Riot grrl
Riot grrrl is a form of
hardcore punk rock music, known for its militant
feminist stance. The
genre first appeared in the early
1990s as an offshoot of
alternative rock and punk music and as a response to prevalent attitudes of punk machismo, building also on a history of all-women bands. Riot grrl musicians were fiercely independent, and most shunned the
major labels, sticking with
indie labels like
Kill Rock Stars. Like its contemporary,
grunge music, riot grrrl arose in the fertile
Seattle region and
Olympia, Washington scene, though groups like
Huggy Bear came from
England, and others arose across the
United States and
United Kingdom, especially
Washington D.C. The group
Bikini Kill is widely considered the most representative of the sound and were the unofficial leaders of the genre.
Historically, the term stems from the all female opening night of the International Pop Underground conference in Olympia, Washington on August 20, 1991. It was coined by Alison Wolfe (of Bratmobile) in response to a comment by Jean Smith (of Mecca Normal) that, "We need to start a girl RIOT!" The term quickly became a banner for action and ideas with a DIY empowerment ethic. Yet within a year (in the wake of Nirvana's wide success and subsequent hype of Northwest rock) the name became an almost meaningless media catchphrase and was dropped by the artists who gave the term its genesis.
See also
List of all-women bands
External links