to me" here, Easter Island is a metaphor for something important to a woman, something she likes. And whether they are mocking her for it, or saying she shouldn't like it, the men around her are burning it down (and of course making it seem like she's the problem if she gets upset about it).

And it isn't just their interests that they are mocked for, it is their successes too. Women often have to work harder than men, a point that Peters showcases in her song ("She stays up. He's sleeping like a lamb"). However, even if women are putting as much effort into their career as they can, they are still insulted. If a woman decided she wants to focus on her career before having kids, or instead of having kids at all, she is told that she's being selfish to any partner she might want to have. She is told that having kids is the purpose of her body, and that she will regret this choice. But if she tries to have kids and a career at the same time, then she is told she either isn't dedicated enough to her career or dedicated enough to being a mother. Even when she puts in 110%, her efforts will never meet those of her male coworker.

Men mock women. Boys mock girls. And sometimes, men make women feel unsafe. It's been seen over and over again: a man approaches a woman, a woman is uncomfortable around the man, a woman is afraid of the man. The man either doesn't notice or doesn't care. These men can range from complete strangers to significant others. It’s something that many women can relate to—the fear that any man that approaches you will be the last person to ever talk to you. The problem is many don't know what to do in these situations. Confront them? That can make it worse. Stay silent? They’re just gonna keep going. Women don’t want to hurt men; we just want to be left alone. A desire Peters emphasizes with her beautiful biblical reference: "So Samson blamed Delilah, but given half a chance, I would've made him weaker too."

She loves the man she is singing to. That much is clear from the desperation in her voice whilst singing, but she would make him weaker—possibly emasculate him—if it meant that she could keep herself safe from any danger he poses against her. And isn't that—the fear of a boyfriend, or husband, or any lover really hurting them—a fear that so many women have? Yes, it is. After all, 1 in 4 women experience physical violence in their relationships and 1 in 3 women will experience sexual violence during their lifetimes. No matter how good the relationship is, how sweet the partner seems, there may be a little voice in the back of their head, asking them if they are really sure they won't become that one of the three/four.

Women being mistreated by men—coworkers, lovers, strangers, fathers, brothers etc.—is an unfortunate theme that has flowed through history. ("I've seen it, in the poems and the sands. I've pleaded, with the powers and their plans. I tried to rewrite it, but I can't. It's the history, the history of man"). Scarlett Johanson got questions about her what diet she has to maintain to play Black Widow; Robert Downey Jr. got questions about the plot of the movies and his thoughts on them. Taylor Swift gets comments about how she writes too much about her ex-boyfriends; Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeren do not get the same question despite doing the same thing. Rosalind Franklin discovered DNA; Watson and Crick are the ones that get the most credit for it. Throughout history, and even in modern times, men get more credit than women. They litter history with their success while many women, no matter how hard they try, are judged for the same choices or are completely overlooked. Men are praised and renowned, women are ignored. And then, they are judged for their broken hearts.

The part of the song that speaks to these broken hearts the most is the bridge: "He stole her youth and promised heaven." With the first part of the bridge, she references the history of women and marriage. Women weren't married off to have kids, girls were. Juliet was sent off to marry Paris at the age of thirteen years old, expected to bear his children despite how much older he was, a common choice for those times. The rest of those girls’ youth would be spent in a loveless marriage with a man that was beyond their years. Being a mother or wife was considered “heaven” by society. But it wasn't. Not for everyone.

Peters continues her genius lyrics in the bridge with her allusion to Greek Mythology: "The men start wars yet Troy hates Helen" Helen of Troy (originally from Sparta) is blamed for the Trojan war; however, her only crime is being a woman that men wanted to marry. The war occurs because these men fight over her and want to marry her, not one of them asking what she wants. She is labeled the cause of the Trojan war, when it was the men around her that drew their blades and charged into battle. She is a figure that represents many women: the women blamed for men's actions (What were you wearing? You were asking for it. Men can't help themselves. You shouldn't have gotten drunk). Women are held accountable for the actions of men. Their only crime is being the woman they were born as, yet the world completely ignores their truths and ignores men’s deeds.

Peters finishes the bridge by pleading with any men listening, "Hear my lyrics. Taste my venom. You are still my great obsession." Women do not hate men. We may say we do in order to express contempt at some of the men we have encountered, but we do not hate all men. We hate the ones that don't understand. We hate the men that turn around and say, "she was asking for it." We hate the men that made national rape day jokes. We hate the men that say watching their own kids is babysitting. We don't hate every man; we hate the ones that don't listen. Women don't want to hate men; they want to be listened to, and with her powerful lyrics, Peters does a flawless job of capturing that fact in her song.

Women have made many leaps and bounds in history. From being married off at thirteen to being married when they want to. From being forced to be housewives to getting the option to join the workforce. From being unable to join the army to being able to fight for their country. Progress has been made. But there is still much to come. And that change will come. We will make sure of it. We will make sure that history is littered with a multitude of stories, including those of men and women. Or, as Peters sings in the ending of the song, women will make sure to find someone or someplace that treats them the way they deserve (“So, you’ll lose me, the best you’ve ever had”).