Riot GRRRLs. You either fear them or you want to be with them. The Riot Grrrl’s or also known as the ‘Revolution Girl Style Now’ was a ground-breaking movement in the early 90’s which arguably paved the foundations for feminism all the way up to today. Although their relationship with their self-image and fashion was a direct protest against the political and social scrutiny of female’s in society, they also followed the mentality of third wave feminism which saw these women rebel against commercialisation, misogyny within the media, capitalist culture, the mainstream perception that society had over beauty and the expect behaviour of women. However, to really communicate their hatred to the system, the Riot Grrrl’s were known to confidently express their political beliefs and feminist issues through punk rock music to cause a stir within society. Image became so much of a tool that the Riot Grrrls could employ to explore their own ideas which allowed the to provoke a great reaction from others.
One of the biggest and possibly most influential Riot Grrrl groups from the early 90’s was the American punk rock band Bikini Kill which consisted of front woman and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail who made it their goal to reach out to people with their radical lyrics and rather fiery performances.
There were also other extremely influential bands emerging from America during this time such as Heavens to Betsy and Bratmobile who raised awareness on sexism head on and upheld the anti-consumer do-it-yourself ethic of punk.
“Stop always worrying about what you look like and what clothes you wear, 'cause in the end it's not important. What's important is friendship and being creative,” Kathleen Hanna
The Riot GRRL Aesthetic
As expected the Riot GRRL style consisted of a backlash against anything stereotypically associated with a girlish sort of style and instead, aggressively they wore graphic t-shirts with explicit detail and emotional yet bold messages about their gender.
"No one's female and male, we all have so many different traits. It's just a lie that these certain traits are male and these certain traits are female." Kathleen Kanna
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The Riot Grrrl London Manifesto:Riot Grrrl is a network of women and men who want to change society through active & creative means - writing zines, being in bands, creating websites, making art... The law grudgingly gives women equality, but people's attitudes towards us are still disrespectful, oppressive and belittling.
Riot Grrrl and feminism are still needed for a myriad of reasons; because women are accused of 'asking for it' when they are raped, because beauty is valued over intellect, because female musicians are dismissed as worthless, because enjoying sex makes you a slut, because because because... The list is endless.
Riot Grrrl has now evolved into more than just a branch of the punk scene - we come from all sorts of backgrounds, like all sorts of music, dress in all sorts of styles... Riot Grrrl is open to everyone. Riot Grrrl is inspiring, empowering and most of all fun, so why not join our group or start your own and help infiltrate society with REAL grrrl power. Forget the media lies - this is about equality, not superiority. Man-hate does not figure in our beliefs - the deconstruction of gender roles will benefit everyone.
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The band were also known for their very confrontational DIY zines which they used to connect and spread their message by photocopying and mailing the low-fi publications across the country and handing them out at shows. Within these zines, the Riot Grrrls, opposed any sort of capitalism that they believe the fashion industry was ideologically forcing upon teenage girls and young women such as the frequent encouragement of glossy magazines and promotion of eating disorders. The Riot Grrl self-published zines offered an exciting and contrasting take on the trends of the 90's and paved the way for more girls to break down the social barriers that they were facing within fashion, behaviour expectations and their whole identity.
Therefore, as the Riot Grrrl movement began to grow dedicated followers, inevitability fashion brands began to tap into what they saw as something cool that women liked and might buy into.
They also held regular meetings and national conferences similar to the feminist discussion and support groups of the 1960s and 1970s. These forums allowed women to meet and discuss music as well as their experiences of sexism, body image and identity.
Like the feminists of in the late 1960s, self-definition and self-representation were particular concerns of the Riot Grrrl movement. Therefore, the press were avoided and some members of the Riot Grrl movement called for a complete media blackout to avoid any sort of trivialisation and sexist misrepresentation.
A zine created by Bikini Kill
