You Make Me Want to Be a Man" was inspired by her relationship with her husband at the time, Kazuaki Kiriya. In a press conference for Utada's album Exodus, she stated, "I was trying to deal with my husband, and it was the first time I really came face to face with another human being, and the things that we couldn't understand about each other, or things we argued about, I felt like it was because (that) some of it was just like a sex issue…". "I felt like if I could be a man, I could understand him more, in some ways, so I wanted to understand him, and I thought, 'I wish I were a man!'". In an interview with Female First UK, she further elaborated "it's all about wanting to become another person and see it from another point of view."

The song was selected as the fourth and final single from Exodus, the lead single for the UK editions, and was released on October 17, 2005 by Island Def Jam and Mercury. The Maxi CD version of the single contains three remixes of "You Make Me Want to Be a Man", and the accompanying music video. A bonus promo package included a separate CD and DVD of the single, and featured unreleased artwork of Exodus. A 12 inch vinyl was issued in the UK, featuring three remixes and the radio edit of the track.

"You Make Me Want to Be a Man" was written, composed, arranged, and produced by Utada, alongside co-production by her father Teruzane Utada. Utada described the song as "very electro" and "dance-pop" with numerous musical elements including J-pop and techno. Lucas Villa from Axs.com deciphered the themes of the track: "Tougher subjects Utada tackled on Exodus included her dissolving marriage to Kazuaki Kiriya on 'You Make Me Want to Be a Man.' She turned her frustrations about gender roles in a relationship into a feminist message, singing, 'I really want to tell you something but I can't / You make me want to be a man.' Several critic publications, including Renowned for Sound, #PopHatesFlops, and MuuMuse, quoted similar aspects of her relationship and feminism views as key themes to the song.