It's now taken for granted that women are in bands and you can say feminist things in your songs. But back in the early '90s, there was a lot of violence at Bikini Kill shows that people don't realize happened.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the progress in the acceptance of women in music and the challenges faced in the past.
Kathleen Hanna highlights the transformation in the music industry regarding the representation of women, emphasizing that it was not always accepted for women to be in bands or express feminist ideas in their music. She recalls a time in the early '90s when feminist punk band Bikini Kill faced significant violence and resistance at their shows, shedding light on the struggles that paved the way for the current acceptance and celebration of women in music.
In practice
In a discussion about the evolution of feminism in music, this quote could be used to illustrate past challenges.
Sometimes, being a feminist artist, there are times where I'm in a position where I just want to feel like I'm saying all the right things politically, or I feel like I have to mention my own project over other people's projects. But I don't do that anymore. I just want to be off the cuff and honest.
When you speak up about any sense of unfairness or injustice, you're told that you're overreacting, you're too angry, too silly-shut up already. It takes a tremendous amount of fortitude to be able to live in this world as a woman, let alone a woman who wants things to change.
I'm not going to sit around and be peace and love with somebody's boot on my neck.
To make riot grrrl move into the future in a new way with a bunch of new names and a bunch of new energy, younger people have to learn about it and apply it to their own lives and own modern conversation. And they are.
Feminism rotates between backlash and interest. And the cool thing about the Internet is that it's allowing women more access to their own history. Part of the problem before the Internet was that we didn't know which books to read. Someone had to tell you.
You learn that the only way to get rock-star power as a girl is to be a groupie and bare your breasts and get chosen for the night. We learn that the only way to get anywhere is through men. And it's a lie.
Much as I adore the melodies, I choose a song for what it has to say.
All music is based on country music. And that's why so many different kinds of people relate to it. There are more country music fans in New Jersey than there are down South.
They gave their money, and they gave their screams. But the Beatles kind of gave their nervous systems. They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did, and then blamed it on us.
A great song can make a terrible singer sound good, but a good singer - you put a great song on top of that, you're really in great shape!
The difference between blues, jazz, rock n' roll and rap is that rap stayed poor. Even the white rappers are poor. It's scarier to look at poor people; it makes everyone uncomfortable. Their pain is something that people would like to see swept under the rug.
I didn't want to disrespect my parents, so I never played blues around the house. But I knew then, same as I know today, that I wasn't doing anything wrong. I think that before they died, they both felt very proud of me.
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