This is Part 4 out of Part 5 of “Women In Resistance Through The Means Of Music” thesis written by Jamie Alvis.

CHAPTER IV

THE LEGACY

 

In this final chapter I would like to discuss what remains here in 2008 in terms of
female resistance through the means of music. In this final chapter I would like to
discuss the issue of whether we can find evidence of what I have described as ‘female
resistance’ in the contemporary music scene. I have broadly elaborated in the
previous chapters, two of history’s major movements that were made by women and
for women. The Punk movement being some what of a foundation for women to
begin to resistance in music and certainly how the influential Patti Smith inspired
women to do so. I have also examined the way in which the Riot Grrrls were a much
more overtly political force in terms of a feminism perspective. So essentially this
final chapter will discuss how these two movements have opened up a door for
women in music 2008. I shall discuss the self-professed feminist and lesbian Beth
Ditto of the Indie/Rock group The Gossip, Tarrie B of the heavy metal group My
Ruin, the Spice Girls and finally I shall briefly look at Riot Grrrl and where it is
positioned today. In looking at these figures I shall make note of aesthetics, lyrical
content as well as media intervention. I am limited here by a current absence of
critical work on these groups (although not doubt there is a wealth of ongoing
research waiting to hit the presses) and will be relying on some small scale
ethnographic work, some lyric analysis and the analysis of current journal and
newspaper articles.

THE SPICE GIRLS

I discussed in chapter one that I would include ‘Pop’ music and not predominately
‘Rock’ music as a way of being unbiased, this is why I felt it was important to also

incorporate ‘Pop’ in the final chapter, in this case the Spice Girls. In many ways the
Spice Girls are complex. They discuss the notion of ‘Girl Power’ (more so back in
1996 and their rise to fame) and use it as a force. (Note: ‘Girl Power’ was used in the
early 1990s by Riot Grrrl).

 

                                         

                                     Spice Girls (1996) promotion poster

 

The lyrical content in the song ‘Wannabe’ is quintessential ‘Pop’ as well as
conforming to dominant heteronormative ideals (as established earlier in the
comparison between the songs of Kylie Minogue and Bikini Kill). Note: I am not sure
that this song is as straightforward as that – it is also about an unthreatening version
of sisterhood – i.e. friends are as important as boyfriends etc. The objective of the
Spice Girls is complex- they aim and are seen by the public to resist the status quo
and live wild lives. Aesthetically each member of the pop group is made to appear as
sexual – each Spice Girl are also stylized specifically, which gives a potential male
audience a position to negotiate which style is sexual to them. For example Sporty
Spice may attract a person who prefers that ‘athletic’ type. “Are the Spice Girls
marketed as different flavours of sexual opportunity – versions of what a girl would
be like in bed? They certainly could, I would even say surely do, appeal to many
forms of voyeurism and desire” (Driscoll, 1999:212). This argument by Driscoll as
well as my argument becomes problematic in regard to strictly being sexually
‘available’ to the male gaze as they also offer a plurality of feminine types rather than
a singular normative model – including a lesbian group member (Scary Spice).

                

                    An example of the spice girls as ‘sexually available’ (2007)

 

The commercial side of the Spice Girls is also of interest. During December of 2007

the Spice Girls acted on a Tesco commercial, this itself supporting capitalism, the

commercial itself also portrayed the girls in a stereotypical sense of ‘women should

attend to the shopping’. The Spice Girls evidently and heavily rely on the media and

thus commercialisation in order to gain recognition in the world of music. This is

evident in their latest single entitled Headlines:

“Let’s make the headlines, loud and true
I wanna tell the world I’m giving it all to you
Let’s make the headlines, loud and clear
The best things suddenly happen when you are here
And if I lost my way you’d carry me home
Take me all the way to heaven, never leave me alone
And it’s just like everything matters when you are near”

                               

                     Still image of Posh Spice on the Tesco commercial (2007)

Drawing back from chapter two and Hebdige’s critique on social class, Driscoll

looks at a potential social class audience by comparing both Spice Girls and Bikini

Kill “the Spice Girls direct their slogans and appeals very broadly, certainly with the

intention of including ‘domestic’ or home-oriented teenagers and preteens, while

Bikini Kill has primarily a college/university or adult audience, and market
themselves with specific reference to this delimited rather than general audience”
(Driscoll, 1999: 211). What Driscoll critiques here then is ‘college/university’ being
educated people – which traditionally defines as middle class. Driscoll (1999) also
states that there is a conflict going on between the Spice Girls and Riot Grrrl “While
Riot Grrrl zines and sites decry such pop phenomena as the Spice Girls, some of the
Spice Girl fan material describes the Riot Grrrls as dull and dour, whining, self-pitying and sexless –

 

which are, interestingly enough, some of the same accusations Riot Grrrls have

levelled at ‘second wave’ feminism.” (Driscoll, 1999:209). This indicates that rather

than women challenging and resisting men in 1991, women are now resisting women.

