You’re Not “Just a Girl”
Nothing hurts my heart more than hearing one of my friends follow up a mistake with a sheepish or apologetic, “I’m just a girl.”
This little online quip, often paired with actions such as hitting a curb while driving or accidentally going over allotted spending amounts, has seeped into the real-world vocabulary of nearly every young woman I know. What started out as a funny joke back in 2022 that would get a smile out of me now just makes me grimace.
It's easy to laugh it off when it's such a widespread joke, especially when it's one told by women about women. On a surface level, it's a fun way to make a quip about mistakes or misunderstandings. But when I hear a woman in my life say something along the lines of “I’m just a girl, I don’t know how to drive well or open a bank account,” it's hard to crack a smile when it resembles many gross infantilizations made about the capabilities of women in a patriarchal society. After all, how many times have we heard men say that women can’t drive? Wasn’t it only back in the 1970s that American women got the right to open their own bank accounts?
Ironically, the underlyingly harmful narrative this trend pushes is often paired with a song that mocks this stereotyping that women are often inflicted with. Hit single “I’m Just A Girl” by No Doubt is dedicated to lead singer Gwen Stefani's frustrations with how she is treated due to her gender. With lines such as “I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite, so don’t let me have any rights,” as well as “I’m just a girl in the world, that's all that you’ll let me be,” the frustrations of not being able to escape the stereotypes and “rules” of girlhood under a male-centric society are exceedingly evident. The song is making a joke out of the phrase “just a girl,” pointing out how ridiculous it is that women are subjected to stereotypes and limitations due to it.
The viral trend does just the opposite, turning these harmful ideas into a soft joke while tuning out the implications of these stereotypes and what it can mean for us to continue to belittle ourselves – because when you are “just a girl,” you are also susceptible to being all those “justs” created for us. Just a girl. Just a mother. Just a wife. Just a loose woman. Because when you are “just a girl,” you are giving into the idea that you are not a person but a doll glued together, made up of nothing but stereotypes.
The fight is not over. Every day women are fighting against stereotypes and preconceived notions, whether that be consciously or unconsciously. From wage equality, access to equal medical treatment as men, and general fair social treatment, every day we work to pave the way to equal success as a collective and as individuals, and we have come too far to undermine ourselves. We are not “just girls,” and we should no longer demean ourselves by saying such. We are intelligent women who exist outside of the parameters and stereotypes society has laid out for us and deserve to refer to ourselves as such. In the wise words of Gwen Stefani, “I’ve had it up to here” with doing otherwise.
Strike out,
Alara Ataman
Boca Raton
Alara Ataman is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine. An avid fan of fashion, this Pisces can be found scrolling through Depop or elbows deep in a thrift store looking for the perfect piece. If you can’t find her doing this, you may find her browsing numerous cafes in her endless quest for the perfect iced coffee. You can reach her at @leopard_fawn on most social media platforms.
