“Why Every Girl Isn’t a Riot Grrrl”:Feminism and the Punk Music of Bikini Kill in the Early 1990s

Abstract

In 1991, when Jen Smith, a college student and member of the little known band Bratmobile, “called for a girl riot” members of the punk band Bikini Kill had not yet met (Meltzer 11). Punk music, a subculture of mainstream rock music, “remained resolutely, with some notable exceptions, a boys’ club,” and women were justifiably frustrated by their exclusion from such an influential and unique form of expression (6). The preexisting stereotypes of women in punk hindered women’s ability to break into the genre. There would be no progression without action, and many women like Jen Smith were tired of their assumed “roles of groupie, girlfriend, or back-up singer” (Schilt 5). So commenced what would be known to the generations to come, as the Riot Grrrl Revolution. Why Every Girl Isn't A Riot Grrrl by Charlotte Briggs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License