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.