What is Riot Grrrl? Well it started as a subculture within the punk community that combines the views of being punk, and politics surrounding feminism. The original punk subculture was intended to be a space where people can be more creative and finally be free of any societal restrictions, with their beliefs of anti-status quo, anti-religious, anti-authoritarian being the main appeal. Riot Grrrl was started back in the early 1990's as a space for women to vent, express their thoughts and feelings, but most importantly to address the increasing sexism and racial issues within the punk subculture.
Some of the most popular groups in riot grrrl include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Le Tigre. Each song within their discography relates to common issues women have been facing for years, these groups even touch on subjects that were considered taboo or too personal such as rape, eating disorders, and others.
Despite the heavy influence of music, that was not the only part of the culture that became widely known. The term "girl power" actually originated from Riot Grrrl Zines. A zine is a piece of self published work that can be produced by one person or a small group of people primarily about spreading personal stories from voices unheard from in most media, although there were people who had just made the for fun and to rant about something they were interested in. I myself have created a couple of zines and scattered them in my local libraries. Riot Grrrl zines were a great way to learn about what was happening with the feminism movement and it helped people learn to talk about their issues, (most involving what it means to be a lesbian, rape, domestic abuse, period problems, etc.).
Once the movement really started to pick up it had shifted from being a fem punk space to a more mainstream one. Pop stars (such as the Spice Girls) had started to incorporate the Riot grrrl views into their music as well, more and more people had heard of the beliefs of Riot grrrl but not of riot grrrl itself. Which was fine in the end. Although there are some people who would argue that once it became more mainstream Riot grrrl was dead, there are still people learning about the subculture. There are still people who make this type of music, who engage in the culture, who create feminist zines and go our on social media talking about their issues. Riot grrrl is still strong and still continues even if it is not directly talked about anymore. These women demanded their voices be heard and we now should continue in what they wanted.
Here are some groups I would personally recommend:
Book to recommend if you want to learn more: "Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution" By Sara Marcus
Hi Olivia! I’ve never heard of Riot Grrrl before, but after reading this post I’ve become very interested. I really liked reading this post, and I will definitely look at a few of this groups songs!
ReplyDeleteRead the title, and new I had to read about it. I love anything that has to do with punk and its music. But I didn't really know the names of the sub-categorizes it had even if I love there music. Like Destroys boys and there songs like Crybaby and honey I'm home. But I notice you didn't bring up Slothrust, Sir Cholle and Daisy and the scouts, and if really into Riot GRRL you'll like there music.
ReplyDeleteI love Sir Chloe!! my favourite song is Animal! I have listened to Dazey and the Scouts a little bit but I am not as heavily invested into their music, as for Slothrust I'll be sure to check them out(as well as more Dazey and the Scouts), thank you ! :D
DeleteEven being the person who “listens everything” , that is the first time when I hear about such a subculture, curious! Description of the style also for some reason reminds me of the songs of t.A.T.u, only one thing they didn't create that much of punk music, more like pop I think xd.
ReplyDeleteLike I said some of the more modern Riot Grrrl bands are mixed with other genres but if the meaning is the same then maybe it was inspired :))
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