Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution

I’m no expert but this book does seem like a comprehensive overview of the riot grrl movement from its roots to the issues that caused it to fizzle out, with so many names and bands that I couldn’t keep up (but that’s mostly my fault because apparently my brain just glazes over names, especially at 1.5x speed).

It’s also, as the author intended, very inspiring to hear about women caring more about having a voice and using it than selling a finished product. I thought you had to be a child prodigy to play music professionally, so to hear about women just deciding to start a band and then learning how to play instruments was mind-blowing. Even if you’re approaching this book from a detached or cynical perspective, it’s definitely going to make you want to start a band or zine.

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challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

This was a super informative read. I knew the basics of Riot Grrrl before reading, but this fleshed out so much of the movement's history, figures, and flaws. I think it really speaks to how creating a truly egalitarian movement can sometimes seem like a fool's errand; what Marcus said at the end about Riot Grrrl having prophets but no organizers hit home for me. It was also both heartening and disheartening to compare this book's view of modern feminism to today's, since it was published over a decade ago. In some ways, feminism has grown massively; representation has improved immensely. But in other ways, we're going backwards or haven't moved at all. One of the scenes recalled Riot Grrrls coming up with slogans for a protest show, one being "Abort the Court." It wasn't lost on me that people were shouting the same thing at a protest for abortion rights just a couple weeks ago. I'm glad I read this book now, when it feels like a movement of this intensity is necessary for maintaining all genders' human rights.
My only complaints are that there were so many people named that I had trouble keeping them straight and just gave up after a certain point. Maybe more photos would have helped to tell them apart? But I also understand the difficulty of recognizing the many leaders of the movement, since leadership wasn't centralized to a few people. Additionally, the presence (or lack thereof) of transwomen isn't mentioned at all, which I found disappointing, though Marcus did tackle the conflicting relationships between queer and straight women in the movement.
A solid history of Riot Grrrl and one that will stick with me.

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