What It Feels Like for a Girl "turning the tables of violence back on the men for whom such behavior is considered "normal" and putting them on the receiving end of violence, a position usually reserved for women". They noticed that unlike previous Madonna videos which were banned for religious themes or sexuality, MTV found violence as an offence. Even using the remix in the clip changed the song's feminine and bittersweet nature to something faster and harder, adjectives usually reserved for boys. The authors concluded that as always, Madonna inverted the traditional roles and characterization of male and female in the clip. "What It Feels Like
What It Feels Like for a Girl calling it a "terrific midtempo cut". "Slant"s Sal Cinquemani felt that "Madonna has revealed more of herself than ever [in "Music"]. No longer shrouded with pedantic spirituality, she has become even more human [...] revealing her soul on 'What It Feels Like For A Girl'". However, on his review of "GHV2", Cinquemani felt the track was "largely lost amid the conventional sonics of "Music"s final single" and called it that compilation's least dynamic offering, giving a C– rating. Writing for "Entertainment Weekly", journalist David Browne relegated the track as "an older, wiser 'Into the Groove'", highlighting its "softly padding beat