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A holla back girl originally means a follower. A holla back girl is a member of a cheerleading squad, repeats (hollers back) the words that a squad leader shouts to them. For instance, a cheerleader may shout out "New Yorker's the best", then she asks "Who's the best?". The holla back girls will respond (hollering back) "New Yorker's the best".

"A hollaback girl" nowadays refers to a girl, who is willing to be treated like a doormat, allows guys to do whatever they want with her and just wait for them to "holla back" at them.

In the song of Gwen Stefani, she uses the cheerleading terminology as a metaphor. The lyric repeats " I ain't no hollaback girl." It implies that she is not a hollaback girl (follower), she is a leader. She will stand up and flight for anything she find unfair or unjust.