In the aftermath of the historic Women’s March on Washington, (the numerous marches carried out alongside it globally as a show of solidarity), the reality is probably sinking in that America’s president is now a man who has spoken against hiring working mothers, said that ‘putting women to work is a very dangerous thing’, described women as ‘pieces of ass’, fired off at Rosie ODonnell in a bizarre and relentless tirade (on numerous occasions), referred to breastfeeding as ‘disgusting’, blamed military sexual assault on cohabitation, questioned whether Hilary Clinton could ‘satisfy’ America if she couldn’t ‘satisfy’ her husband, called Megyn Kelly a ‘bimbo’ and implied her questioning of his misogyny was a result of menstruation, and, most worryingly, said that people who have abortions should be ‘punished’. But, fear not! As Elton John put it, ‘music has a healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours’. With that in mind, here are ten songs that empower, raise, and respect women

1. Beyoncé - Run the World (Girls)

Run the World can be denied by no one to be a Feminist anthem. Its lyrics will probably be the epitaph on the gravestone of patriarchy. I asked a few women what their ultimate girl power songs would be in preparation for this article, and Queen Bey got a mention in every single answer. As well as being the voice behind this undoubtedly iconic track, Beyonce famously brought the concept of female empowerment to her masses of female fans in 2014, when, during her Mrs.Carter tour, she performed in front of a huge 'Feminist' sign. This, of course, was prior to the huge success that is Lemonade, an important commentary on black womanhood.

2. Alicia Keys ft Nicki Minaj – Girl on Fire

A song just as amazing as you assume, it will be when two incredibly boss women come together musically. With lyrics like ‘she got her head in the clouds, and she's not backing down’ coupled with ‘Take away my fear when they interfere God’, the song carries a strong message of standing your ground, (for example, if – oh, I don’t know – influential politicians are trying to ‘interfere’ in reproductive processes that have nothing to do with their non-uterus having existences). Keys has spoken as recently as November 2016 on how important Feminism is, and famously launched a #nomakeup movement earlier that year, saying she had been working on herself, as opposed to others' idea of what she should look like. I would discuss the many, many contributions Nicki Minaj had also made in bringing Feminism to the forefront of public consciousness, but since she has her own solo spot later on in this list, I'll leave it until then.

3. Sara Bareilles – King of Anything

This is genuinely one of my ultimate favorite songs. Sara Bareilles – actual goddess that she is – thoroughly reminds men that she really doesn't need them to save her. She does this in the most eloquent, musically beautiful fashion there has ever been. Because who hasn’t sat opposite a man who’s ‘got the talking down, just not the listening’? In 2011, Bareilles spoke about what Feminism means to her, 'celebrating women and being productive for females'.

4. Little Mix – Salute

Salute, as a song, feels especially poignant following the great female power felt across the world in the marches on Saturday. Lyrics like ‘Sisters we are everywhere/ Warriors, your country needs you’, and ‘It's the female federal/ And we're taking off’ stand out especially. While the British group did face some backlash in 2013 following a few naive comments made by Perrie Edwards, an interview the band gave a year later suggested that they had thankfully changed their minds on what it means to be a Feminist. In March 2014, the group teamed up with BeatBullying, Europe's largest anti-bullying charity.

5. Aretha Franklin – Respect

It feels just a little out of place, given that the majority of the songs I’ve chosen for the list are noughties tunes, but the iconic Respect undoubtedly deserves a place with the rest. Aside from being virtually impossible to hear and not sing along with, Respect pulls no punches in teaching people that if you don’t respect your partner, you might ‘walk in and find out they’re gone’. In 2014 Franklin spoke with Rolling Stone, discussing her place in civil rights and women's liberation movements, and praising fellow listee Beyoncé for 'carrying on the torch of feminism in pop'.

6. Peaches – F*ck the Pain Away

A song recommended to this list by a friend, F*ck the Pain Away is the breakthrough and signature song of Canadian electronic artist Peaches, consistently noted for her commentary on gender identity throughout her career. The song is (unsurprisingly) very sex positive, was given no 'official' music video, and is listed as one of the Guardian's 'top 1000 songs to hear'. Peaches herself is a vocal advocate for the LGBT community, and has spoken on numerous occasions on why Feminism is important to her, (and all women!)

7. Nicki Minaj – Anaconda

Now, while I personally sometimes struggle with what can feel in this song like an all-about-that-bass-esque attempt at empowering curvy women through putting down slimmer women, I also can't deny that lots of the people I asked for suggestions for this list cited this song. Furthermore, a lot of the praise for this song comes from the fact that it, like a lot of Minaj's songs, 'centers black womanhood'; with that in mind, it's clear that as a white woman, my role as both a listener and spectator is one of listening and learning, not debating. On top of that, Nicki Minaj's relentless discussions surrounding women's rights and power dynamics between men and women, (both in and out of the music industry), meant that she had to be included in her own right. Like many of this list, Nicki Minaj is unashamedly sexual, and I'm totally here for that.

8. Lesley Gore – You Don't Own Me

Honestly, You Don't Own Me sends shivers throughout me every time I hear it. Gore's voice is beautiful, but there's something about knowing that Gore was singing about female independence in a decade when unmarried women could be refused credit cards, couldn't serve on juries in all fifty states, and were earning roughly fifty nine cents to a male dollar, (which, believe it or not, is more than the average hispanic woman makes for every male dollar now), that makes the song even more so. The song was written for Gore by two men, and in my mind this makes the song feel even better - maybe they knew that a track that told dependent women they could be independent would be lucrative, and they were just in it for the money, but it's much nicer to think that they were actually super cool male allies to the Feminist movement. Gore was only seventeen when she recorded You Don't Own Me, but would grow to be a very eloquent feminist.

9. Alessia Cara – Scars to Your Beautiful

I heard this song for the first time over Thanksgiving, and commented to my friend at the time how genuinely moving it was. This is unsurprising given that Scars to Your Beautiful is used by I am that Girl, a campaign Cara is in a partnership with, which aims to promote positive body image and mental health to young girls. You can read my article here about my own experiences with poor body image and why songs like this are so important. Cara has spoken on numerous occasions about Feminism, and you can read an interview here which demonstrates really well how eloquent she is in voicing her opinions on current politics.

10. Spice Girls – Wannabe

Last, but by no means least, The Spice Girls are, truthfully, the ultimate symbol of girl power. They lived, dressed, and sang 'sisters before misters', and that level of female to female support, regardless of interests, regardless of backgrounds, is what we should all aim for. I didn't use the official video for Wannabe despite it being amazing, because the #WhatIReallyReallyWant movement, formed by GlobalGoals, has created an awesome Feminist remake of the video, aiming to draw attention to issues of gender equality globally. Enjoy!

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the songs I've chosen? Got any that you think should definitely be on the list and aren't? Let me know in the comments!