No Doubt, a band based in California, released “I’m Just A Girl” in 1995. It was written by Gwen Stefani based on the resentment she feels for female stereotypes. The title of the song is self-explanatory, packing antagonism. The song became a feminist anthem in 2019 after it appeared in “Captain Marvel," with Marvel’s first solo female superhero.

 

Rather than saying, “I’m a girl” which embodies several qualities, saying, “I’m just a girl” is like trying to justify the classification of women into one certain type. “Just” a girl is degrading, and simple using “just” in the title epitomizes how women are thought of as a “typical prototype.” The lyrics in the first verse introduces Gwen Stefani’s complaint that “this world is forcing me to hold your hand,” meaning that as a woman, she can’t be entirely independent. “Oh… I’ve had it up to here!/ The moment that I step outside/ So many reasons/ For me to run and hide/ I can’t do the little things I hold so dear/ ‘Cause it’s all those little things I fear.” Women are taught to be afraid of doing things alone because being female makes us vulnerable to the dangers of the world (as according to men) meaning we as women wouldn’t possibly leave the house without the threat of being in trouble.

 

The word “just” also embodies Gwen Stefani’s sarcasm used throughout the song and the tune demands it to stay in your head. The chorus is sarcastic, mentioning, “I’m just a girl, little ‘ol me/ Don’t let me out of your sight/ I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite/ So don’t let me have any rights.” Her use of sarcasm makes fun of men who believe they have to protect women as if we were fragile beings unable to shift for oneself. Throughout the rest of the song, Gwen Stefani mentions that girls are “typical prototypes” because “that's all that you’ll let me be.” 

 

By the end, Gwen Stefani leaves the sarcasm behind and with full force, she calls out men repeating, “I’ve had it up to here!” shouting along with quickly paced music like a discontented woman who’s done being treated like a porcelain doll. The music video of No Doubt adds another meaning to Gwen Stefani’s song with her personal struggles of being the only female in a rock band. As she faced difficulty being seen as equal to men, the song uses sarcasm to poke at the male-mindedness in indie and alternative rock.

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