Feminist Music Geek

Truth be told, my musical tastes and my penchant for feminism both developed early on, and didn’t have much to do with one another. I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that supported women’s rights. I was taught that I lived in a world where sexism existed, but that ladies could still do anything they wanted. As time went on, I realized that this was called “feminism” and that it was pretty cool.

I believe the first record I listened to that coincided with my realization that feminism was a real thing was Ani DiFranco’s Not a Pretty Girl. I was ten when the record came out, but it wasn’t until my thirteenth birthday, when my older sister put “32 Flavors” on a mix entitled “Songs to Get You Through Being a Teenager,” that I heard any songs from it. I listened to this track over and over and over (and over) again. When I would crave more Ani, I would sneak into her room and steal her CD. It was a window into the outside where someone besides my relatives were talking about what it was like to be a lady in that day and age.

It wasn’t until college that I had my second feminist musical awakening when I heard “Deceptacon” off of Le Tigre’s self-titled album. I had recently joined a very rad feminist organization with very rad feminist ladies, many of whom were—dare I state the obvious?—music geeks. Fun, dancey, in-yr-face feminism. I danced to that song countless times, either by myself or in (small or large) groups of people. I think I’m going to go dance to it right now, actually.

The cover of Le Tigre's self-titled debut, released on Mr. Lady in 1999

But you know what records also affirmed my belief in feminism? All those nu metal and rap/rapcore bands from the late ’90s/early ’00s that were always on TRL. It made me a very angry fourteen year old. Actually, it makes me a very angry twenty-four year old. I think I need to listen to “Deceptacon” again.

Liz did not own Korn's "Follow the Leader" released on Epic in 1998

Honorable mention would go to Sarah McLachlan’s Surfacing (though her songs were more personal than political), Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville (though I was already identifying as a feminist when I first heard this album), the entire discography of Bikini Kill (though that was later in my life, too, because I considered that more my sister’s band, where Le Tigre was mine), and anything Prince did from 1984 to 1987 (because it connected with one aspect of feminism—sex is a good thing and it’s ok for women to desire and be desired).

The moral of the story: ladies rock, and listening to ladies rocking out is a good way to remind yourself of this fact.