RIOT GRRRL
(written by Mya)
published 01.21.21
“To make riot grrrl move into the future in a new way with a bunch of new energy, younger people have to learn about it and apply it to their own lives and own modern conversation. And they are."
- Kathleen Hanna
The riot grrrl movement started blowing up in the early 1990’s in Olympia, Washington and most of the Pacific Northwest, specifically when the Christian Coalition’s Right to Life attacked legal abortion in 1991. It also expanded to 26 other countries-- if you go back to look at history, you will see that the structure of the movement remained constant, but it has since then largely become associated with third and, later on, fourth wave feminism.
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement which combined feminism and subcultural punk music and politics. Bands would bring up issues like rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, the patriarchy, classism, anarchism and female empowerment-- issues which many men in the punk scene didn’t care to address, and instead they actually contributed to most of the issues. Some of the popular bands that led this movement were Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, L7, Veruca Salt and The Breeders, but the main one who really helped skyrocket the movement was Bikini Kill. The band consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail; they were known for their lyrics and fiery energy that the head singer Kathleen brought; they were also famous for their Riot Grrrl Manifesto, something that the whole band wrote together. Kathleen was later on the head singer of Le Tigre after Bikini Kill broke off.
The mission for the movement was always to offer women, LGBTQ+ people, and anyone who believed in equality, a safe space to express themselves through art/music. For example, the head singer Kathleen Hanna would tell the boys to move back and let the girls come to the front so they don’t feel uncomfortable. Their mission was not better than anyone else, but rather to collaborate with other riot grrrl bands and create art that would spark conversation-- conversations about the issues that many women faced in the male leading punk scene and patriarchy. Through their music and art, they let out their anger and frustration towards society’s shitty norms, and along with it, other feminists could partake as well. They wanted to inspire the next generation to crush these norms, make their own form of art, and challenge those against progress.
A lot has changed since the 90’s. Laws have been passed to give more protection for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. The riot grrrl movement still continues to inspire people to take the torch and continue challenging society/governments that want to suppress the world in its progressivity.
Today, the Queercore movement has started to become more popular with its focus on the LGBTQ+ community. Various movements are now fighting for black trans lives, many of who are being attacked and killed for simply being who they are.
A band that has specifically taken the riot grrrl torch is a Russian female band “Pussy Riot.” They challenge the Russian government to become more democratic and fight for the freedom of women and the LGBTQ+ community, both of which are extremely oppressed under their current government. They have recently been protesting against the arrest of Alexey Navalny who was challenging Putin.
As a community, we must continue to challenge governments and fight for those who cannot fight alone. There are a lot of things that need changing in this world-- change so we can all be treated as equal and be proud to be who we are. This change starts with us.