I was having some problems coming up with a new original idea. Everyone has been posting some really great things, and all I've been able to come up with were similar TV shows that are exploiting women. So I decided to make things more positive and do a mini profile on an active feminist singer who has influenced many women (including myself). The punk music scene is almost completely male dominated, even to this day. Kathleen Hanna and her band Bikini Kill helped set the stage for more women to be involved in the Punk movement in the 1990s. In many of Kathleen Hanna's songs she brings up feminist issues such as violence against women, exploitation, and also addressed the issues within the punk scene and violence against women at these shows. (Punk music has the tendency to be violent on its own. With the lack of women in this movement, women unfortunately sometimes get abused and beat up at concerts. Thankfully, this does not happen as much today, but it still happens!) At Bikini Kill concert, Hanna would urge all women to come forward to the stage to sing and dance. Women like Kathleen Hanna have helped many women musicians find the courage to start their own bands and speak their minds.
*Below are some sample lyrics and a clip of a documentary with Bikini Kill in which they describe the beginning and ideas behind their band.
Double Dare Ya
...Don't you talk out of line
Don't go speaking out of your turn
Gotta listen to what the Man says
Time to make his stomach burnBurn, burn, burn, burn
Double dare ya, double dare ya,
double dare ya Girl fuckin friend yeah
Double dare ya, double dare ya,
double dare ya Girl
You're a big girl now
You've got no reason not to fight
You've got to know what they are
Fore you can stand up for your rights
Rights, rights?
You DO have rights
I'm not familiar with this artist or band, but I think the fact that she's breaking a mold is really impressive. Music in general, not just punk music, doesn't seem to have the most positive of messages these days - they aren't necessarily negative, but they aren't positive either. To have lyrics about the empowerment of women is really awesome. I hope she's able to get her message across to more people!
ReplyDeleteLike Amanda, I am not really familiar with the artist Molly is referring to or necessarily the genre of Punk music. I do however feel that there are strong messages for women in music of many different genres. I know a bit more about country music and while stereotypically you would not think that it would be very female oriented, since the mid 90's the music has changed drastically. Not only are there a number of female artists that have great recognition and are bending the boundaries (such as Shania Twain with her belly shirts),there are even men speaking out for women. A particular Garth Brooks song comes to mind about domestic violence and the woman finally taking a stand. Martina McBride is another artist that has not only had great accomplishments as a woman artist, but has also created a number of songs about independent women, mothers, and domestic violence (one of her most famous songs is called Independence Day and is about domestic violence). I think that women in music is changing greatly. While we might not see it in genres such as hip hop or rap, in others it is gaining momentum.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's great that this artist wants to help women break from the mold; and inform women that it's okay to do that. Her lyrics are very empowering for women, and she is very much about women rights and making them feel good about themselves.
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ReplyDeleteAs others have said, I am not familiar with this artist. However, it is good to know that there are women present in a music genre that is dominated by men. I was surprised to find out that women are actually abused at Punk concerts. I think it is great that this band focuses on educating the public about feminist issues because there are not many artists in the entertainment industry that promote awareness of feminist issues. Women are often exploited in the music industry. On the contrary, Bikini Kill’s music demonstrates that some progress has taken place in the music industry in terms of portraying women in a positive context.
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