User:Hheasley/sandbox

Sexualization of Women in Punk and Criticism of Musical Capabilities
Many women in punk rock have used their music as a platform for feminist ideologies. Many have used their lyrics and music to oppose sexualization of female musicians and societal policing of women's bodies and sexual agency. As early as the 1960s, women in rock were being sexualized and their capabilities undermined. Groups like The Ronettes were often victims of the press' emphasis on their bodies, rather than their music. They also faced people undermining their talent and instead crediting male producers more for their music. This sexualization, gender-based criticism, and undermining of capabilities is something women in punk rock face as well. Famed punk musician Patti Smith was also someone who face great criticism for her presence as a woman in punk music. In 1976, following the release of her album Horses, PUNK magazine ran a graffiti contest for their audience encouraging parodies of the album cover. One of the most popular ones being a parody in which Patti's head was taped on the body of a large-chested, naked woman, with the caption "Paty Queen of the Undie Ground". Being in such a male-dominated industry comes with challenges for women, especially in a genre like punk, which has dirty, gritty, raw elements that are the antithesis of conventional expectations of women and their behavior. Defying these expectations has historically caused some real pushback, particularly from male consumers/audiences.

Feminist themes: Sexual liberation, condemnation of sexual assault, and challenging the patriarchy
Many riot grrrl bands utilized their music and lyrics to rally women together in support and defense of one another. Their lyrics called for women to give a collective "f*ck you" to the patriarchy and all of its ugly ramifications, such as mansplaining which is critiqued in "Watchmaker" by Excuse 17. Another element that is often challenged is rape culture. In 7 Year Bitch's song "Dead Men Don't Rape", furious disapprovals of the sexual assault of women are screamed. Bikini Kill also often called for revolution and women bonding together in pursuit of taking down the patriarchy. Many songs also were expressions of sexual liberation for women, including queer women as well. A good example of this is Gossip's "Where the Girls Are", with lyrics like "Come on home with me tonight/Let me love you all night long." A quintessential, highly popular song that displays the strong themes of sisterhood in the riot grrrl movement is Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl", which holds lyrics of fierce love, devotion, and respect for the writer's best girl friend. Conventional expectations of women are also frequently challenged in the riot grrrl movement. For example, in The Slits' "Typical Girl", stereotypes of women being too emotional are poked fun at and sarcastically addressed. The song highlights the impossible and sometimes contradictory expectations placed on women and the harmful stereotypes that frame the way women are perceived and treated, the stereotypes and expectations that heavily weigh on women.

Queer acceptance and activism in riot grrrl and other women-led punk music; queer presence in punk
Frontwoman of Gossip, Beth Ditto, was also a self-proclaimed "fat, feminist lesbian". Riot grrrl punk artists and their predecessors not only fought for women, but for the LGBTQIA+ community as well. Not all punk scenes are accepting of queer presence, but many riot grrrl and similar bands had openly non-heteronormative lyrics and stood for LGBTQIA+ acceptance and protection. Queer individuals are very present in the punk scene, possibly because of the solidarity brought about by feeling like outcasts, living on the fringes of society. Punks and the punk lifestyle are often outside of the realm of normative culture, and the same can be said for queer individuals. The discomfort in this outcast identity brings feelings of solidarity for people in punk scenes, queer and otherwise. Punk, as non-normative as it has traditionally been, is a safe haven for many unaccepted individuals, including queer people.

Fear of violence for women and queer people in the broader punk scene
While punk does provide some relief from family pressure and societal judgment for queer people, there is a fear of cisgender, heterosexual male-perpetrated violence that both women and queer people feel in the punk scene. Being marginalized individuals in the cisgender, heterosexual male dominated world that is punk music, even just existing and taking up space in those scenes can be daunting. Women and queer individuals simply existing in these scenes is threatening to the patriarchy, so the resistance is often felt from those who benefit from the patriarchy. However, both women and queers continue to fight for a place in these scenes and look for those opportunities for unity and solidarity amongst their peers in the scene. Many seek like-minded, accepting individuals in the scene and organize to create safe spaces in punk and zines in support of feminist ideas and queer acceptance.

