“Push” was a song about male mental anguish and topped the music charts in 1997. It was controversial for its lyrics and was misinterpreted. Critics accused the band of glorifying domestic violence and feminist groups were outraged wanting the song banned because they interpreted as misogynistic, and claimed it was about abusing women. 

“Push”, had a very catchy chorus and if that’s all you tuned into, then, you might mistake it for a male doing the abusing.

chorus ...
 I wanna push you around 
Well, I will, well, I will 
 I wanna push you down  
Well, I will, well, I will   
I wanna take you for granted. 
Yeah, I wanna take you for granted 
Yeah, yeah, well, I will
 

But, when you actually listen to the lyrics and the song starts with, “She said”, you realise then it’s the female abusing the male and he is the victim of an abusive relationship. Robert Thomas revealed it was about an ex girlfriend and the song was sung from the her perspective. The song was written by Robert Thomas and co-writer, Matthew Serletic from Matchbox 20.

"She said ... 
I don’t know if I’ve ever been good enough
I’m a little bit rusty, and I think my head is caving in
And I don’t know if I’ve ever been really loved
By a hand that’s touched me, and I feel like something’s gonna give
And I’m a little bit angry 
Well, this ain’t over
No not here, not while I still need you around
You don’t owe me, we might change
Yeah we just might feel good

 I wanna push you around ...

When the song, “Push”, was released, people connected straight away and were swept up in the intense energy behind the lyrics sung by Rob Thomas. Males and females alike, related to the anguish of being in an emotionally abusive relationship and going crazy etc. It was possibly a first for a male artist to express his torment with such momentum in a song that revered harsh truths of being victimised. It went across the grain, only females are victims. It was also in a time when emotional abuse was more connected with child neglect rather than an intimate partner, so, the chorus “I wanna push you around …” etc was assumed a physical force and thus, a male abuser.

There is a lot in this song about low self esteem, never been truely loved and previous abuses that impact a relationship. Robert Thomas was a young male in his twenties at the time when this was written and nailed it completely, unaware of the magnitude of attention and backlash the band would attract where they would have to explain themselves. They were young guys and thought it had a catchy melody and they were just telling a story. That was almost 30 years ago. And, isn’t that just typical of a male’s response. Males don’t connect emotional abuse from a female as domestic violence and accept it as part and parcel of a relationship. This may account to why male statistics is under reported and if that’s the case, the outcome for male’s safety and health is too.

The music video can be seen on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAkHqYlqops