In order to fully understand what a "hollaback
girl" is, one must first understand what it means to "hollaback." When one hollas back, one responds to a verbal insult with their own reciprocal verbal insult. This in itself is not necessarily a negative thing, however to become a "hollaback
girl" is something to be avoided. A "hollaback
girl" is a
girl who responds only with these verbal insults, without ever actually taking it to the next level and kicking some ass. In other words, a hollaback
girl is all talk and no walk.
This phrase was originally popularized by Gwen Stefani via her song "Hollaback
Girl" from her debut solo album L.A.M.B. The song was a response to a comment Courtney Love made about Gwen in an interview with 17 Magazine. Love reportedly stated "Being famous is just like being in high
school. But, I'm not interested in being the cheerleader. I'm not interested in being Gwen Stefani. She's the cheerleader, and I'm out in the smoker shed."
Gwen, upon hearing this, did not hollaback like a petty cheerleader. She instead came back with Hollaback
Girl. In explanation of the song she said "Someone one
time called me a cheerleader, negatively, and I've never been a cheerleader. So I was like 'Ok,
fuck you, you want me to be a cheerleader? Well I'll be one then. And I'll rule the whole world. Just you watch me.'" This is clearly in reference to Love's comment. And based on "Hollaback
Girl"'s success, I'd say Gwen held true to her word and took over the world.
