Rise of riot grrrl

Riot grrrl was a feminist punk movement that emerged in the early 1990s in the American Pacific Northwest and Washington, D.C., through bands such as Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy. Its members were young women who responded to the sexism and male domination of the punk scene by creating their own bands, zines, meetings and networks, in keeping with the do-it-yourself ethic of punk. Their lyrics tackled issues such as abuse, rape and body image, and they urged girls to take up instruments and demand space. Media attention led to a backlash, and to misrepresentation in the press, and the movement faded in the mid-1990s. Its influence on later feminist music and on bands such as Sleater-Kinney has been lasting.

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