Driscoll also states that if ‘Girl Power’ is feminist, does this imply that a feminist

minority has now become popular culture than renders it as majority? Fay Weldon, a

British feminist essayist is furious over the come back of the Spice Girls. She openly

accuses them of killing feminism and thus a very bad influence on people. In her two

paged article that was placed in the Daily Mail she states that “a generation of our

young womanhood has taken to binge drinking, Saturday night sluttishness and

‘happy-slappings’, I blame the Spice Girls. There are one or two other factors, I dare

say, such as the cult of consumerism, the decline of religion … morning-after pills

and the rest: but, if we’re going to look for scapegoats, Posh, Ginger, Sporty, Baby

and Scary are, surely obvious candidates.” (Weldon, 2007)

 

BETH DITTO

During my research findings I found that Beth Ditto of Indie/Rock band The Gossip

would be a crucial figure to discuss in relation to female resistance in contemporary

music. Ditto has the characteristics of Riot Grrrl in terms of subversion as I shall state

below. Ditto herself is a self-professed feminist and also a lesbian, as I mentioned in

the previous chapter, I shall not specifically look at lesbianism but certainly look into

her feminist interest and lyrical content as well as her potential connection with Riot

Grrrl. Respondents to my research have suggested that Ditto belongs within the Riot

Grrrl trajectory stating: “I consider myself a ‘Riot Grrrl’, but I can’t answer all the

questions, but I do believe Beth Ditto is one of the only true ‘Riot Grrrls’ in the music

industry to this date … It is also difficult for a women in the music industry not to fall

into the trap of having a good media image. We’re expected to have perfect bodies,

skin, hair, dress sense, and the papers will rip into you if there’s the slightest thing not

up to scratch. The only person I’ve seen who doesn’t care about that is Beth Ditto.”

(Online interview with member of Riot Grrrl Online, interviewed on 17.01.08).
Dittos performance is consistent with the Riot Grrrl approach; she subverts the

dominant norms of femininity in terms of her appearance and her actions. That of a

Riot Grrrl performance, she subverts what the media portrays as what a ‘woman’

should appear to look and act. There was a recent interview conducted by Microsoft

Network that asked Ditto a series of questions that are relevant to this context. The

author of the interview introduces Ditto in a positive way. “In a world used to seeing

‘perfect’ looking celebrities – where size zero is the ultimate accolade in every
celebrity hungry magazine, Beth’s laid-back attitude to her body is a refreshing

change” (Harvey, 2007)

                                                     

                       

                                    

Further into the questions, the interviewer asks “Have you ever tried to conform or
diet?” Ditto answers with “Still to this day I have to battle with ‘oh should I be on a

diet? It’s not that easy but it’s about confidence. I can’t shut off the entire world. I
feel

how I feel, but it’s not like it used to be. I challenge myself and no matter what I am

right. I’m the one who’s accepting myself and not trying to change myself. It doesn’t

mean people are f***ed up or wrong it means I’m just not going to let it work on me.

Life is too short.” (Harvey, 2007)

                                           

                                      Ditto and her perfect ‘size’ resistance

 

I find the question of “conformity” contradictory, Microsoft itself is a corporation –

capitalism’s godfather, and so isn’t this interview itself “conforming” to a norm? Like
I have stated, at this stage of writing I only find mainstream media articles on this
subject which can be misleading. The interview also suggests that Ditto is borrowing
the ‘Punk’ DIY ethic of self-made clothing. As one of the questions asks “What’s it
like being considered a style icon?” This is responded with “It’s hilarious, I have
stylists who bring in ridiculous things that don’t fit – they just don’t get it. Me and my
friends make things ourselves.” (Harvey, 2007)

                                      

             Ditto in performance at the Camden Bar Fly in London (May, 2007)

Dittos lyrics to Standing in the Way of Control are controversial and focus on positive

cultural and social change with regard to gay rights in America. As the MSN
interview questions “Can you tell us about the song ‘Standing In The Way Of
Control’?” Ditto replies with “Standing in the Way is about gay marriage and about
sticking together. There are a lot of violations of civil rights in America now…”

(Harvey, 2007)

“Standing in the way of control

You live your life

Survive the only way that you know”

TARRIE B

Although not commercial nor classed as a celebrity in terms of the media, Tarrie B

(front woman) of the American heavy metal band My Ruin is an interesting figure to

discuss in terms of women in resistance through the means of music. The band played

a show in Bristol at the beginning of February in which I asked their UK tour
manager

for a potential interview for the purpose of this dissertation, although I was refused an

interview with Tarrie B - I was advised to send her an email to conduct an online

interview (at this moment of time, she has failed to send me any form of response).