Annotated Bibliography

'''Daugherty, R. (2002). The spirit of '77: Punk and the girl revolution. Women & Music - A Journal of Gender and Culture, 6, 27FF-27FF.'''

This article starts with talking about the origins of women in popular rock music. It mentions The Ronettes and many other female artists that were sexualised and talked about more for their bodies than their music. Producers also often got credit more so than singers in this time. Women and their talent were often devalued and downplayed. This is a theme that carried over into the punk scene. I was unable to access this article when I most recently tried. I was able to access it previously, but not this time, so I am wondering if there was a server issue or something, but I will have to figure that out. From what I remember, this article had a lot of great history on female punk musicians and what many of them stood for (feminism, female representation in punk, etc). I remember it also talked about the unique challenges they faced, in terms of their credibility as musicians being challenged on the sole basis of their gender. I think this article is important because it gives a little bit of history about all-girl bands and music acts before the days of punk. It gives a bit of background as to how female rock musicians before punk artists were treated and how that carried over to punk. I think this history is important to add to the Wikipedia page.

'''Mcdonnell, E., & Vincentelli, E. (2019, ). Feminism + punk: Arts and leisure desk. New York Times'''

This source has a lot of riot grrrl adjacent bands that also focused on feminist ideologies. In the songs and artists provided here, there are many that call for revolution. Some challenge things like mansplaining. They also explore female friendship and solidarity, some of that arising from sexual liberation and banding together in defense of one another. Some of these lyrics are simple expressions of power over men, but lyrics like these did a lot to help many women get excited about revolution and rebelling against the patriarchy. Some of the simplistic nature of these songs is also a big fuck you to a lot of the men in the scene that thought that women in the scene were not technically capable with their instruments. Stripped back, simplistic music was embraced and raw vocals and lyrics were celebrated for their raw expression. For me, these lyrics are really important because in them lies a lot of what these female punks were fighting for and passionate about. It is important for me to talk about the revolution they were calling for in my contributions to the Wikipedia article.

'''Nguyen, M. T. (2012). Making waves: Other punk feminisms. Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory, 22(2-3), 355-359. doi:10.1080/0740770X.2012.720895'''

This article talks a lot about the influence that punk has had on the feminist movement. Riot grrrl punk bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and many others did a lot to represent feminist beliefs in their lyrics and their behavior. With lyrics promoting sexual liberation and autonomy and challenging conventional expectations of women, these artists fought hard to take up the space that they did and exercise the voices that they have. There are many specific songs in this article that I plan to use for examples of lyrics and ideas that tie into the feminist movement. Punk being such a male-dominated scene called for a revolution for these artists and they demanded that they be respected, both as women and as artists in the scene. I think they are also very important because they have helped a lot of women feel more comfortable with themselves and feel okay without the pressures of acting in a way that is “appropriately feminine”. A lot of these songs also call for challenging heteronormative expectations and pressures.

'''Sharp, M., & Nilan, P. (2017). Floorgasm: Queer(s), solidarity and resilience in punk. Emotion, Space and Society, 25, 71-78. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2017.06.005'''

This article is about queer people in the punk subculture. Because punk culture is generally pretty oppositional to conventional societal norms and expectations, queers may find a safe haven in these scenes. Because, although punk has been heterosexual, cismale dominated for a long time, there is camaraderie and community to be found for queers in the punk scene. Punk artists unabashed rejection of social norms and expression of their true selves is also quite appealing for young queer people who are trying to accept themselves in the face of opposition from family, societal standards, authority figures, etc. Another aspect of this article is fear of violence in the punk scene from women and queer people. Both of these marginalised groups do often worry about violence from heterosexual, cismales. I want to talk about the connection between this fear in women and in queer people on my Wikipedia page, because I think it is a great representation that punk is cis, male-dominated and sometimes these men can become very threatened. Punk does not always feel like a place for everyone because of both gender roles and heteronormative expectations. For me, this is an important connection to make.

'''Kvaran, K. M. (2011). Gendered underground: Men, women, and american punk rock,1965–1995 (Order No. 3481060). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (904668408). Retrieved from https://manowar.tamucc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/904668408?accountid=7084 '''