WHEN ACADEMIC DREAMS COME TRUE

OLD NEWS IS NEW AGAIN

I HAVE A FEATURE UP AT RE/VISIONIST this month. An updated edit of my review of the plenary panel at "The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music & More" conference, including Mimi Thi Nguyen and Fiona Ngo, and an illustration by the lovely Cristy C. Road!

In sync with Sarah Lawrence’s recent call for papers for 2011’s Women’s History Conference, I am syndicating my review of the plenary panel from this year’s The Message is in the Music: Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music & More with RE/VISIONIST (it is also currently published in this year’s Women’s History newsletter). Specifically Ngo and Nguyen’s papers, in the context of the Conference at large, really inspired me to pursue my thesis work on masculinities in punk rock. Watching other scholars dare to take on pop culture subjects like music gave me hope and certainty that cultural production is worthy of an historical treatment.


This article is also timely as it preempts the publication of International Girl Gang Underground, a compilation zine about the way riot grrrl has influenced punk feminist cultural production over the past twenty years. Nguyen’s early iteration of her paper, “Aesthetics, Access, Intimacy” or “Race, Riot Grrrl, Bad Feelings” will be included in the zine, nestled in among scene reports and personal stories from all over the world.

Read the full article here.

Queering Categories, Bringing Wreck

My review of (personal fave) Mimi Nguyen's panel, "Aesthetics, Access, Intimacy" or "Race, Riot Grrrl, Bad Feelings" at the Sarah Lawrence 12th Annual Women's History Conference is up at the Sarah Lawrence website now, included in our annual WH newsletter!

Nguyen’s comment about “quitting punk” illustrated the way many marginalized people feel within white dominated movements. Women, people of color, and queer folks alike have written extensively about how punk rock can be completely isolating to them. On the other hand, with its do-it-yourself ethos, punk rock offers the tools for positive things like grassroots organizing and creative self-expression. The potential for social change within punk and riot grrrl creates a tension: the simultaneous acceptance of marginalized folks within the subculture versus its constant re-creation of social hierarchies.

Read the full review here.

For more on how much I loved Mimi's panel, click here.

LADY ZINE PARTY

or "Thoughts on riot grrrl, feminisms, & race at the Lady Zine Party"

My friends Sheela and Julie hosted a "LADY ZINE PARTY" on the rainiest Saturday in recent memory. We met at Julie's apartment, and after homemade pizza and alcoholic Shirley Temples, we did a go-around and introduced ourselves.

One of the highlights was that a lot of people at the zine party weren't necessarily influenced by riot grrrl or had never done a zine. At least one person wasn't from the U.S., and everyone else seemed to grow up all over the country. There was a reality TV contest winner, folks who work at various nonprofits for the advancement of women, lots of grad school students, and some of my best friends. In the go-around, there were some tense discussions about why some young girls are so averse to the term "feminist". We talked about how the term "feminist" can sometimes be a misnomer and generally not conducive for communities of color and/or working class women. We also talked about how for youth, the "F" word can be a scary thing.