Nevertheless I studied the performance and found it very relevant to my research. The

lyrical content that contains criticism on media representations links very finely with

the work on Bikini Kill who also discussed that media notion of how women should

appear to be. For example the My Ruin song Made to Measure features the bridge

lyrics:

 

“I’m so fat…I’m fucked up
I’m so skinny…I’m sick
I’m so tired of those magazines
Talkin’ that bullshit
I’m not fat…they’re fucked up
I’m not skinny…they’re sick
I’m just tired of the critics
Talkin’ that bullshit”

It is evident here that there is a lot of anger for women in music here in 2008. The

performance of Tarrie B entails her frequently ‘gobbing’ which is itself an element of

Punk which I discussed in chapter two. The music video that accompanies this song

also encompasses a Patti Smith style, the idea of challenging gender roles. Certain

segments of the music video depicts Tarrie B dressed in a non-feminine way. As the

video progresses she gazes at us making sarcastic gestures that signify ‘Am I perfect

enough to be the front woman of a band?’ The title of the song itself is a critique upon

how adolescents and women are encouraged by the media to maintain a standard of

how they represent what a ‘perfect’ female should look like. Particularly in relation to

‘body size’.

Tarrie B anger is evident in this photo (taken from the Bristol show)

NEO RIOT GRRRLS

During my initial research of the previous chapter I found that the Riot Grrrls

continue to be active here in 2008. The symbolic bands of 1991 such as Bikini Kill

broke up in 1998. However there are a variety of MySpace profiles on the World

Wide Web such as Riot Grrrl UK, whose profile slogan states ‘Your Body is a

Battleground’ this slogan is placed on an image of a female’s face, aesthetically the

woman’s face appears to be resemblance of 1950s. I found Riot Grrrl UK particularly

interesting to look at after reading how the media intervened and disrupted a once
small community and now the result of this has made Riot Grrrl a world-wide
commodity. As a member of MySpace I immediately joined as friends with Riot
Grrrl

UK as a means of research and essentially to obtain ‘one on one’ online interviews to

learn where Riot Grrrls lie at this time and do these people follow the same principles
as in 1991? I posted a message on the profile and introduced myself as a student

researching into the movement’s theoretical side, although I only had two members

that replied to further my knowledge, I began to think that due to such bad publicity

that Riot Grrrl has had imposed on them, perhaps members were reluctant to answer

my questions in conscious fear that I am a potential critic. Although only two people
did respond, their answers were incredibly enlightening as one interviewee discussed
her personal perspective on why Riot Grrrl in the early 1990s was an important
movement. I am including a full online interview with another member of Riot Grrrl
Online as it answers and clarifies what this dissertation has been concerned with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1)Why would you say the Riot Grrrls of the early 1990s was important?

It was another way for feminists to get their message across, without taking on the
persona of a men-hating masculine looking stereotype that the media has portrayed.

2)Do you think that perhaps, the feminist approach that they presented through
their music may have excluded the masculine?

I think it has.

3)If so Isn’t the concept of ‘feminism’ about equal rights? So why the exclusion?

It is about equal rights for the liberal feminists, but for example radical feminists believed
men were biologically unfavourable, so this could be an explanation for the exclusion of
men.

4) Would you consider the Riot Grrrls as a neo-punk movement to some extent?

It has the same sort of DIY ethic borrowed from the original punk explosion so in some
aspects it is like a new punk revolution for the 90’s.

5) Do Riot Grrrls still exist today with the traditional ethics?

I think that the newer female fronted indie/electro bands are trying to recreate the riot
grrrl movement, but I don’t think that they have the same effect now.

6) Do you believe that the 1991 movement had a long-lasting impact on the
music industry?

I think it did more in America, until the Britpop came along.

7) Would you consider figures such as Beth Ditto to follow similar principles of
Riot Grrrls? After all Ditto is a self-confessed feminist and she preaches that
looks do not matter

I think they do, but as I said in question 5 I don’t think that they are as influential now as
the original riot grrls were.

 

As this questionnaire states from a personal perspective of someone who considers

herself as a Riot Grrrl, 2008 also provides a host of female fronted bands that resist

but no longer have the same effect as they once did. The women in resistance today
resist the pseudo media representations and how they portray how a woman is
supposed to appear in public. Beth Ditto and Tarrie B continue to do this through their
music and what seems to be clear with the Spice Girls come back is nothing but
conforming whilst endorsing capitalism once again. It is indeed a complex issue of
mainstream versus marginal/elite/subcultural audience within contemporary music.