Continuously, No Doubt depicts girls as some sort of species to be gawked at. She then proceeds to mention that she must be some kind of freak because men often sit and stare at her. It shows that many women feel uncomfortable under the weight of the male gaze but often blame it on themselves. She is the one to call herself a freak, even when she wasn't the one doing the staring. Many women do this too when they feel uncomfortable – they deem that they, themselves, are the problem, even if they are simply existing. The domineering power of men has often made it feel like the women are in the wrong for what they are wearing or how they are acting when, in reality, it is men who have the staring problem and should be the ones dehumanized for doing something so disrespectful. In addition, Stefani continues to play upon how women are treated less than men by mentioning that a girl is what she is only allowed to be, followed by how she seems to be living in some sort of captivity. It is like she, the representative for girls around the world in this case is put in a box where she is only allowed to do what society tells her to do. Women are firstly supposed to act like a girl, sweet and coddled above all, and that is their “true” identity is to be looked at by men.
Only recently have women been able to break out of this rigid room of societal standards, but the cell is still there; women like Gwen Stefani have just gotten stronger and acted out of the stereotypical “girl” prototype. The unequal treatment of the sexes has been happening since the beginning of mankind, and Gwen Stefani was just one of the people to take a stand against it with this ridiculously ironic song and vivid pictures. Women are not porcelain dolls, and they shouldn't have to grow up thinking they are. Nor should they feel guilt for getting gawked at or confined to a certain standard, and of course, dr iving af ter dark should be allowed to take place safely, no matter the gender. Around the world, young girls who have grown up to be women are sick and tired of the constant societal standard forced upon them, and Gwen Stefani says it perfectly throughout this song: “I've had it up to here.”
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