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Nineties vibes are at a fever pitch in 2019 and women\u2019s rights are still at stake, though the ripple effect of the original Riot Grrrl movement continues. For feminists who\u2019ve repeatedly seen women demeaned without consequence during the Trump era, the passion of punk is vital. Luckily, Bikini Kill is back to arm another generation for Revolution Girl Style Now. It might be a coincidence that Bikini Kill formed \u2014 and reformed \u2014 within a few months of the congressional testimonies of Anita Hill and Dr. Christine Blasey-Ford. But the band\u2019s second iteration isn\u2019t a feel-good nostalgia trip \u2014 it\u2019s a call to action by a band of punk superheroes fighting misogyny.<\/p>\n
Old school riot grrrls gasped in excitement in January at the news that Bikini Kill would reform to play a few dates in London, LA and Brooklyn, with a headlining Sunday spot at Riot Fest Chicago in mid-September. I was transported back to a day nearly 20 years ago, when my mom interrogated me about my Kill Rock Stars mail order catalog – I eventually bought The C.D. Version of the First Two Records<\/em> from the label, but opted to have it shipped to the house of friend with chiller parents. He listened to that Bikini Kill record and told my crew of skateboarding stoner friends that it sucked. So, until I met like minds in college, I kept the band’s music to myself. Info on Bikini Kill was not abundant on a farm in the central Midwest – it was just me and the CD. But there was a lot to that CD – from Kathleen Hanna telling white boys to “just die” to the validation of singing “I’m so sorry that I’m alienating some of you\/Your whole fucking culture alienates me” right along with her. It was basically my gloriously rebellious introduction to ’90s-era radical feminism.<\/p>\n In 2019, I just had to travel 2.5 hours south to Chicago to experience the show \u2014 and attend to a sizeable outdoor music festival, which I hadn’t felt the energy to do in about five years. Bikini Kill was the only band that’s ever given me reason to make it to Riot Fest, despite one of my best friends attending without fail every year. But this year, I couldn’t miss it.<\/p>\n I was immediately glad I’d made the trek; the effects of Bikini Kill\u2019s first incarnation were on full display just inside the gates, where a group called OurMusicMyBody handed out buttons to raise awareness about sexual harassment in the music scene and promote \u201cfun and consensual music experiences for all.\u201d The booth bore a handmade sign parodying Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s C.R.E.A.M. that read \u201cConsent Rules Everything Around Me\u201d (the remaining members of the legendary NYC rap collective had headlined Riot Fest the night before). Vendors hawked T-shirts with feminist slogans, which would have been taboo 25 years ago. Bikini Kill helped normalize this resistance. In a crowd full of women wearing whatever they fucking wanted, the joy in freedom was palpable.<\/p>\n Mere hours earlier, Against Me! And Patti Smith had performed (separately) as a new generation of riot grrrls moshed and screamed along to anthems that spit in the face of the patriarchy. The original members of Bikini Kill, with guitarist Erica Dawn Lyle standing in for guitarist Billy Karren, took the stage with the gusto of a group that had never left it. Style icon Hanna donned a holographic silver dress, hot pink tights and her trademark high ponytail and side-swept bangs. As the band rolled through their quick and dirty anthems, drummer Toby Vail took a turn at the mic in a short, tight dress.<\/p>\n The monumental set included songs that were revolutionary at the time, though their subject matter might seem commonplace today – songs about normalizing women\u2019s pleasure (\u201cI Like Fucking,\u201d \u201cNew Radio,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t Need You\u201d) and critiquing slut shaming, decades before it was a widely known concept (\u201cRebel Girl\u201d). Bikini Kill also rolled through \u201cJigsaw Youth\u201d and \u201cResist Psychic Death,\u201d which encourage listeners to thwart the status quo and live authentically – very apropos in late capitalism.<\/p>\n