Girls band together.
PowerMedia
WinWin media columnist Athena Bellas is finding us the right inspiration to grab your friends, make some noise, and make CHANGE!
Share this story:
Watch this:
The Punk Singer (2013)
Most of us know the term ‘girl power,’ but many don’t know that it was created by an underground punk rock collective. Years before being co-opted by the mainstream, these punk rockers were using it to describe a feminist ethos of ‘revolution, girl-style, now!’ Calling themselves ‘riot grrrls’ conveyed that girls don’t have to be quiet rule-followers. At the centre of this movement was Kathleen Hanna (pictured above), lead singer of the band Bikini Kill which formed in 1990 when she was twenty-two years old.
Riot grrrls could band together to be loud, angry change-makers.
The Punk Singer (Sini Anderson, 2013) is a documentary that follows Hanna’s creative life as a writer, singer and activist. Weaving together footage of early performances, interviews with Hanna and other musicians, and explorations of what feminism means today, the film provides access to an energetic and inspiring girl culture.
Throughout the film, Hanna offers insight into and practical ideas about creating art in your bedroom with rudimentary materials, and using your voice authentically.
Cover photos: Brad Sigal 1991
CW: The Punk Singer is rated UK15; mentions rape and incest; contains coarse language.
🎥
Find The Punk Singer on YouTube.
Listen to this:
Staring at the Starry Ceiling
by Charm of Finches, 2016
Teen sisters Mabel and Ivy are Melbourne folk band Charm of Finches. One of the most inspiring things about them is that they write and play all their own songs, meaning they have full creative control to make art about what matters to them.
🎧
Find Charm of Finches on Spotify and iTunes.
And watch this:
Good Girls Revolt
Good Girls Revolt (Amazon 2015-2016) is a female-created series following a group of young women who band together to demand equal treatment in their workplace in the 1960s.
Good Girls Revolt takes place in New York, when a cultural revolution was sweeping the world.
Even though it’s a period piece, many of the issues raised, including the fight for equality and women having their voices heard, are still relevant for us today.
📺
Find Good Girls Revolt on Amazon.
Power reads.
Natalie Brown recommends three books full of lessons you’ll want to share with your mothers, sisters and friends – but also hold close to your own heart. Within their pages lie words that are empowering, honest, thought-provoking – and maybe even a little bit magical.
Notes to my future daughter
by Catie Gett,
Naturopath and owner of The Staple Store.
Without giving too much away…
This book is full of powerful, compelling and honest letters that while addressed to your future daughter, are just as important (if not more) for you to read.
Why I loved it:
I want to wallpaper my entire home with Gett’s lessons and bits of knowledge that will stay with me for life – lessons that are never too early (or late) to learn.
My favourite line:
“If someone says it’s ‘because you’re a girl,’ don’t listen. Gender is a social construct that you do not need to subscribe to. Wear what you want, be as sexual as you want, be as strong as you want, dream as big as you want, ask for the same pay or more if you want. Glass ceilings won’t break if you just look through them.”
The rules do not apply
by Ariel Levy,
Journalist at The New Yorker.
Without giving too much away…
The novel picks up from a 2013 essay Levy wrote for The New Yorker called ‘Thanksgiving in Mongolia’ and raises the age-old question about whether women can ‘have it all.’
Why I loved it:
I read it in one sitting. Partly because Levy is a journo – there were so many aspects I found relatable and aspirational. It’s stuck with me because it’s very human: heartbreaking and poetic; haunting and very, very honest.
My favourite line:
“Until recently, I lived in a world where lost things could always be replaced. But it has been made overwhelmingly clear to me now that anything you think is yours by right can vanish, and what you can do about that is nothing at all.”
Tiny beautiful things
By Cheryl Strayed,
Author and prior “agony aunt” on The Rumpus.
Without giving too much away…
It’s a compilation of the best ‘Dear Sugar’ (as well as some unpublished) columns from The Rumpus. Brimming with compassion, wisdom and lessons you’ll want to imprint on your brain forever.
Why I loved it:
Not only is Strayed’s writing addictively, breathtakingly great, this is the kind of book you can dip in and out of quite easily, and gain a little magic each time you do. Not only should this book be taught in schools, but passages should be put on little slips of paper and dropped from airplanes, for all to read!
My favourite line:
“What’s important is that you take the leap. Jump high and hard with intention and heart. Pay no mind to the vision that the commission made up. It’s up to you to make your life. Take what you have and stack it up like a tower of teetering blocks. Build your dream around that.”