Front woman Kathleen Hannah became known for flashing the audience at shows, pointing out her cellulite and having the word “Bitch” written on her arms in permanent marker.

There is a certain level of integrity as well as honesty lacking in the contemporary music scene. When it comes to women in rock, record labels have once again turned females into objects of desire devoid of the smallest residue of feminist thought or individualism.

It would appear that the corporate executives of record labels and MTV would be all too happy if women returned to the kitchen to cook and clean while wearing a minimal amount of clothing.

Or if we have to give them a microphone, then only allow them to sing about life’s trivialities.

This has not always been the case. In the early 1990s, a music trend under the moniker of rrriot girl was a way of spitting in defiance not only to corporate rock, but to all those that had preconceived notions of what a woman’s place in the world was.

The band that made the largest impression in the rrriot girl movement was a quartet from Olympia, Wash., named Bikini Kill. Their release on Kill Rock Stars Records titled “The C.D. Release of Our First Two Records” became the essential punk rock record written by the girls, for the girls.

Their music arguably spawned the rrriot girl movement, though the group never openly embraced the label. The songs themselves are sincere cries from women with minimal musical skill, but laced in ambition and determination that shines through with integrity.

With lyrical topics ranging from sexual abuse to female alienation in a male-oriented and male-dominated music scene, Bikini Kill made a huge statement musically in a relatively short period of time.

Front woman Kathleen Hannah became known for flashing the audience at shows, pointing out her cellulite and having the word “Bitch” written on her arms in permanent marker. Bikini Kill’s recording debut represents the feminist punk rock movement at its finest, and has had a deep impact on many female-oriented indie and punk rock groups since then (e.g. Sleater-Kinney, The Gossip, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

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