'There is no HR in punk rock': Kathleen Hanna on the sexism she encountered during the riot grrrl movement
The musician shares what it was like to be in a female punk band in the ‘90s
Kathleen Hanna may be synonymous with the riot grrrl movement of the '90s, but the punk rock feminist icon didn't often feel that way when she toured with her band, Bikini Kill.
The band often experienced the sexism and sexual harassment they described in their own songs. In Hanna's new memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk, she details how venues refused to get Bikini Kill a real sound guy and that men would call her a "diva" for asking for a bottle of water.
"Now, I know that's not normal, but back then I was like, 'Well, this is the price of being female in this business,'" Hanna tells Tom Power in a Q interview. "There is no HR in punk rock."
Hanna was surprised by how hard it was to write about the constant disrespect that she and Bikini Kill received from the music industry in the '90s. She was more prepared for the "awful" feelings that would come with the other traumas she chronicles, including an abusive homelife and sexual assault.
Hanna also remembers how physically scary it was to be in the band. At one point, she didn't want to tour anymore because she was terrified that a man in the audience would pull out a gun in the middle of the show.
Even during their recent reunion tour, Hanna's band paid to have extra security and metal detectors at shows to protect the band members from stalkers and violence.
"When you're backstage and you're like, 'Which outfit would look best with a bullet hole in it?'" she says. "You should probably consider changing the way you do things."
But Hanna believes that the danger and fear made the band's performances "so powerful" because they were living through the scary realities of being a woman while singing about it.
"My job is to … create this hour-and-a-half performance that hopefully inspires people to do the things that they want to do in their lives," she says. "My job is to be a bridge to someone's own self."
Though it was tough to write, Rebel Girl helped Hanna work through her past traumas. She would write, stop, go to therapy and come back to it. There are several instances of abuse that she wouldn't write about in the book. She's currently undergoing trauma therapy to help her work through everything.
But Hanna says that one of the best parts of writing the memoir is that it gave her the freedom to move forward.
"I don't have to talk about riot grrrl for the rest of my life," Hanna says. "I can say, 'Check out page 86.' I said the stuff I have to say and move on."
The full interview with Kathleen Hanna is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Kathleen Hanna produced by Kaitlyn Swan.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
