Shania Twain reflects on the cultural impact of "Man! I Feel Like A Woman!"

Noting that she wrote the song with the intention of pushing her boundaries, she explained: “I was standing up for myself through the song. wasn’t being apologetic for all the things I had been criticised for in my life — ‘You can’t do that, you can’t wear that, that’s too tight, that’s too short.’ This was my song that really said you know what I love about being a woman! I’m feeling comfortable in my own skin! That’s awesome!”

The Grammy award-winning song was divisive among the creative team working on the video, with fears that Twain would alienate her female fans or make them feel threatened – but she knew better. “I remember the art department saying, ‘This is way too sexy! The women listeners are not going to like this! They’re going to feel threatened.’ They told me I was going to alienate a huge part of my audience. I knew that women would totally get it,” Twain adds.

The styling ideas for the video were inspired by "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer. "We wanted to take that idea and turn it on its head,” Twain says. “We wanted to make something unexpected and the role reversal was the vision… [Fashion designer/stylist] Mark Bauer got to work on the wardrobe, with that idea in mind, and dressed me in that amazing high women’s coat, the top hat, with the veil added for a touch of femininity, in what was a ‘typically’ masculine outfit."

“As part of the role reversal, it was important to have the guys be really sexy and androgynous. All of the little details of the fashion were considered and on purpose. It’s a real credit to Mark and his talent.”