Column by AlainaKroll

Several years ago, users on TikTok coined the phrase, “I’m just a girl,” a revival of No Doubt’s hit song from 1995, “Just A Girl.” Users posted videos of “controversial” things they did or their misfortunes, using the phrase to excuse their behavior or encourage others to sympathize with their circumstances.

At face level, this trend seems like a fun way for women across the globe to bond over their shared experiences. 

However, I say that this runs deeper than the silly resurfacing of a ‘90s song.

Social media users have used the phrase to excuse everything from a shopping spree resulting in overspending on their credit card to rear ending another car because they were applying makeup while driving.

Not only does it reinforce harmful stereotypes that girls are unintelligent creatures who lack higher-level thinking, but it also is used in a way to avoid taking responsibility for one’s actions. 

Gwen Stefani, lead singer of No Doubt, wrote “Just A Girl” to protest gender stereotypes. The line “I’ve had it up to here” repeats numerous times throughout the song, voicing how fed up she was with society’s view of women.

It’s quite ironic that a well-known feminist anthem is now being used to infantilize and portray women as helpless individuals. 

In addition to “I’m just a girl,” the terms “girl math” and “girl dinner” have also risen to fame, with “girl math” being used to excuse poor spending habits and “girl dinner” enforcing harmful body standards and toxic diet culture. 

People of all genders on social media have been using “girl math” to rationalize spending money as if it grew on trees, enforcing the stereotype that women are materialistic “shopaholics.”

The words “girl dinner” have been plastered over posts of women’s dinner plates holding an amount of food that would not even sustain a toddler. “girl dinners” typically consist of snacks arranged on a plate, usually with very little calories or nutritional value, simply adding on to the unrealistic expectation that women must be petite.

While these terms and phrases are only a few years old, they have already done their job in reversing gender equality. Conservatism is on the rise in the Western world, with trad-wife social media influencers pushing for a return to traditional gender roles where women must stay at home, submit to their husbands, and be financially dependent on a man. 

It is more important than ever to remember that feminism is necessary to gender equality. Without early feminists, we would not even be receiving an education at Marian. Feminism is the reason why we are allowed to vote, buy a house and even own a credit card without a man’s signature. 

The phrase “just a girl” has been used to shrink women and close doors on us. However, I argue that being a girl is a gateway – an opportunity to prove society wrong by simply existing, and a chance to defy thousands of years of systematic discrimination.