I am posting up a thesis called, “Women In Resistance Through The Means Of Music”. This will be posted in the next 5 entries of this blog because it is too long to post in one entry. I have been waiting for this thesis for a couple of months now. It was originally intended for my “Grrrlvox” E-zine on blogspot, which no longer exists because I deleted it. Jamie Alvis sent me an email a couple of months ago, saying that he was writing a thesis that he thought I might be interested in reading and maybe using on the “Grrrlvox” E-Zine, instead, I am posting it here. If you like this thesis, Let Jamie know, I think he deserves compliments on this thesis. I hope he got a good grade on this thesis too. Jamie lives in the UK and you can get in touch with him through his facebook profile, which is linked above.

WOMEN IN RESISTANCE THROUGH THE
MEANS OF MUSIC

BY JAMIE ALVIS 2008

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Mum and Dad for their continuous
support over the past five years of my education – you shall have more money now!

I would also like to thank my girlfriend Laura and her family for their support. Also a
huge thanks to my dissertation supervisor Helen Kennedy who has been significant to
this project. Without any belief and encouragement, I would not stand ‘proud’ like I
am today obtaining what I have worked so hard for the past five and a half years…

Thank you all for this – but, there is much more work to be done…

Jamie Alvis

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II – PUNK AND WOMEN

CHAPTER III – THE RIOT GRRRLS

CHAPTER IV – THE LEGACY

CHAPTER V – CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In this dissertation I will be researching and analysing a range of female musicians
with a particular focus on studying the ways In which their music and their
performance can be read as a form of ‘resistance’ to patriarchal norms. Drawing on
women in resistance through the means of music. I shall discuss this from the period
of 1975 and how this time was significant for future women to aspire to. I shall
specifically draw on theories of aesthetics, analyses of media, representations,
feminist critical literature, analysis of specific lyrics and will be paying attention to
issues of identity.

I have collected various research to work with, which include online questionnaires,
interviewing a lecturer and many various media such as journals, newspaper articles
and film, not to mention various influential writers relevant to cultural studies such as
Hebdige, Laing and Butler. I have also used images within this dissertation as it
visually explains a little more of arguments that I have raised. What I aim to do in this
dissertation is to provide two important times for women in music, being Punk of
1976 and then looking at Riot Grrrl of 1991 and then finally by looking into where
women stand in 2008 in terms of resistance. Initially I shall briefly draw up on Punks
inspiration. Most importantly this dissertation intersects the potentials of cultural and
social change through music that has been widely discussed in cultural studies.