Both Emily White and Mimi Nguyen address the inequalities within punk culture and the impact
that riot grrrl had on calling out these issues within the community. White discusses riot grrrl and
what it stood for in her piece “The Great Indie Debate.” White talks about the empowerment riot
grrrl gave women in the punk community and the issues it addressed. She writes, “And no
one railed against the marginalization more concertedly than the riot grrrls, who urged their
listeners to ‘resist psychic death’ and ‘cry in public.’ Ranting against the sexism of the boy
underground, they nevertheless coopted punk’s antiglamour ethic to powerful effect” (White 476).
Riot grrrl here challenged the social norms of the punk community to see the sexism within and
provided a safe place for women to be part of punk. Nguyen also talks about riot grrrl in the punk
community but in a different tone than the way White discusses it in her piece. Nguyen’s
“It’s (Not) a White World: Looking for Race in Punk” talks about why riot grrrl exists in the
punk community and the other issues like sexism that go unaddressed in punk.
Nguyen states, “Differences are seen as potentially divisive. Some -like race or gender- are
seen as more divisive than others. The assumption is that somehow ‘we’ –because punk
is so progressive, blah blah– have “gotten over” these things. But when something
earth-shattering like riot grrrl ruptures the smooth surface of p-rock, punks scramble to
‘unify’ again. Appeals are made to a ‘common culture’ – whether as ‘Americans’ or
punks (dude) – in order to flatten, soothe, or (if those don’t work) bang out those erupting
differences” (Nguyen). Here we see a fuller picture of riot grrrl and why it was created--
punk was not so different than the rest of society at this time, marginalization was
happening everywhere, the punk community assumed they were different and
it wasn’t impacting them-- as most communities battling various marginalization
issues at the tome did-- until riot grrrl spoke out about only one of the many issues
within punk. What is even more disturbing than punk not seeing the marginalization
within its own community is the way it was dealt with. Nguyen basically says that the
punk community doesn’t acknowledge individual differences of identity, it is “made to a
common culture.” This means the issues are either being ignored by the punk community
or those facing marginalization are being undermined by white men of the punk community
now thinking they are impacted by the issues riot grrrl brought up-- and the many other
problems like race, gender, and sexuality-- because it is a community issue now when
those men are part of the problem.
that riot grrrl had on calling out these issues within the community. White discusses riot grrrl and
what it stood for in her piece “The Great Indie Debate.” White talks about the empowerment riot
grrrl gave women in the punk community and the issues it addressed. She writes, “And no
one railed against the marginalization more concertedly than the riot grrrls, who urged their
listeners to ‘resist psychic death’ and ‘cry in public.’ Ranting against the sexism of the boy
underground, they nevertheless coopted punk’s antiglamour ethic to powerful effect” (White 476).
Riot grrrl here challenged the social norms of the punk community to see the sexism within and
provided a safe place for women to be part of punk. Nguyen also talks about riot grrrl in the punk
community but in a different tone than the way White discusses it in her piece. Nguyen’s
“It’s (Not) a White World: Looking for Race in Punk” talks about why riot grrrl exists in the
punk community and the other issues like sexism that go unaddressed in punk.
Nguyen states, “Differences are seen as potentially divisive. Some -like race or gender- are
seen as more divisive than others. The assumption is that somehow ‘we’ –because punk
is so progressive, blah blah– have “gotten over” these things. But when something
earth-shattering like riot grrrl ruptures the smooth surface of p-rock, punks scramble to
‘unify’ again. Appeals are made to a ‘common culture’ – whether as ‘Americans’ or
punks (dude) – in order to flatten, soothe, or (if those don’t work) bang out those erupting
differences” (Nguyen). Here we see a fuller picture of riot grrrl and why it was created--
punk was not so different than the rest of society at this time, marginalization was
happening everywhere, the punk community assumed they were different and
it wasn’t impacting them-- as most communities battling various marginalization
issues at the tome did-- until riot grrrl spoke out about only one of the many issues
within punk. What is even more disturbing than punk not seeing the marginalization
within its own community is the way it was dealt with. Nguyen basically says that the
punk community doesn’t acknowledge individual differences of identity, it is “made to a
common culture.” This means the issues are either being ignored by the punk community
or those facing marginalization are being undermined by white men of the punk community
now thinking they are impacted by the issues riot grrrl brought up-- and the many other
problems like race, gender, and sexuality-- because it is a community issue now when
those men are part of the problem.
DJ Selections:
“Dammit” by Blink 182
“Carnival” by Bikini Kill
Blink 182’s “Dammit” was a famous punk song discussing the issues of growing up
and break ups. The song tells a standard tale of the issues white men face growing up,
that is, seeing someone move on. Contrastly, Bikini Kill’s “Carnival” embodies the coming
of age issue in a much different light than Blink 182. Their song deals with the issues of
teenage girls and prostitution along with socioeconomic pressures and responsibilities
while also trying to be a kid. One of these songs became a huge hit, the one about a
broken hearted white male. The contrast between the issues discussed in these punk
songs and out of the two the one that “made it big” shows the lack of recognition of
differences Mimi Nguyen discussed in her piece, “It’s (Not) a White World: Looking for
Race in Punk.” The differences in focus and successes of these songs confirms one
of the claims Nguyen discusses in her article; punk is a white man’s world.
and break ups. The song tells a standard tale of the issues white men face growing up,
that is, seeing someone move on. Contrastly, Bikini Kill’s “Carnival” embodies the coming
of age issue in a much different light than Blink 182. Their song deals with the issues of
teenage girls and prostitution along with socioeconomic pressures and responsibilities
while also trying to be a kid. One of these songs became a huge hit, the one about a
broken hearted white male. The contrast between the issues discussed in these punk
songs and out of the two the one that “made it big” shows the lack of recognition of
differences Mimi Nguyen discussed in her piece, “It’s (Not) a White World: Looking for
Race in Punk.” The differences in focus and successes of these songs confirms one
of the claims Nguyen discusses in her article; punk is a white man’s world.
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