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A review by emilyinherhead
Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk by Kathleen Hanna
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Kathleen Hanna tells her story in a fairly straightforward memoir style, working her way chronologically from her childhood all the way up through the early-2020s reunions of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. And there’s a photo insert section in the middle of the book, which I always love.
I’m already a fan of Hanna’s and knew that she is a sexual assault survivor, but learning about the difficulties of her early years just further increased my respect for her. Every time I thought her dad couldn’t possibly get any worse, he did something that made me gasp in horror. That she made it past this, and so many other terrible experiences in her teens and twenties, is awe-inspiring.
Something I especially admire about this memoir is Hanna’s clearly evident growth as a feminist and human. She acknowledges her place in the 1980s-90s pacific northwest punk scene, and the work she did in creating the Riot Grrrl movement, but she also owns up to her missteps and the harm she unintentionally caused back then. I appreciated this accountability and openness.
What a life. Reading this book made me want to go listen to all of Hanna’s music, to rewatch the documentary The Punk Singer (which would make an excellent pairing with the memoir if you haven’t yet seen it), and to YELL and TAKE UP SPACE and make room for people from traditionally marginalized groups to do the same.
I’m already a fan of Hanna’s and knew that she is a sexual assault survivor, but learning about the difficulties of her early years just further increased my respect for her. Every time I thought her dad couldn’t possibly get any worse, he did something that made me gasp in horror. That she made it past this, and so many other terrible experiences in her teens and twenties, is awe-inspiring.
Something I especially admire about this memoir is Hanna’s clearly evident growth as a feminist and human. She acknowledges her place in the 1980s-90s pacific northwest punk scene, and the work she did in creating the Riot Grrrl movement, but she also owns up to her missteps and the harm she unintentionally caused back then. I appreciated this accountability and openness.
What a life. Reading this book made me want to go listen to all of Hanna’s music, to rewatch the documentary The Punk Singer (which would make an excellent pairing with the memoir if you haven’t yet seen it), and to YELL and TAKE UP SPACE and make room for people from traditionally marginalized groups to do the same.