Reformulating the Riot Grrrl movement: Space and sisterhood in Kathleen Hanna’s lyrics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25145/j.clepsydra.2021.20.05Keywords:
Riot Grrrl, lyrics, space, sisterhood, Kathleen HannaAbstract
Music has become a crucial domain to discuss issues such as gender, identities and equality. With this study I aim at carrying out a feminist critical discourse analysis of the lyrics by American singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna (1968-), a pioneer within the underground punk culture and head figure of the Riot Grrrl movement. Covering relevant issues related to women’s conditions, Hanna’s lyrics put gender issues at the forefront and become a significant means to claim feminism in the underground. In this study I pay attention to the instances in which Hanna’s lyrics in Bikini Kill and Le Tigre exhibit a reading of sisterhood and space and by doing so, I will discuss women’s invisibility in underground music and broaden the social and cultural understanding of this music.
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