“Riot Grrrl”: feminist rebellion in punk rhythm

The DIY spirit of punk, Olympic (Washington state) is the home of the all-important independent label K Records and where it’s almost imperative to do something creative, even if you don’t have the technique. Inside Washington DC. No less important was the hardcore structured around the ‘indie’ Dischord, reaching high levels of instrumental solvency and politicization. Revolt was born in the first city and gained momentum in the second. These two poles gained followers in the United States. Nor can they be said to be legion: less than 200 girls attended the first national convention of ‘Riot Grrrl’, held in the US capital in July 1992. However, it was not won by anyone active.

The “Girls Front” writer says: “The scenes in Olympia and Washington DC were different in aesthetics and atmosphere, but they shared some deep political and social perspectives that allowed for a fairly cohesive synthesis. Olympia’s characteristic ‘amateur’ approach helped Washington The girls were fulfilling DIY ideals, and Washington’s more pragmatic political approach paired well with ‘Oly’s’ idealism. The cross-urban movement of ‘Riot Grrrl’ pioneers helped build that power.”

hostility

Bikini Kill got serious with a thug in 1992 at a concert at the Middle East venue in Boston where they performed with various all-male hardcore bands. A month later, they learned that the man had killed his ex-girlfriend and committed suicide.. The tension was not strange in the performances of the three founding bands of the ‘Riot Grrrl’ music department, led by Kathleen Hanna, Bratmobile and Heavens To Betsy, which would soon be joined by British formation Huggy Bear. And their experiences in the punk bubble, a progressive subculture. The ‘pogo’ in performances was a risky sport for testosterone. ‘Grrrl of rebellion’ adopted as a gesture of self-defense and at the same time announcing that they will be placed in the front rows hand in hand. Not everyone understood.

“There was total hostility in some places,” Marcus explains, “I think it’s because a bunch of punks said to the other punks: “You say you’re different from traditional society, fairer, but some social issues affecting the outside world are alive and well in the punk scene”. Not to justify this hostility, but many punks were truly convinced that they were building something utopian, and it should be like a shot to be told that there is conflict on their stage as well.”

The beginning of ‘Riot Grrrl’ coincided with its bombing. Nirvana With the album ‘Nevermind’ (1991), which opened the door to ‘grunge’. All of a sudden everything ‘underground’ became attractive to the big media. And the ‘riot grrrls’ were so sweet. They were aware of the risks of media exposure for a young (even fifteen-year-old) guerrilla who lacked hierarchy and used confrontation and provocation as a weapon. There have been attempts to create a law of silence. Impossible. “The media attitude towards ‘Riot Grrrl’ was above all contemptuous – according to Marcus. Articles in ‘USA Today’, ‘The Washington Post’, ‘Spin’ and other headlines had the following assumption as their starting point: the activities of adolescent girls. is by definition mild, superficial and silly. If this condescending attitude was more irritable in some situations, I think this reflected the difficulty of adjusting to extremely serious activities, ‘albeit sometimes carefree’. ‘rebellious grrrls’ in the stereotype of young girls.

In the registration wing, Bikini Kill turned down a tempting offer from a multinational company. For alternative rock, ‘corporate’ was the devil, but the devil fished more or less as much as he wanted in those waters.

The revival of feminism

Feminism was not at its best in the 1990s in the United States. ‘Rebellion grrrls’ revived and modernized it. “Senior feminists knew that the movement could not survive without the contribution of young people, and young women were experts in what kind of feminism they needed in their lives,” Marcus says. Thus, “Riot Grrrl” was received with “excitement”. The National Organization of Women (NOW) held a youth feminism summit in 1995 to support and channel new energies, and the more radical magazine Off Our Backs devoted an extensive article to the rebels in 1994.

‘Rebellion grrrls’ they never sought approval from the adult world. “His goal was to disseminate tools for political education, creative empowerment, and community building among people in their teens or early 20s,” says Marcus. “Rock and fantasy movies were accessible media for any high school student. And most importantly, he any high school student to them.”

Heritage

The job is done? “‘Riot Grrrl’ resurrected a form of feminist activism that had been dormant since the late 1970s: intense conversations between women affected by sexism and patriarchy,” says Marcus. … This method of cultural discussion and criticism is very much alive today and is part of the legacy of the rebels.”

more prominent in popular music“Before them, it was relatively rare to see women making loud, aggressive music. Metal, punk, and hip-hop were overwhelmingly male, and female stars, as a rule, liked more gentle genres such as pop and R&B. general singing and playing at most. piano. “Riot Grrrl” was part of a moment in the early ’90s when everything changed, and it was key to that return to feminist significance. It helped make it absolutely normal for people of all genders to play any genre.”

Among other things, like a superstar Miley Cyrus It is a magnification of the ‘Riot Grrrl’ attitude.