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nicolebeans's review against another edition
pretty good, not perfect
but i love a book like this that is factual about music but also has a strong narrative bc of the personal memoir-type parts. it kept me pretty hooked
but i love a book like this that is factual about music but also has a strong narrative bc of the personal memoir-type parts. it kept me pretty hooked
horrorclassics's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
wanderlust_romance's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Girls To the Front could also be aptly titled Kathleen Hanna Supremacy: Rise and Fall of an Alt Rock Feminist Movement. This is a thoughtful, insightful, and well researched exploration of riot grrrl. This is a very niche nonfiction read. Maybe you’re yearning for a reminder of those hazy pre-internet DIY days filled with mix tapes and xeroxed zines. Perhaps you’re curious about the players and behind the scenes action and what inspired them. GTTF looks at how riot grrl contingents in DC and Olympia, WA took up space and took no shit. As a movement, riot grrl was undoubtedly rooted in white feminism. Reading about the incidents at the ‘93 convention makes it clear that this burgeoning movement wasn’t ready/equipped to look deeply at its racial and class divides. As the history unfolds, it becomes clear that mainstream media depictions of riot grrl (and the accompanying narrative) are what led to the group’s eventual end. This is nonfiction that reads like a novel, and intersperses song lyrics and zine images into the text. Read if you’re interested but don’t bother with the Goodreads reviews, which read like a petty punk rock message board full of infighting. 😬
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
amydeppe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Minor: Racism
sassysophie's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
This was a good read about the riot grrrl movement. The writing was enjoyable to read and I'm very glad that this wasn't just a positive look on the movement, but instead also addressed some of its core issues namely inlcusivity and rascism. Yet at times I feel as if though some issues or problems were looked at really one sided, which I didn't enjoy.
moonstoned97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
girlglitch's review against another edition
4.0
Girls To The Front is an introspective and personal take on riot grrrl history - or at least, it's as introspective a take as you can get from someone who wasn't actually a part of it. As social history, it's something of a jigsaw: different grrrls' perspectives pieced together to make one cohesive narrative.
This approach is at once the book's greatest asset and greatest weakness. We hear directly from those at the forefront of the movement (and not just those with more 'mainstream fame' like Kathleen Hanna), which allows for some incredible insight and brutal honesty. There's no attempt to mythologise a riot grrrl ideology: instead, we hear what riot grrrl (and feminism) meant to these girls as individuals. In that respect, GTTF gets to the heart of what riot grrrl was all about.
But this approach falls short as Marcus starts to track the spread of riot grrrl. There's simply not the space to explore the diversification of the movement, and when it comes to conflicts (which Marcus does not shy away from reporting), I sometimes got the sense I was only hearing one side of the story. There's a thin line between intimacy and over-exposure, and sometimes that line is crossed. At times, I was desperate for Marcus to step back and take in the wider-picture.
That said, GTTF does capture the spirit of the movement, which was, in many respects, centred around the dichotomy of privacy and making the personal political. GTTF makes a refreshingly read, and its honesty made these grrrls' voices all the more powerful.
This approach is at once the book's greatest asset and greatest weakness. We hear directly from those at the forefront of the movement (and not just those with more 'mainstream fame' like Kathleen Hanna), which allows for some incredible insight and brutal honesty. There's no attempt to mythologise a riot grrrl ideology: instead, we hear what riot grrrl (and feminism) meant to these girls as individuals. In that respect, GTTF gets to the heart of what riot grrrl was all about.
But this approach falls short as Marcus starts to track the spread of riot grrrl. There's simply not the space to explore the diversification of the movement, and when it comes to conflicts (which Marcus does not shy away from reporting), I sometimes got the sense I was only hearing one side of the story. There's a thin line between intimacy and over-exposure, and sometimes that line is crossed. At times, I was desperate for Marcus to step back and take in the wider-picture.
That said, GTTF does capture the spirit of the movement, which was, in many respects, centred around the dichotomy of privacy and making the personal political. GTTF makes a refreshingly read, and its honesty made these grrrls' voices all the more powerful.