Punk Feminism in Portland Oregon - Weebly

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Punk Feminism in Portland Oregon

Ella Ray UNST 107I Dr. Evan Farr 2/06/2015

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Introduction

Feminism is hardly a radical term or idea in current day Portland, Oregon. Advocating and associating for and with a feminist movement is even less thought provoking in this city. As one of the most liberal places in Oregon and in the United States, it is plausible to say that Portland is a mecca for the current feminist movement. There is acknowledgement for the political, social, and economic rights of women from both the men and women of Portland.

In contrast to many other places in the United States, Portlanders have a deep appreciation for the feminist community as well as other aspects of girl culture. From the fictional feminist bookstore, Women and Women First, that exists in the IFC show Portlandia to the Guerrilla Feminists of Portland group, Portland is ahead of its time. These cutting edge ideals regarding women and women's equality comes from a long line of progressive feminism in the Pacific Northwest that began in the late 1980s and continued into modern times.

Based on the current feminist culture in Portland, the evidence strongly suggests that the Riot Grrrl movement was integral in this strong sense of feminism, specifically third wave feminism, in this area. Through the transmission of feminist punk music, self publications such as zines, and the active participation in rallies and protests, Portland became the epicenter for feminism that it currently is. The politics, popular culture, and environment of Portland are conducive the terms of the Riot Grrrl movement from the 1990s.

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Defining Third Wave Feminism

To understand how this works we must first define what third wave feminism is and how it correlates directly to the Riot Grrrl movement. According to Natasha Pinterics, the author of Riding the Feminist Waves, the premise of third wave feminism stems from generation X's first hand experience with "unparalleled historical circumstances and happenings" 1. Reagan administration's war on reproductive rights, the AIDs epidemic, and the movement toward global awareness all contributed to what we now call third wave feminism. These events, among others directly affected how young women of this time viewed their place in the world. Third wave feminism has a greater advocacy for women of color, transgendered women/men, and how feminism is being portrayed by the media. This was reactionary to second wave feminism, a movement that spanned from the 1960s to 1980s. To the young women of the 1990s, second wave feminism was believed to created an illusionary "sisterhood" of feminism that cannot exist in the real world2.

Second wave feminists wanted to expose the vast majority to issues that had were considered taboo to speak about by their predecessors. Some of their main topics included domestic violence, the inequality in the work force/military, as well as the need for women's shelters, many feminist of this time considered these to be fundamental rights. Third wave feminists believed that it was time to take those rights a step further, using them as the catalyst in breaking down society's innate patriarchal tendencies.

1 Pinterics 2 Pinterics

4 Third wave feminist of the 1990s openly spoke on issues that their predecessors did not address, such as self defense, sexual abuse, racism, and self harm. Ultimately the Riot Grrrl movement is a direct reflection of these ideas.

As third wave feminism grew in popularity among young women around the United States Riot Grrrls were born. What initially began as a means to end the trivialization of women in punk music spawned a movement and culture that spread through the greater Pacific Northwest, among other places. Riot Grrrl was chosen as the title for the movement in an act to reclaim the power and vitality of girl youth and to replace "the perceived passivity of girl" with something more aggressive and dominant 3. The term Riot Grrrl became synonymous with the women involved in the type of punk feminism. For the rest of my paper I will be referring to the participants of this movement as "riot grrrls".

Riot Grrrl and Third Wave Feminism

Riot Grrrls confronted the then modern issues for women by promoting the ideals of third wave feminism. As outlined by Kathleen Hanna, front woman of the Riot Grrrl band Bikini Kill, their sole purpose was to give a voice to young women and to promote self expression in what they considered to be a "bullshit christian capitalist" society4. This explanatory document was the Riot Grrrl Manifesto written by Hanna and published in the Bikini Kill Vol. 2 zine in 1991. This zine grew in popularity in the Pacific Northwest,

3 Rosenburg 4 Hanna

5 specifically Washington State, Washington D.C., and Oregon as the Riot Grrrl movement gained a large underground following in these areas. This manifesto expresses the culture's desire to create a community of acceptance. Followed by declaring the need to start a revolution rooted in third wave feminist ideals. For example, a large portion of this work by Hanna expresses how the Riot Grrrl movement is essential in creating non hierarchical assemblage of women who are pro-women but not anti-men5. This is followed by how the Riot Grrrls plan on derailing homophobic, racist, and sexist behavior through art, grassroots politics, and music.

Zines Bikini Kill Vol. 2 is one of many zines that published works like the Riot Grrrl

Manifesto during this time. Zines are a cut and paste style publication that are intrinsic to punk culture. Zines accomplished the punk status quo of rejecting the normal and seeking freedom from the rest of the world 6 . Riot Grrrl zines took a guerrilla approach to this by honestly reviewing music, providing advice for their target audience (young women), as well as discussing current events that effected people inside the Riot Grrrl movement7. Popular Riot Grrrl zines include, Girl Germs, Bikini Kill, and Jigsaw, all of which gained cross state notoriety. These zines were especially conducive to the Do-ItYourself aesthetic of third wave feminism. This material could be used as a tool in

5 Garrison 6 Jovanovic 7 Comstock

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