Featuring "multi-layered" lyrics, "Part of Your World" has been the subject of various interpretations; common inferences range from an adventurous teenager seeking independence from overprotective parenting, to "deeper meaning relating to gender" and longing to be part of "a different kind of society". The overall sentiment remains empowering. The line "Bet you on land, they understand/Bet they don't reprimand their daughters/Bright young women sick of swimming, ready to stand" has been widely interpreted as a feminist statement. Hapsis described the verse as "super feminist". Jenny Shelton, writing for "Standard Issue Magazine", identified "Part of Your World" as "a protest song" that is both proactive and pro-feminist. "Thought Catalog"'s Zaron Burnett III described the lyrics as "feminist-sounding". One critic believes that since "Part of Your World" was released in 1989 during "an uncertain time for women" amidst backlash resulting from the women's movement, the song "could represent the disillusionment of women in this decade – sick of being told to settle with their lot and placate their dreams of true liberation with capitalist consumerism; in the same way that Ariel has been forced to satiate her true desires with meaningless trophies by her father’s patriarchal subjugation." A number of critics have also identified the song's lyrics as an allegory for the LGBT community seeking public acceptance and a place in which they feel as though they belong. BuzzFeed's Chris Hernandez wrote that closeted gay people can "relate to Ariel's longing to be a part of a world that is immensely different than the one she's living in" and "that there is freedom in that world." Writing for KQED, Tony Bravo agreed that "Part of Your World" discusses "The longing that all gay kids feel to belong". Citing that Ashman himself was openly gay, "Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out" author Sean P. Griffin wrote that the lyricist uses the song to demonstrate "a gay dilemma of trying to choose between different worlds" by discussing "fantasy, escape and forbidden romance."