It’s hard to think now there was a time where women were thrown to the side and men were the only ones thought capable of writing and composing good music. However, Riot Grrrl, the underground feminist punk movement, which started in the early 1990s, was the political voice of music. It wasn’t pretty, the subculture movement addressed issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality and patriarchy.

Riot Grrrls musical mainstays Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy and Huggy Bear, their existence-changed music for a generation of music-obsessed girls. Showing young women that they could listen to whatever they want and they could be whoever they wanted to be.  Though the movement only lasted for a short time, it did evolve and girl bands of today, like Savages, have carried the torch for the Riot Grrrl ideology. I think as women and in an era of open-minded individuals, we need to acknowledge the huge difference these women made to the music industry. On a daily basis these women were called “dykes”, “bitches” and “man haters” for picking up a guitar and standing up for equality in society. This seems quite ridiculous now but there’s no hiding from the fact that we once lived in a world where misogyny wasn’t just something that you’d read about on social media and men dominated the music industry.

In 2009, Sharon Cheslow, who formed Chalk Circle, one of the first all-girl punk bands said to The Guardian: "I thought about what it meant to be a female in the public gaze, performing on a stage. I thought about how our lyrics reflected our experiences as women, because up until punk and post-punk, most rock lyrics represented a male-mediated experience. And I thought about what it meant for me to be playing electric guitar, which was seen at that time as a male instrument."

By 1994 things started to dissolve which was mainly due to the focus on the grunge scene with the wake of Nirvana. However, though the movement was short lived and most of the bands split shortly after, the movement shouldn’t be painted as a fashion craze but a musical revolution that changed the way people view and now speak about women in the music industry. For those, like myself, who were too young to witness the early days of the movement, Riot Grrrl’s influence, even though it may be small, was a catalyst and I am grateful to the kick-ass women that picked up their electric guitars to show the world how great women really are.  

We are now living in a time where women are shown the same respect for their musical talent. As a woman in the music industry I can be confident that I will not be seen any less than my male colleges. The bands of the Riot Grrrl movement did change the way that society receives women in the music industry and I personally commend them for what they did for the equal rights of women.

By Emily Bedward