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Riot grrrl (or riot grrl) is a movement encompassing zines, festivals and hardcore punk rock music groups, known for its feminist stance. The genre first appeared in the early 1990s as an offshoot of alternative rock and punk music and as a response to prevalent attitudes of punk machismo, building also on a history of all-women bands. A key factor in this movement was creation of a girl-friendly culture that included encouraging young women starting up bands, with, or particularly, without musical training, expressing themselves through zines, and creating an environment where this is tenable. Riot Grrrl also arose at the same time as Queercore, and many people were involved with both movements.
The term more generally referred to the band members and followers of a wider movement with a DIY empowerment ethic, characterized by the Oxford English Dictionary as "feminist resistance to male domination in society and especially to the abuse and harassment of women." Riot grrrl lyrics often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality and female empowerment. As summarized by The Guardian in its April 15, 1995 supplement:
When the Riot Grrl movement began in America in 1991, its intention was to redress the balance of power via the punk rock underground using slogans (words like ‘rape’ and ‘slut’ written in black marker pens on exposed stomachs or bare arms), fanzines, meetings and women-only shows.
The groups Bikini Kill and Bratmobile are widely considered two of the prime instigators of the movement. With the rallying cry, "Revolution Girl Style Now!" they and other bands like Heavens to Betsy and Cheesecake created a mini-movement to combat what they saw as the male-dominance of the punk scene and, by extension, the rest of the world.
Riot grrl musicians mostly shunned the major record labels, signing instead with indie labels like Kill Rock Stars.
History
Riot Grrrl zine Girl Germs Issue 1Like its contemporary, grunge music, riot grrrl arose in the fertile music scene of Seattle and Olympia as well as in Washington D.C, although it was not limited to these cities. Other scenes arose across the United States, and in the United Kingdom, represented by such groups as Huggy Bear and Voodoo Queens.
Uses and meanings of the phrase "riot grrrl" developed slowly over time, but its origins can be traced to racially charged riots in Washington D.C.'s Mount Pleasant neighborhood during the spring of 1991. Writing in Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, Mark Andersen reports early Bratmobile member Jen Smith (later of The Quails) reacting to the riots by writing, "This summer's going to be a girl riot." Soon afterwards, Bratmobile and Bikini Kill collaborated to create a new zine and called it Riot Grrrl.
Breaking out from the music, riot grrrl activities included national conventions in D.C., the Pussystock festival in New York City, and a slew of zines, notably Girl Germs, Jigsaw, Fantastic Fanzine, Satan Wears A Bra and Quit Whining. Riot grrrl's momentum was supported by an explosion of self-published zines that covered a variety of feminist topics, frequently attempting to draw out the political implications of intensely personal experiences with sexism, mental illness, body image, sexual abuse, and homosexuality. These zines were archived for many years by Riot Grrrl Press, started in Washington DC in 1992 by Erika Reinstein & May Summer. Due to financial hardships, Riot Grrrl Press disbanded in the late '90s.
Much to their chagrin, the riot grrrls found themselves in the media spotlight during 1992, featured for dragging feminism into the mosh pit in magazines from Seventeen to Newsweek. This led to conflict within the riot grrrl community because many felt that "Riot grrrl" could not be defined; it meant too many things to too many people. Fallout from the media coverage led to resignations of people like Jessica Hopper, who was at the center of the Newsweek article. Lead singer Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill called that year for "a press block" and reporters from papers like The Seattle Times, The Washington Post, and Houston Chronicle found themselves fleshing out riot grrrl articles by describing exactly the way in which various scenesters hung up on them.
Legacy
Since most riot grrrl bands weren't very prolific, the movement's initial spark of enthusiasm faded after a few years, but it still continues to play a role in Indie rock culture. The movement's legacy lives on in bands such as Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre in girl-positive independent music festivals such as Ladyfest.
Many of the women involved in Riot Grrrl are still active today. Kathleen Hanna is a member of Le Tigre, Kathi Wilcox is in the Casual Dots, Bratmobile reunited in 2000 and have since released two albums and Corin Tucker (formerly of Heavens To Betsy) is now a member of Sleater-Kinney. Mainstream media outlets have been proclaiming the death of Riot Grrrl for the last ten years but the musicians and spirit of the movement endures today.
Rumored origin of term "Riot Grrl"
The influential proto-punk band The Stooges' final live album Metallic KO is thought by some to be the origin of the term "Riot Grrl". The show (which took place at the Michigan Palace in 1974 and was the last ever Stooges gig) featured a gang of rowdy bikers throwing anything they could at the stage and generally trying to disrupt the performance. Stooges frontman Iggy Pop at one point stops taunting the bikers and directs a comment at the female audience members near the stage (who had been throwing underwear instead of blunt objects throughout the show): "You wanna have a riot, girls? RIOT!"