Third Wave Feminism and Zines

It's almost impossible to talk about riot grrrl without talking about feminism because of how closely linked together they are. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, feminism is "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." Feminism is split up into three different categories, often referred to as "waves." Riot grrrl feminism is most connected with third-wave feminism.

Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s and focused on many of the issues second-wave feminism did such as sexuality, family, equal rights in the workplace, and reproductive rights. However, the biggest difference between the first, second, and third-wave feminism is that the two previous waves focused primarily on educated, privileged, white women, while third-wave feminism recognized and incorporated women of different cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Riot Grrrl Zine. Credit: NPR

The band members associated with riot grrrl showcased their third-wave feminist ideology through their zines and song lyrics. Zines, also known as fanzines or magazines, are small, self-published, original pieces of work that often follow a theme and include articles, artwork, and news that coincide with that theme. As mentioned on the previous blog post, Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman of Bratmobile and Kathleen Hanna and Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill formed a zine entitled "Riot Grrrl." To the right, is a picture of a Riot Grrrl zine cover published in 1991.

These zines were an essential part of the riot grrrl culture. They gave riot grrrl women a forum to safely express themselves and a place to state their political beliefs. These zines also allowed women to better connect with each other. During the early distribution of these zines, the punk rock music scene was dominated by men, and these zines gave women an outlet to express how they felt being discriminated against and being in the minority.

To combat these issues, these zines often shared personal narratives submitted by readers and how they overcame or were fighting against these issues. Authors also reappropriated offensive language that was commonly used against them. Instead of shying away from words such as "bitch," "cunt," "dyke," and "slut," they often incorporated these words into their articles and encouraged women to shamelessly take back these words. One of the ways they encouraged women to take back these words was by painting them on their stomachs with lipstick, taking photos of the finished product, and printing them in their zines. Below is a picture of Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna with "slut" written across her stomach.

Bikini Kill Member Kathleen Hanna/Credit: Tropics of Meta

Inside one of these zines is where the Riot Grrrl Manifesto first appeared. The "Riot Grrrl Manifesto" was a written declaration that professed the ideology of the riot grrrl culture. The Manifesto was first published in 1991 in the Bikini Kill Girl Power Zine #2. A later version of the Manifesto was published in 1992 in the Riot Grrrl NYC Zine #2. Below is a video of Kathleen Hanna reading the early section of the Riot Grrrl Manifesto and a section of the later version of the Riot Grrrl Manifesto typed out.

http://vimeo.com/67757523

“BECAUSE we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy… BECAUSE we need to talk to each other. Communication/inclusion is the key. We will never know if we don’t break the code of silence… BECAUSE in every form of media we see us/myself slapped, decapitated, laughed at, objectified, raped, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked and killed. BECAUSE a safe space needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes and reach out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and our day to day bullshit.” Credit: Words + Guitar: The Riot Grrrl Movement and Third-Wave Feminism.

As their manifesto clearly demonstrates, riot grrrl women created art, music, zines, and more for women by women. They strongly encouraged feminist expression and unity among women. Through these zines, they acknowledged and discussed the oppression they all felt but, prior to these zines, didn't  really discuss as openly. These zines were their safe haven, a place to vent their frustrations, and a place where they could state whatever it is they wanted to state and wouldn't be judged. In conjunction with riot grrrl's music, these zines are what created riot grrrl culture.

Riot Grrrl: The Origin

Sassy Magazine/Credit: Wordpress

Although Riot Grrrl appeared in the early '90s, a version of their philosophy can be traced back to several late '70s to mid-'80s female punk and rock musicians including: Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene, Patti Smith, Kim Gordon, Chrissie Hynde as well as many others. Aside from these bands, there were also several media outlets that influenced their ideology. In 1988, Sassy magazine, a magazine aimed at teenage girls that discussed controversial subject matter, formed. (An issue of the magazine is pictured to the right.) A 1989 article entitled "Women, sex and rock and roll" that appeared in an issue of Puncture became Riot Grrrl's first manifesto. And in 1991, a radio show called Your Dream Girl that discussed women's role in modern society debuted in Olympia, Washington, what's considered to be the pioneering city of riot grrrl.

This realm of thinking set the mood for what later became known as riot grrrl. However, it wasn't until later in 1991 when young feminist women came together as a reaction to the Christian Coalition's Right to Life attack on abortion and the Senate Judiciary Hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (in which Anita Hill was publicly mocked for accusing Thomas of sexually assaulting her) that  the need for riot grrrl became increasingly apparent.

Riot Grrrl zine/Credit: Jacobin Mag.

In a letter discussing the reaction to the Christian Coalition and Judiciary Hearings, Jen Smith wrote to Allison Wolfe (both of Bratmobile) "this summer's going to be a girl riot." While the exact wording of the this text is debated, the overall message remains the same. Soon after, Wolfe and Neuman worked together with Kathleen Hannah and Tobi Vai (of Bikini Kill), and they created a feminist zine called "Riot Grrrl." The women decided to remove the "i" in girl and triple the "r" sound as a way to make the  name sound derogatory and angry. To the left is a photo of a Riot Grrrl zine.

Bikini Kill/Credit: Wikipedia

Although there are several bands linked to the early formation of Riot Grrrl, Bikini Kill and Bratmobile are considered to be the most predominant. Bikini Kill formed in October of 1990 in Olympia, Washington by Kathleen Hannah (vocalist), Billy Karren (lead guitarist), Kathi Wilcox (bassist), and Tobi Vai (drummer). Hannah had been working as a stripper to put herself through school and, in her spare time, volunteered in a woman's shelter. During this time, she states she was exposed to a variety of people, and this prompted her to seek out and practice feminist ideology. One of the ways, she, along with the other female members of the band, practiced this ideology was by making their shows very female-friendly, often encouraging women to come to the front and sing along. Band members also handed out lyric sheets if audience members didn't know the lyrics. To the right is a picture of the band performing.

Bratmobile/Credit: Teen-Beat Records

Aside from Bikini Kill, Bratmobile was another influential riot grrrl band. Bratmobile formed when Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman were asked to play a show on Valentine's Day in 1991 alongside Bikini Kill. Although they had compiled a few original songs, they considered themselves a garage band, having never played a show. However, they accepted the offer as a dare and ended up playing the show with both members switching off on guitar, vocals and drums. Soon after, Jen Smith and Christina Billotte acted as fill-in guitar members, until Erin Smith came in as their permanent guitarist. To the right is a photo of the band.