GIRLPOOL - “ Chinatown”
What do the bands Prostitutes, Women, Slaves, and Girl Band all have in common? Pretty much only one (very important) thing: they all are made up of white men. I guess one other thing: They have all have caused quite a hubbub, offending many people - including me. I think the ‘Slaves’ one is pretty obvious (or hopefully its obvious) why that would be offensive, but the others? Can you appropriate the female gender? Unlike band names that are clearly intended for their shock value - such as Gay Witch Abortion or Holy Fuck or Cerebral Ballzy - names like Women and Girl Band are problematic without necessarily intending offense. And when asked about this controversy, often times all that is said is nothing but defensive and unapologetic. “I think if you met us as people you’d understand where it’s coming from. It isn’t a super ironic thing plus we are probably the least macho people, ever.” -Daniel Fox of Girl Band
From <http://noisey.vice.com/blog/girl-band-premiere-interview-2015>
(“I’m a feminist, I am actually soooo not-manly”) Barf. “We just liked the word. We weren’t trying to provoke. […]Obviously, lots of words have two meanings—if you said ‘I feel like a slave at work’ or ‘I’m a slave to the routine,’ that’s not being disrespectful to the slave trade.” - Laurie Vincent of Slaves From <http://www.thefader.com/2015/03/26/why-would-a-band-of-white-dudesname-themselves-slaves>
Gross, dude. I was pleased to find in the same article on Fader, an interview by one of my favorite ladies in punk - Meredith Graves, who is the frontwoman in the band Perfect Pussy - a band name BTW that gets censored on the radio. I gave a silent ‘hell yeah girl’ after reading her comment,
“We’ve seen white men in a band called Slaves, we’ve seen all-male bands called Girl Band,” she says. “We see people doing garbage human shit every day, and I feel like they get less shit for it than I do for having the word ‘pussy’ in my band name.” Yes. So why am I offended by a bunch of white cis-dudes calling themselves’Girl Band?’ The biggest reason is because 1) The people using the name is in a position of high privilege (white males) and 2) they are co-opting a phrase that references a group of folks more marginalized then them, and 3) I could even go as far as thinking it appropriates femme culture. A second reason for being bothered by the name is also really simple. Women don’t get nearly as much recognition as men in the music industry (or other parts of life for that matter) as it is. The last thing we need is a group of dudes calling themselves Girl Band. As a woman, I try really hard to sift through the sandbox of archived music to try and find talented ladies making some tunes I can rock out/groove to. It bums me out when I stumbled upon a band called Girl Band, click on it, only to find it is five white cis-dudes, just like every other artist that Spotify recommended for me. Hmmph. I get it. Band names can be fun. Picking a band name is fun. Finding two words that sound pleasing together is actually incredibly rewarding when you find one you like (i.e. Knuckle Puck, Cheat Codes, Gun Outifit). But that’s all it is. Silly/ Fun. AKA not that important and nothing to get attached to. Find a new one. If a group of folks are stepping up and saying that your band name, that you chose because you liked the way it sounded, is offending them, just fucking change it. A local band here in Minneapolis comes to mind, regarding name changes. Formerly known as White Boyfriend, the band had received some criticism and offense to the name. And after briefly discussing, they just changed it (to B.Y.O.F.). They didn’t get defensive, there was no drama, no hurt feelings (from my understanding) and it all really seemed quite civil and easy. They even changed their name right as they were finally starting to get some recognition in the local music scene. I thought that was extra impression and super un-selfish. ~ Of course I can’t know for sure what a bands intent is. Maybe they think ‘Girl Band’ sounds COOL ‘cause feminism is COOL now. Maybe they are just ignorant privileged white men. I do believe that more than likely, they probably didn’t mean to upset anyone. But as a woman, I have every right to feel as though my gender is being co-opted, and I have every right to be upset when I think about all of the real “girl bands” out there how they aren’t getting as much buzz or college radio plays or fuckin’ write-ups on Pitchfork.
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1. Las Hijas de Violencia (The Daughter’s of Violence) This group of three young women living in Mexico City are using punk music as a response to sexism and street harassment. Whenever they experience street harassment/catcallers they react to the men by shooting them with guns that spray confetti and screaming their song “Sexista Punk” in their faces - right in public. 2. Destiny’s Child Music in the 90s brought us many great things - my favorite being the idea of Girlpower and loving your sisters. It was a very subtle message for feminism, but had a huge impact due to its mainstream audience. We had bands like TLC, Salt N’ Pepa, and of course Destiny’s Child. Their song ‘Independent Woman Part 1’ features lyrics like, “Try to control me boy you get dismissed / Pay my own fun, oh and I pay my own bills / Always 50/50 in relationships.” 3. Miley Cyrus Speaking of mainstream pop, today we have the popstar Miley Cyrus using her platform in the music industry to express her feminism and sexuality. In her new album Dead Petz, she sings pretty explicitly about lesbian sex in the song Bang Box: “I want you to bang my box, you say it tastes like cake with my lips against your face, I want you to eat it baby.” Through her lyrics and her stage performances, Cyrus’ feminism is a wild, hypersexual, ‘I-don’t-give-a-fuck’. 4. Beyonce’s Superbowl Performance Superstar/singer/dancer/actress/wonder-woman, Beyonce, does not shy from calling herself a feminist. Since her days with Destiny’s child she has been singing about empowering girls and women, but recently she has brought other layers of her intersectional feminist identity into the picture. Her new song “Formation,” along with her 2016 superbowl performance, shouts her blackness, and about the injustices still prevalent today for black folks. I could write a whole essay on it, so if you haven’t seen it yet go Google it RIGHT NOW. Maybe watch it twice (a day). 5. G.L.O.S.S. Stands for Girls Living Outside Society’s Shit and is a queer hardcore band from Olympia, Washington. Frontwoman Sadie is a transwoman using her music to stand up to the misogyny and homophobia in the punk/hardcore scene. The bands music is super raw and real, featuring emotionally charged lyrics like, “THEY TOLD US WE WERE GIRLS / SO WE CLAIMED OUR FEMALE LIVES. NOW THEY TELL US WE AREN’T GIRLS / OUR FEMININITY DOESN’T FIT.” 6. Riot Grrrl Punk and art movement starting in the early 90s by women/trans/femme folks in Washington and the Pacific NW. The group started with zines and meetings and evolved into a movement full of politically-charged punk bands fed up with issues such as domestic abuse, the patriarchy, misogyny in the music scene, and rape.