The Feminist Journal

I’m Just a Girl – No Doubt

• “Cause I’m just a girl. Oh little old 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.”

• There are a couple issues tackled in this song. Gwen sings about many stereotypes of what a woman should be, or look like. Due to this, it seems that they don’t have rights. She also talks about how scary the world seems to a woman. There doesn’t seem to be anything you can do without being afraid. Even walking outside is terrifying.

Keep Ya Head Up – Tupac

• "And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman, and our game from a woman. I wonder why we take from our woman. Why we rape our woman? Do we hate our woman?”

• This song discusses Men’s attitude towards women. It is very demeaning in most cases. Tupac talks about why he feels it doesn’t make sense. He describes his childhood and what his mother gave up to raise him. He talks about why men need to treat women with more respect. It isn’t that she’s a woman, it’s that she’s a person. This song encourages women to keep pushing through and keep their heads up cause it’ll get better.

Boys Don't Cry - The Cure

• “Now I would do almost anything to get you back by my side, but I just keep laughing, hiding the tears in my eyes, cause boys don’t cry.”

• This song shows one of the many reasons Men are effected by sexism too. Boys are taught at a young age that men don’t cry, by being told to “be a man” when they are crying. Young boys are teased throughout school if they do cry. They are told to “quit being such a girl”. Men can’t seem to show their feelings without being deemed as girly and are put down for it.

When I Was a Boy – Dar Williams

• “And now I'm in a clothing store, and the sign says less is more. More that's tight means more to see, more for them, not more for me. That can't help me climb a tree in ten seconds flat.”

• In this song, Dar sing about when she was younger she could get dirty and rough and play like boys do and it was okay. Now that she is older, she can’t do that anymore. They want her to wear less and add things to her body. They want her to fit into a mold of what a woman should be. She concludes the song by addressing that men can’t act the way they want either. When their younger they can be girls as in cry and like feminine things. She calls out a huge issue in our society.

Guys Do It All the Time - Mindy McCready

• "Guys do it all the time and except us to understand. When the shoe's on the other foot, you know that's when it hits the fan. Get over honey life's a two way street or you won't be a man of mine.”

• Mindy addresses the double standard of our society in this song. In this song she implies that a woman has to be perfect, but a man doesn’t have to apologize that he isn’t. Men are upset when you don’t do what they want or expect. But when he does something you don’t want or expect, you better get over it. She explains that it has to go both ways. It’s not fair to women to be held to a higher standard in character. You need to act like a lady.

Not a Pretty Girl – Ani DiFranco

• "I'm not a pretty girl. That is not what I do. I ain't no damsel in distress and I don't need to be rescued. So put me down punk. Wouldn't you prefer a maiden fair? Isn't there a kitten stuck up in a tree somewhere?"

• In this song Ani challenges the idea that woman have to be pretty and can’t be strong. She isn’t a pretty girl. That’s not what defines her. She does so much more than that. She goes on to explain that she isn’t there for the saving. She can take care of herself, and the assumption that she can’t is not fair to women. A cat stuck in a tree will eventually figure out how to get down.