Most of us have probably heard the song “Just a Girl” before on a Best of the 90s playlist. The song became a hit when it was released in 1995 by Gwen Stefani’s band No Doubt. It was the first song Stefani had written by herself, capturing the attention of millions of young female fans. It became a feminist anthem in the 1990s though Stefani admits she didn’t intend it to be. She was just writing about her experience as a woman. In an ABC interview in 2019, Stefani remarked “And I just kind of wrote that song because I feel like I was getting in touch with that feeling of when you’re born, if you’re female, you don’t think about it — you’re just a human. And then through life you sort of start to realize you get this kind of power through your sexuality, but then you’re kind of vulnerable at the same time because all of a sudden you’re a victim. So you have all these awarenesses as you’re getting older, and I just wanted to write a song about that.” Thus, “Just a Girl” contains feminist undertones that relate to several of our readings including Betty Friedan’s The Feminist Mystique and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family.
The title of the song “Just a Girl” itself echoes a sarcastic jibe against the patriarchy. “Just a girl” is a phrase sometimes heard from men. They might use it to indicate a female’s inability to complete a masculine task. For example, “she’s just a girl, she can’t change the car tire.” “Girl” itself connotes an adolescent, incapable female, not a woman. In the Feminine Mystique, Frieden offers a similar feeling on the boundaries of a woman such as their confinement to the home (Friedan 276-277). Stefani further conveys her contempt at men for underestimating a woman’s abilities through feminine conventions.
The lyrics “pink ribbon,” “little old me,” “typical prototype,” and “your rule of thumb” relate to the customs of women in the male gaze. Women are traditionally supposed to love pink. They are supposed to be petite. They are supposed to follow the “typical” norms of a woman, not express their individuality. They must adhere to the man’s “rule of thumb.” Stefani mocks these ridiculous patriarchal views of women by going so far as to call herself a “prototype” which conveys the idea of a mindless robot. Friedan writes about a feeling of emptiness among women perhaps because of the conventions about which Stefani sings (Friedan 274-275).
Stefani feels entrapped and angered by the traditions imposed by men and notes it in several instances such as “living in captivity,” “so don’t let me have any rights,” and “I’ve had it up to here.” These lyrics contain a very clear, frustrated tone. Most notably, she mentions “rights” which could relate to third wave feminist activism in the 90s that Stefani was experiencing when she wrote the song. Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family discusses the struggles for women’s rights in a similar period as it was initially published in 2004 (Satz). While Stefani does not directly address the specifics of women’s rights, she implies that she is thinking about them.
While Stefani may have just been singing about her own feelings of being a woman, her words resonated with millions. Her message encourages me to reflect on my own experience as a woman in a similar, critical regard. The song is catchy with its mockery of the male patriarchy. However, the song can be exclusionary with its binary focus on cis-women and cis-men, forgetting the LGBTQ+ community. The song is clearly directed towards a female audience given the title “Just a Girl.” Furthermore, it may only be relatable for white females as the experiences of a white woman like Stefani and a woman of color can differ as a result of the privileges of whiteness. However, Stefani made this song with her own experience in mind so it is unlikely that it was intended to feel exclusionary. I would definitely recommend listening to “Just a Girl” if you haven’t before.
References
https://genius.com/No-doubt-just-a-girl-lyrics
Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. Norton, 1963.
Satz, Debra. “Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 21 Oct. 2013, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-family/.
