Riot Grrrl Revolution; the rise and fall of the Riot Grrrl movement

WHAT IS RIOT GRRRL?

“Because we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy... Because we need to talk to each other. Communication and inclusion are key. We will never know if we don't break the code of silence... Because in every form of media we see ourselves slapped, decapitated, laughed at, objectified, raped, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked and killed. Because a safe space needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes and reach out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and our day to day bullshit."

• Bikini kill tour flier, undated

Riot grrrl is/was an underground punk feminist movement that began in 90s america, specifically in Washington & seattle. It combines feminism, punk, and politics with music & art such as zines. It encouraged women to find their well deserved place in a male dominated punk scene, punk shows were a place where woman had to fight harder to be in the scene because while punk was supposed to be inclusive, women were still pushed out of a scene they were supposed to belong in- in contrast to this riot grrrl shows were a place for women to be safe and even in the centre of the movement; hence “all girls to the front”, however they were still scrutinized by males as often derogatory words towards women would appear in punk zines; “man hater” “c*nt”, “b*tch” and “dyke”. Bikini kill frontwoman kathleen hanna stated  "It was also super schizo to play shows where guys threw stuff at us, called us cunts and yelled "take it off" during our set, and then the next night perform for throngs of amazing girls singing along to every lyric and cheering after every song."

Riot grrrl was influenced by female punk & rock artists such as poly styrene, joan jett, siouxsie sioux, kim gordon & kim deal. 

“There was a lot of anger and self-mutilation. In a symbolic sense, women were cutting and destroying the established image of femininity, aggressively tearing it down.”

Soon Riot grrrl spread to north america and canada with the rise of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile and girls were encouraged to start bands and make zines

However there was some fear that the movement would become gentrified by corporate enterprises…

And unfortunately by the mid 90s riot grrrl had gone downhill as it became mainstream and the media had misinterpreted the movement & message, and the core political beliefs had been thrown aside by mainstream female pop bands such as spice girls and the performative, watered down “girl power!” brands.

However, many original Grrrl bands are still performing today, with the likes of kathleen hanna who went on to found Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin - Bikini kill still perform to this day.