Women in the 90s began to redefine the sound of feminism. Feminist organizing also underwent a transition. In response to anti-feminist rhetoric during the Reagan years, widespread feminist organizing decreased, by the 1990s, many women rejected the term “feminist” even though they still embraced notions of female equality. As feminism moved towards the mainstream, so too did music that incorporated feminist themes. See the playlist below to get an idea of some of the artists involved in the “After the Golden Age” period.
Towards the Mainstream
The Late 1980s
The grassroots Women’s Music Movement began to wane in response to political changes.1 The term “feminist” had become almost derogatory. Feminists were stereotyped as “unkempt, hairy, man-hating lesbians” and many women wanted to distance themselves from this perception, opting not to use the term.2 Nonetheless, women’s music continued to live on in other forms, such as the developing Riot Grrrl genre and through the work of mainstream women artists.
Golden Age women’s music was not profitable and many musicians relied on partners’ incomes or day jobs.3 While the goal of women’s music was to make it more accessible, and thus shifting the focus away from profit, as women gained more influence in the music industry profit became a larger incentive. In the 1990s, musicians desired to make money from their music as well as share their sound with much wider audiences.
The Early 1990s
Music in the 90s saw a growing popularity in punk music. Riot Grrrl was a new, emerging movement within punk music. The genre explored darker themes of sexual harassment and violence that earlier music had not tackled.4 Additionally, Riot Grrrl gave women a space away from “a homophobic punk scene and a conformist gay culture.”5
Musicians within the Riot Grrrl genre utilized anger to foster the development of their own culture. Bikini Kill was one band that gained popularity within the Riot Grrrl movement. Described as her “signature move,” lead singer Kathleen Hanna challenged audiences’ beliefs about women by pulling up her shirt to reveal the word “slut” written on her stomach.5
In the late 80s and early 90s, The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, one of the largest women’s music festivals, began to branch out, including other genres of music, such as musician Linda Tillery’s Spirituals, which she performed with a group in 1992.6 Tillery eventually left Olivia Records and explored pop R&B in addition to Motown and Spirituals.
“BluesP2008.26,” Wikimedia Commons, 2008, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
The Late 1990s
In 1997, Sarah McLachlan and a group of other women music artists, including Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Meredith Brooks, and the Indigo Girls, organized Lilith Fair. In organizing the festival, McLachlan aimed to fight the idea that women musicians were not as talented as men and could not garner the same interest as male musicians.7 This festival symbolized feminist activism’s move from small, grassroots organizing, to widespread, mainstream events.
This period of music in the 90s differed from the Golden Age in sound, however, the message remained the same. Embracing independence, strength, talent, and ability, both the Golden Age musicians and the women of the 90s sought to create a space where women’s voices were valued and represented within musical spaces. The 90s also took women musicians into the mainstream. These shifts in women’s interactions with the music scene represented a newer, younger generation of women.
Further Reading
- Lilith Fair – Full Performance with commentary from the artists
- A Review of Lilith Fair, 1997 – SPIN
- A History of Riot Grrrl – NME
Bibliography
1Hayes, Eileen M. Songs in Black and Lavender: Race, Sexual Politics, and Women’s Music. University of Illinois Press, 2010. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/j.ctt1xchf2.
2Rosen, Ruth. The World Split Open: How the Women’s Movement Changed America. Viking Penguin, 2000.
3Morris, Bonnie J. The Disappearing L: Erasure of Lesbian Spaces and Culture. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2016.
4Post, Laura. Backstage Pass: Interviews with Women in Music. New Victoria Publishers, Inc., 1997.
5Phoenix, Val C. “From Womyn to Grrrls: Finding Sisterhood in Girl Style Revolution.” Deneuve, February 1994. https://digital.curvemag.com/curve/deneuve-feb-1994/flipbook/42/.
6Cobble, Dorothy Sue, Linda Gordon, and Astrid Henry. Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2014.
7Lilith Fair – Full Performance Live, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT1WyL2mCsc.