“Babydoll” is the second track on Hole’s 1991 debut album Pretty on the Inside. Like much of the album, it’s a raw track with a gritty, punk-influenced sound.

Theme-wise, one interpretation is that the lyrics are personal to Courtney Love, dealing with the topic of her previous life as a prostitute – a theme that often comes up on this album. Another popular interpretation is that this song is about Babes In Toyland’s Kat Bjelland, with whom Love had an ambivalent relationship at the time. It is possible that both of these interpretations are correct, knowing Love’s habit of mixing various themes within the same song.

The song’s title is a reference to babydoll dresses, which are an iconic component of the so-called “kinderwhore” fashion trend that Love and her contemporaries helped popularise.