You might have noticed that I’m smothering most of these records in superlatives, so why am I such a pathetic little nerd for this music? Any project of mine wouldn’t be complete without some shamelessly sentimental, angsty introspection, so here’s my personal take on riot grrrl:
Marie Explains Herself
I think that since my early childhood there’s some built-up anger in me which has to do with being a girl. Not that don’t want to be a girl, at least that’s not the problem anymore; it’s just that as a kid I wanted everything which is connected with a boy’s identity. I wore boy’s clothes, I played football (the European kind), I liked cars and dinosaurs and pirates and cowboys, but still I wasn’t one of the boys, and I certainly didn’t fit in with the girls, which is a humiliating and alienating experience. I lacked some indefinite power and part of my identity which most boys took for granted. Then along came Kathleen Hanna, and I think she gave me a glimpse of women just hijacking those things I craved for. Somehow riot grrrl manages to be a medicine for most of my ills. Are you feeling alienated? Riot grrrl affectionately kisses your forehead and tells you it’s ok to be a freak. Gender issues? Riot grrrl spits in the face of gender norms. Are you anxious? Riot grrrl is unafraid and gives you the power to ninja-kick the world in the face. Are you closeted? Riot grrrl is not per definition gay but lesbihonest, it kind of is.
So basically this music stands for everything I aspire to be. I wouldn’t call myself a riot grrrl wholeheartedly; it just sounds goofy, and I have some reservations about the politics. I consider myself a feminist, so I mainly agree with riot grrrl’s core concept, but there are many subtleties of the genre’s message and practice that I don’t exactly identify with. I don’t like the lack of nuance, and the attitude towards men is often too aggressive to my taste. Then again, it’s punk, so it’s not supposed to be nuanced or gentle, and I really think many girls needed riot grrrl to be what it was. My only serious objection is that riot grrrl seems a very exclusive, privileged white scene (I remember Hawk confirmed this once), but there are exceptions to this (especially now, and if you take a bit of a broad definition of the genre), like Emily’s Sassy Lime, Voodoo Queens, Big Joanie, and New Bloods. Also, at least Corin Tucker was aware of the problem at the time:
Anyway, I can fuss about identifying as a riot grrrl all I want, but the title of this journal says enough and I do have this t-shirt, so there’s that.
