The third wave of feminism happened during the 1990's to the 2000's. This wave was all about women embracing differences, personal narrative, and individualism. Their main focus was more about individualistic identity rather than political change; however there were some exceptions such as rape culture and equal pay.
Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground punk movement sparked in the 1990's in Washington State; it is often seen as the starting point of third wave feminism. It can also be known as a music genre emerged from indie rock and the punk scene helped inspire a musical movement where women could express themselves the same way men had always been doing.They addressed issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, and female empowerment. Riot grrrl quickly grew and held meetings online or in person to come up with ways to end ageism, homophobia, racism, sexism, and most of all physical and emotional abuse amongst women and girls. Some of the bands included in this movement were Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, Excuse 17, Huggy Bear, Skinned Teen, Emily’s Sassy Lime, and Sleater-Kinney. There were also queer core groups like Team Dresch and The Third Sex.
A short clip of how the Riot grrrl movement got started, a brief description of what it was, and the "leader" Kathleen Hanna sharing her thoughts on why she did certain aspects when addressing the movement.
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Bikini Kill's song "Rebel Girl" sung by lead singer Kathleen Hanna is all about supporting and empowering women, click here for the full lyrics. In the beginning of the song she says the lyrics "That girl, she holds her head up so high I think I wanna be her best friend yeah," shows that one particular girl is confident with herself and inspires other girls to be confident like her. She then says the lyrics "When she walks, the revolution's coming in her kiss I taste the revolution," meaning they embrace women sexuality and experimentation. Kissing and having crushes on girls show support for lesbians and bisexuals and also acknowledged empowered them. She also says the lyrics "That girl thinks she's the queen of the neighborhood I got news for you she is!" this shows again that they are empowering women and embracing confident in women. Towards the end of the song she says "Love you like a sister always," which shows how close women are and how important it is for women to love each other and build friendships even treat each other like sisters.
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Other Feminist Anthems of the 90's-2000's
Gwen Stefani's song "I'm Just a Girl" was a hit in the mid 90's; it was all about breaking the typical "girl" stereotypes and being who you want to be. Gwen taught women and girls that they're not just a weak girl that needs a man to care for them, they're much more than that and they can do more than what society expects them to do.
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Meredith Brook's song "Bitch" was another feminist hit song in the late 90's; this song was about taking the labels given to women and making it their own. It made something that is supposed to be negative and degrading into something positive and yet again empowering. It also showed that women could be a bitch, lover, mother, friend, child all without losing their feminine identity.
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TLC's song "Unpretty" came out in the late 90's early 2000's. This song was about women accepting who they are and spreading body positivity and inner beauty.
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