'I just hate the Animals, but it is true; that it is supposed to be
"poor girl", if you read more on it.
Otherwise, Bob Dylan would have sang "poor boy", the Animals were
just chauvenist pigs who didn't have the balls to sing lyrics from
a female's perspective.'

What an interesting interpretation! I'm sure that you've read more than I have on the subject - but, further up the thread, I did read at least three sets of variant lyrics which also include the term "poor boy", and these seem to have been traced at least as far back as 1920; I'm sure you read them too. But no doubt these earlier performers/lyricists were also "just chauvenist pigs" who were lacking in male parts ... right?