âYou canât give us what we want, much less what we needâ.Â
Sang out to a crowd of girls pushing their way to the front of a gig in North Dakota in 1991, band members flashing the word âSLUTâ written across their bodies, zines being passed around mid-concert⊠This was just the beginning of the riot grrrl revolution.
Formed in Olympia just a year earlier, Bikini Killâs conscious feminist agenda at the locus of their concerts paved the way for one of the most influential political punk scenes seen by 1990s America, and âRebel Girlâ remains an emblematic song of this riot grrrl movement, giving rise to the likes of Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy in joining this activism.
With punk rock on the rise in the early 1990s, bands such as Nirvana and Fugazi began taking their place as popular politically-powered bands in Americaâs society. However, these bands (along with the overall socio-political picture) were either dominated, or even completely comprised of, the most effective vehicle of any politically-activated message known for centuries – men. Bikini Killâs emergence as a punk band was a revolution to societyâs make-up in itself: not only did the band encourage girls to get involved in the punk world (where girls playing bass, drums, etc., was looked down on), but the encapsulation of sexiness and violence in the bandâs name was also a nod towards Bikini Atoll, where the United States conducted nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean. In this way, the connection between gender, politics, and geopolitics, was at the centre of what Bikini Kill, and the riot grrrl revolution, was pioneering.
The girls that made up these bands, as well as their classmates and friends, pushed for the recognition of female rights and gender equality in the face of a Western patriarchy through punk, particularly for the reason Bratmobileâs Michelle Noel pointed out: there was a possibility for girls to change punk having belonged there, but it didnât feel possible to change the rest of the world, having felt excluded and not part of it. From creating, writing, copying, and distributing their own mini-zines saturated with anti-political and anti-government slogans and activism made by folding a single piece of paper into four, to introducing the linguistic revolution of âgrrrlâ as a variation of tortured spellings of âwomyn/womon/wimminâ, these girls were pioneering major changes in the way society interacted with gender politics. Organised meetings spread from being initially held in Virginia to all over the country, where issues such as sexism, racism, inclusivity, and empowerment were discussed as a way to revolutionise society. Discounted gig entries for girls and skirt-wearing boys, as well as the requirement for girls to be at the front rather than mosh-pitting men, altered the punk scene, and consequently the political scene.Â
Singing about topics including personal experiences of sexism, violence, rape, body image, racism, and domestic abuse, and often performing in raw and defiant styles that rejected mainstream standards and commercialism, the riot grrrl movement was a striking form of activism in a world that needed to see considerable change. This was the riot grrrl movement. This was the sound of a revolution.
(note: this article was inspired by Sara Marcus’ ‘Girls to the Front’)