Tuesday, January 20, 2009

We Want Revolution GRRL Style Now!

I originally wanted this to follow the introductory post, but I've been so side-tracked by all the awesome fem-content that has been happening in Windsor this past week that I didn't want to bombard you all with a million posts a day! So, before I go any further, I think a brief introduction into "riot grrl culture" is essential to all of you who are not familiar with this revolutionary movement that began in the early 1990's.

As you've noticed, I decide to name my blog "Wake-Up-Grrl," rather than "Wake-Up-Girl." The "Grrl" is taken from an underground feminist punk movement called Riot Grrl. It addressed itself with notions of second and third wave feminism and the bands of it's era addressed issues of femininity, female empowerment, domesticity, and sexuality. Besides the pro-fem music that was being produced, the women involved also began promoting a D.I.Y (Do It Yourself) ethic through art, zines, political action, etc.

The entire movement was basically fueled off the fact that these women felt underrated and unnoticed within the male-dominated punk rock scene. So they decided enough was enough and put their DIY ethics into good use and decided to change the way their community saw them.

The movement's origins has often been credited to bands Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.
Bikini Kill's lead singer Kathleen Hanna (also of Le Tigre and is pictured above) played a large role in getting the whole thing moving. At the time, she opened an art gallery in Olympia and started putting on shows there, and eventually formed Bikini Kill (as I mentioned before) in a reaction to the lack of women musicians.

The whole "riot grrl" idea has been fostered into feminism since it's origins. It presented feminism in a new and interesting way. Most people at the time thought of feminism solely in the context of "if I want to get a job in a corporation, feminism will let me make the same amount of money as a man." This movement emphasized the creative capabilities of women, and laid relevant women issues out on the table for the world to see and recognize. It's played a large role in influencing the progressive feminist thought, and continues to embed itself within underground culture to this date.

2 comments:

  1. World Class Corporation and cashier job alike, women should be making the same amount as a man (and ultimately, often truly, should be making more at least half of the time because men are lazy and I find usually women are more meticulous).

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  2. I guess in someways, but that is completely situational.
    Gender inequity in the work force has definitely improved over the years, but it's still not equal. Same goes with race, etc. That's why workplaces still need to have anomalies funds and what not.

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