Lexis Withers
Being a woman in a world that is so often dominated by men is extremely difficult. There are a large number of women out there that have faced or are constantly facing discrimination of some sort as well as trying to be as authentic to themselves as they can. The Riot Grrl movement gave voice to a lot of the issues that women experience each and every day and that was often done in songs and performances! In the reading by Garrison, The Riot Grrl movement is described as “an alternative subculture built around opposition to presuppositions that young (usually white) U.S. girls and women are too preoccupied with themselves and boys to be interested in being political, creative, and loud. The tensions between this exception and the political desires of members offer a powerful opportunity to learn different ways of resisting in a consumer-oriented culture (Garrison 143)." I think it is extremely important to understand the actual definition or description of what Riot Grrl was and is and the importance it holds. There is a specific point in the Moore reading that states “many zines tried to expose the links between commercial objectification and girls' body image, presenting statistics about eating disorders and self-esteem with complementary illustrations that debunked or parodied media representations of beauty, sexuality, and femininity (Moore 128)." It is part of a daily struggle amongst different generations of women to struggle with their image and truly trying to conform to the societal norms of what is understood to be beautiful. Having a misconstrued understanding of what is beautiful causes women to constantly try to change or adapt themselves to an image that is arguably unrealistic and further self-esteem issues that so many are fighting.
Being a woman in a world that is so often dominated by men is extremely difficult. There are a large number of women out there that have faced or are constantly facing discrimination of some sort as well as trying to be as authentic to themselves as they can. The Riot Grrl movement gave voice to a lot of the issues that women experience each and every day and that was often done in songs and performances! In the reading by Garrison, The Riot Grrl movement is described as “an alternative subculture built around opposition to presuppositions that young (usually white) U.S. girls and women are too preoccupied with themselves and boys to be interested in being political, creative, and loud. The tensions between this exception and the political desires of members offer a powerful opportunity to learn different ways of resisting in a consumer-oriented culture (Garrison 143)." I think it is extremely important to understand the actual definition or description of what Riot Grrl was and is and the importance it holds. There is a specific point in the Moore reading that states “many zines tried to expose the links between commercial objectification and girls' body image, presenting statistics about eating disorders and self-esteem with complementary illustrations that debunked or parodied media representations of beauty, sexuality, and femininity (Moore 128)." It is part of a daily struggle amongst different generations of women to struggle with their image and truly trying to conform to the societal norms of what is understood to be beautiful. Having a misconstrued understanding of what is beautiful causes women to constantly try to change or adapt themselves to an image that is arguably unrealistic and further self-esteem issues that so many are fighting.
Punk music and the Riot Grrl movement gave the way to truly transform the Punk Rock genre into a musical movement and space where women could express themselves that had been the way men had done so since the beginning of the genre itself. Bands were able to use the genre to talk about the issues such as patriarchy, classim, sexuality and even racism and further promote female empowerment. Riot Grrl produced lyrics that demonstrated very strong feelings about the issues and can be described as protest music, rightfully so.
Some artists today that I feel like relate to the readings and topics we have discussed are Lizzo and Janelle Monae/Erykah Badu. The song Q.U.E.E.N. by Janella Monae and Erykah Badu is part of an album which focuses on the empowerment of women and the overall need for women to control their own images, this song specifically also encompasses the different identities in which being a woman can really be. The title is an acronym for Queer, Untouchables, Emigrants, Excommunicated, and Negroid. Lizzo has done multiple songs and music videos that promote women empowerment and truly being comfortable and proud in the skin that we are in rather than trying to conform to the societal norms of what is considered beautiful; the song that I feel is a good example of that is Truth Hurts!
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