It was in 1995 when No Doubt released Just a Girl. Written by their lead singer, Gwen Stefani, this song addresses female stereotypes and inequality. In a more recent interview with People, Gwen was asked to share the story behind the hit. It was at the beginning of her songwriting career, before she even knew she had one. Stefani explained her frustrations living a home in her 20’s, forced to follow the rules of her parents. She mentions one instance where she was driving home late at night, suddenly aware of her vulnerability. “I can remember thinking, ‘Wow, I’m in the car right now, I’m driving home, it’s like one in the morning and if something did happen to me, I’m vulnerable because I’m a girl.’ And you start to think, ‘Wow, maybe people actually look at me different because I am a female,’” she said. Stefani proudly mentions how she came up with every single line. When looking back at the music video, bandmates Tony Kanal (Bassist) and Tom Dumont (Guitarist) mentioned their additional interpretations of the song and video. In an interview with MTV, Kanal said that, “It was a commentary on society,” while Dumont added, “It’s like unity between the sexes at this point,”. Gwen jumped in here to clarify that the message is “more [about] equality”. No mater the personal interpretation, it is clear the message speaks to many. To this day, this song remains one of No Doubt’s most successful singles.

Based off my research thus far, it is apparent that the third wave of feminism started in the 1990’s. From the Encyclopedia of Britannica, 3rd wave feminism can be described as such: “The third wave of feminism emerged in the mid-1990s. It was led by so-called Generation Xers who, born in the 1960s and ’70s in the developed world, came of age in a media-saturated and culturally and economically diverse milieu. Although they benefitted significantly from the legal rights and protections that had been obtained by first- and second-wave feminists, they also critiqued the positions and what they felt was unfinished work of second-wave feminism”. Stefani seems to fall into this category seamlessly. Born in 1969, she was exposed to both new opportunities as well as setbacks. We can hear her frustrations in her song, mirroring this same tone of voice. This definition goes on by saying, “Influenced by the postmodernist movement in the academy, third-wave feminists sought to question, reclaim, and redefine the ideas, words, and media that have transmitted ideas about womanhood, gender, beauty, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity, among other things. There was a decided shift in perceptions of gender, with the notion that there are some characteristics that are strictly male and others that are strictly female giving way to the concept of a gender continuum.”

“Influenced by the postmodernist movement in the academy, third-wave feminists sought to question, reclaim, and redefine the ideas, words, and media that have transmitted ideas about womanhood, gender, beauty, sexuality, femininity, and masculinity, among other things. There was a decided shift in perceptions of gender, with the notion that there are some characteristics that are strictly male and others that are strictly female giving way to the concept of a gender continuum.” (Encyclopedia Britannica)

In Just a Girl, the first verse begins with: Don’t you think I know / Exactly where I stand / This world is forcing me / To hold your hand / ‘Cause I’m just a girl, little ol’ me / Well don’t let me out of your sight / Oh, I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite / So don’t let me have any rights. I think this verse provides a good example of someone who is questioning the idea of womanhood and femininity.

Mentioned in my last two posts, Riot Grrrl bands emerged during the 1990’s at around this same time. With punk as its genre of choice, Riot Grrrls were taking over what had become by default ‘male-territory.’ The punk movement was about rage, release, and shock value. The objective wasn’t to be pleasing, and the genre was criticized for its lack of musical harmony (Saxena). It was about a time of sticking it to the man. In a line from the Riot Grrrl Manifesto (1991), it said, “Because we are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.” Laura Barton wrote that the movement gave voice to “domestic abuse, rape, sexuality, the need for safer streets, abortion rights and equal pay among the issues.”

Like the many Riot Grrrl bands at this time, I think that Gwen is speaking on behalf of all women in her song. She successfully address many issues females face in society up until present day. In her interview with people, Stefani mentions how this song is “beyond an age”. So although it might have been inspired by this third-wave-feminist era, we still can connect to it on similar levels to when she wrote it 23 years ago.