‘I don’t wanna walk around with you’: Routes, roots and composing the grrrl geography of rebellion in Stephanie Kuehnert’s I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

Abstract

Abstract Since riot grrrl’s arrival onto the 1990s’ subcultural scene, there have been numerous scholarly investigations pertaining to young women and punk subcultures. However, the influence of riot grrrl on contemporary fiction, written by female authors who have experienced the transgressive energy of riot grrrl first-hand, remains under-analysed. This article examines Stephanie Kuehnert’s I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone to expose how Kuehnert incorporates her own love for music, the experience of her small-town upbringing, and her fervour for the DIY ethos of punk into fiction that aims to speak to the discerning and discursive grrrl. Through addressing what is often rejected in conventional young adult (YA) fiction, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone builds ideas of a rebellious grrrl geography that explores the remapping of specific gendered spaces. Emily, the young female protagonist of the novel, is transported from the confined boredom of her bedroom as she puts her fantasies into practice and forms a punk band. With this, she carves out a ‘public’ space from which to exhibit her creative agency as a punk rock star. This article argues that through contemporary text, the transgressive objectives of riot grrrl are not merely objects of nostalgia. Instead, it concludes to suggest that Kuehnert’s novel gives riot grrrl a contemporary resonance. Thus, I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone plays out notions of how the young woman can still use music to, in a sense, pull her own strings, master her destiny and ultimately become instrumental in composing her creative agency and maintain her political impact.