By Nina Fry-Meromi

Ask anyone to name a few riot grrrl bands, and they’ll (most likely) say something along the lines of ‘Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, L7, Heavens To Betsy,’ et cetera. Some may add in, ‘Sleater-Kinney’. However, this is, somehow, disputed. Some claim Sleater-Kinney (an American rock/punk duo formed in the nineties) isn’t a riot grrrl band based simply on date. In my opinion, this simply isn’t true. They are a quintessential riot grrrl band. 

To begin, we must get into what exactly riot grrrl is, or, was (some say it’s still alive, some don’t.) Girls To The Front, a history of riot grrrl by Sara Marcus, describes it as “A nation-wide network of teen feminists who came together to support one another.” Wikipedia calls it “An underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia,Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest,” which, though more factually accurate, does lack the passion of the former. It ran (in its main branches) from around 1988 to 1995. 1988 was when two crucial fanzines (or ‘zines’) were started, Team Dresch’s Donna Dresch’s Chainsaw and Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail’s Jigsaw. Zines were very important to the development of riot grrrl as they spread the important values of the movement; Girlhood, community, feminism, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, et cetera. 

These zines (which were eventually accessible by grrrls around the country via the Riot Grrrl Press) covered body image, dysmorphia, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and were generally a safe space for girls to share their issues. There were also weekly meetings in Olympia that were essentially group therapy for anyone who desired it.

Riot Grrrl was interlinked with music at its core; bands like the previously mentioned were very important at spreading the word.

So where does Sleater-Kinney come into this? Sleater-Kinney, fronted by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein (and at one point, Janet Weiss), did, after all, release their first album in 1995. Riot Grrrl had already publicly fizzled out by then. At least, that’s what the public thought. After a complicated series of events with media blackouts and conventions, yes, the main Riot Grrrl centrals had ended, the weekly meetings over. However, it was very much still alive. Meetings in other cities continued, zines were still being made, and most importantly, girls (or grrrls) were still fighting for their rights.

The spirit of Sleater-Kinney’s first two albums, at least, were very much in a riot grrrl theme. At least six tenths of the first album (self-titled)’s songs are explicitly about sexual abuse and all of them have an intense energy of fighting back. Their second album, Call The Doctor, has a theme of female independence, or the lack of it, being held back, etc. 

In addition, Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker was originally a member of the band Heavens To Betsy, an undisputed crucial riot grrrl band, and was part of the movement since its early days, attending meetings, and even inspiring Carrie herself to join the movement. The first time they became close, in fact, was while touring together with separate bands, Carrie with her band Excuse 17, yet another riot grrrl band. Excuse 17 also had Becca Albee, an important member of the riot grrrl movement. 

In summary, Sleater-Kinney, or at least its first few albums, (though a song from 2000 does refer to themselves as riot grrrls) are very much riot grrrl. And the spirit is very much, in fact, still alive.

PS: Do NOT believe what you hear. Hole, nor Courtney Love, are NOT riot grrrl. Courtney Love HATED riot grrrl. The “patron saint of riot grrrl” story about her was sold by a riot grrrl who idolized her and in fact gave that interview while a media blackout was in effect (and led to the ‘end’ of riot grrrl.)

Recommended Listening (Warning! Explicit.)

Bikini Kill: The First Two Albums
Bratmobile: The Real Janelle
Le Tigre: Le Tigre
Sleater-Kinney: Sleater-KinneySleater-Kinney: Call The Doctor
Veruca Salt: American Thighs
Slant 6: Inzombia
Slant 6: Soda Pop Rip-Off
Sleater-Kinney: The Woods