"The Pleasure Principle" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, recorded for her third studio album, Control (1986). It was written by and produced by Monte Moir, and was released as the sixth single from the album on May 12, 1987 by A&M Records. "The Pleasure Principle" is an "independent woman" anthem about love gone wrong built around a dance beat. The photo for the single cover was shot by fashion photographer David LaChapelle.

The accompanying music video for "The Pleasure Principle" was directed by Dominic Sena. It depicts Jackson entering a loft wearing only a T-shirt and jeans to practice her dancing. The video was seen by critics as iconic, and was nominated at two categories at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards, eventually winning one. "The Pleasure Principle" was performed on many of Jackson's tours, most recently on her 2015-2016 Unbreakable World Tour. The song was also performed on some promotional appearances, including at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards. In 2008, Jackson's lingerie line was named after the song. It has been included in two of Jackson's greatest hits albums, Design of a Decade: 1986–1996 (1995) and Number Ones (2009).

"I usually attempt to swipe as broad of a brushstroke as possible in regard to telling a story and expressing as much emotion around it as I can, which can be tricky when you only have a set number of lines to do it. It was about being in a situation that was no longer working and that she no longer wants to be a part of. There was also the metaphor of riding in a limo in the relationship vs. her 'meter running', and taking a cab to leave. That sounds so 80's to me right now."

After arranging a recording contract with A&M Records in 1982 for a then sixteen-year-old Janet, her father Joseph Jackson oversaw the entire production of her debut album, Janet Jackson, and its follow-up, Dream Street (1984). In 1985, Jackson subsequently fired her father as her manager and hired John McClain, then A&M Records' senior vice president of artists and repertoire and general manager. Commenting on the decision, she stated, "I just wanted to get out of the house, get out from under my father, which was one of the most difficult things that I had to do, telling him that I didn't want to work with him again." He subsequently introduced her to the songwriting and production duo James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Lewis, former Prince associates and ex-members of The Time.

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