Abstract
In the 1990s, Riot Grrrl took the punk and feminist worlds by storm. It emphasized community and represented third-wave feminism in radical form. One particular example that represents the Riot Grrrl ideology well is ugliness. Throughout the movement, artists like Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna used their musical platform to show the world their view of femininity. This involved body writing and reclaiming words used to degrade women, as well as dressing up in controversial outfits dubbed as “kinderwhore.” The aims of these women in using ugliness in their music were to subvert sexism in the punk scene and bring women’s experiences to light. This paper analyzes the ugliness movement within Riot Grrrl, what its purpose was, and different tactics used within it. Additionally, it looks at modern music by female artists to see how ugliness as a concept is still being utilized today as women continue to fight against the discrimination they face in the music industry.
Recommended Citation
Rollins, Maylee. "The Ugliness Movement: Riot Grrrl's Use of Ugliness as Feminist Subversion." The Purdue Historian 11, 1 (2023). https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/puhistorian/vol11/iss1/7