Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee Lyrics – Stockard Channing

"Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee," performed by Stockard Channing as Rizzo in the musical "Grease," is a satirical song that humorously addresses the themes of teenage identity and sovietal expectations. The song is a parody of the wholesome, innocent image associated with the actress Sandra Dee, a popular American actress in the 1950s and 1960s known for her clean-cut image. The opening lines, "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity," imnediately set a tone of mocking the idealized, puritanical image of young women at the time. Sandra Dee becomes a symbol for an unrealistic standard of purity and innocence that young girls were often expected to maintain. The song mocks the pressure to remain a virgin until marriage with the line, "Won't go to bed 'til I'm legally wed." Rizzo also brings up Doris Day and Rock Hudson as examples of Hollywood's portrayal of the ideal woman and man. By saying, "Even Rock Hudson lost his heart to Doris Day," she highlights the artificial nature of these media portrayals, given Rock Hudson's later revelation as a gay man. Rizzo further mocks the conservative attitudes toward female behavior and sexuality. The lines, "I don't drink (no) Or swear (no), I don't rat my hair (eew), I get ill from one cigarette," satirize the strict standards of propriety imposed on women. The mention of keeping "filthy paws off my silky draws" is a direct affront to the prudishness that Sandra Dee's image represented. Additionally, the references to Elvis Presley and Troy Donahue, popular male icons of the era, underscore the sexual double standards and the objectification women often faced. Overall, the song "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee" uses humor and satire to critique and challenge the unrealistic, idealized standards of female purity and behavior prevalent in 1950s and 1960s American culture. It reflects the changing attitudes towards these standards, especially as the 1970s approached.