"Revolution, Grrrl-Style, Now!"

Abstract

In this article I examine the feminist so called Riot Grrrl movement from the perspective of theatricality or, more specifically, what can be refered to as theatrical resistance in todays popular culture. Being an offshoot from the punk movement, Riot Grrrl highly revolves around visual markers or style, used both as a means to express individuality and as a significant tool within a wider political strategy. Characteristic of this style ⁠— and the same goes for its analogous rhetoric (for example the language typical of the so called zines, or selfmade magazines, which play an important part in the movement) ⁠— is a spectacular fusion of opposites, leading to what can be seen as "strategic indetermination". In my article I take a deeper look at some instances of this, subversive and theatrical, strategy within the Riot Grrrl movement, and with special consideration of its feminist implications.