The Riot Grrrl movement fused feminist activism with punk rebellion in the ‘90s. Decades later, its DIY spirit, fight against sexism, and raw attitude continue to shape today’s feminist culture in the digital age.
After three decades, their influence is evident in the rise of online feminist activism.
Ealasaid Munro, feminist geographer and research associate at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, suggests in her article Feminism: A Fourth Wave?, that the internet has become a pivotal space for mobilization, much like zines and grassroots organizing were for Riot Grrrls. The movement’s unapologetic, confrontational, and deeply political spirit remains a vital blueprint for contemporary feminists navigating digital advocacy and the fight against gender-based violence today.
“[The Riot Grrrl movement] was operating, sort of, in the social media of the day, which was zines, people would photocopy things and hand them to each other—like the Riot Grrrl manifesto and such,” said feminist reporter and author Liz Renzetti.
But why discuss the Riot Grrrl movement now? Roselin Dixon, with the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said feminist advocates are still challenged.
“Yesterday I was at an event and somebody, a gentleman, basically asked me questions and initially I thought it was out of curiosity to learn more, but the more I spoke with him I just felt like it was going in the direction of us showing receipts, that this is real, which is really infuriating and frustrating,” said Dixon.
The history of feminism has been briefly covered in education, entertainment, and literature. But how many Gen Zers or previous generations are familiar with the underground feminist punk movement of the ‘90s?
Emerging from the underground punk scene of the early 1990s, it was more than music—it was a radical call to arms against sexism, harassment, and exclusion. Riot Grrrls built a DIY feminist subculture through zines, protests, and blistering punk anthems, amplifying voices despite fierce backlash.
The movement endures, but how does its impact compare to today’s feminist landscape? And what lesson does Riot Grrrl offer for a new generation fighting for change?
“One thing Riot Grrrls did was questioning and challenging everything—knowing it was fully within their right to do so,” said Dixon. “We need to keep speaking up just like them back then.”
“The focus of these groups is to get rid of the Band-Aid solution. We are constantly placing Band-Aids. So when these conversations are coming up, it’s like a fresh Band-Aid and we’re like, ‘no we don’t need any freaking Band-Aids,’” said Dixon. “We need to excavate, find the source of the wound, clean it up, take care of it, and secure it so it doesn’t happen again.”
The Riot Grrrl movement didn’t come without retaliation. Violence of multiple forms was inflicted on those who identified as a Riot Grrrl, particularly those who took centre stage.
On July 7, 1993, Mia Zapata, lead singer of the Riot Grrrl band, the Gits, was brutally raped and murdered while walking home from a Seattle bar. This is an extreme case of violence, but violence can be more subtle than this example.
“It’s not always about seeing violence. It’s also about hearing violence too. And it’s usually disguised and cloaked when it comes to how it’s happening. Violence can happen in meetings and presentations, workshops, and community events,” said Dixon. “I mean sometimes, you know, it’s not always that passerby on the street. It can be macro, micro-aggression within workplaces.”
In the spring of 1996, director Michael Lucid documented a group of eighth-grade girls, infamous for their vulgar behaviour and alleged poor hygiene. They defied the expectations placed on young women by society.
In his film, Dirty Girls, Lucid asked, “Do you identify as Riot Grrrls?”
Their answer: “Yeah, yeah I do … I think that a Riot Grrrl is someone who doesn’t believe in the way that women are treated in society right now, nor any prejudice,” said Harper, one of the eighth-grade girls included in Lucid’s film.
“I was just thrilled I got to actually share the video with my peers and that they finally got to hear the dirty girls’ side of the story and hear it directly from them, that was really cool and gratifying,” said Lucid.
Following the debut of Dirty Girls, Lucid said the rejected girls gained a new, positive popularity.
“I did notice a pretty profound shift, people completely did a 180,” said Lucid. “They treated them with so much more respect for their point of view and what they were trying to express.”
Although Lucid’s film was released almost three decades ago, the film finds resurgence every few years—now reaching just over five million views.
“I mean, in a way, it’s fascinating to me how the documentary still feels so timely today and people are still discovering it for the first time. It’s upsetting because that means that all the things that the dirty girls were facing back in 1996 are still very much happening today,” said Lucid.
“I think it’s all still so prevalent today, you know, the bullying, sexism, and the objectification of women. I think everyone and especially women, girls, and teens have it much worse now because of social media and everyone’s always being critiqued,” said Lucid.
The introduction of technology and social media has been a double-edged sword for most communities, having the potential to harm or hoist movements.
“That extra layer of access to us and access to our movement is terrifying and I find that it takes fearlessness to advocate online. I’m sure that the Riot Grrrls experienced fear, but they did it anyway,” said Dixon.
“I think that people take fearlessness and assume it means no fear. It means having fear but doing it anyway. We thrive with representation, and I feel groups like the Riot Grrrls did that,” said Dixon. “We are aligned with a lot of those movements. But we’re facing a lot more challenges now that we are, you know, in a wave of digital and global feminism.”
Renzetti questioned if the movement would have the same impact if it began today.
“I think it would have probably travelled farther and not been a fringe movement because it wasn’t hugely, commercially successful—but it was very artistically successful,” said Renzetti.
“The movement would be more popular because of social media, but would it be as influential? It wouldn’t be at the edges and it wouldn’t be at the margins, which is what helped to make it influential. It was the punk energy with that idea of being outsiders that band together. That energy would be a bit dissipated on TikTok or Instagram.”
“I think that [the Riot Grrrls] is really really important to revisit because I think that there’s a lot more that young women and girls are facing now compared to what we were facing, you know, 30 years ago,” said Dixon.
“The system is designed to make us tired, exhausted, and that’s a lot of what the Riot Grrrls faced. With a lot of inundation of conservative vitriol, they did it anyway. They said ‘I’ll sleep here, I’ll do that, I don’t care, but you’re not gonna silence me.’”