"Reclaim Your Life": Activism and Identity in riot grrrl and Queercore

Abstract

Riot grrrl and queercore are two women-led cultural movements in the 1990s American indie music scene that utilized the structure of punk culture to create community activist spaces. These movements came together over shared radical identities: riot grrrl over feminist identity and values, and queercore over queer identity. Riot grrrl influenced the history of the larger scope of the feminist movement by addressing topics like sexual assault and domestic violence openly. Queercore diverged from the LGBTQ+ Rights movement due to the inherent sexualization and queer radical identity, at a time when many in the movement were focused on heteronormative familial rights and access to healthcare for those with HIV/AIDS. By utilizing sources like documentaries, zines, interviews, and secondary literature on riot grrrl and queercore, this thesis aims to look at how collective radical identity was mobilized into action. The analysis of the riot grrrl and queercore scenes shows how the work of key members of the movements has influenced current music-based activism and has left a lasting legacy of mobilizing teens and young adults into activist movements. The study seeks to establish a more comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of riot grrrl and queercore as activist movements that utilized music.