Bostonites, and the rest of the world by proxy, will spend April 9th celebrating the work of Bikini Kill and their lead singer, activist and hardcore-punk feminist icon Kathleen Hanna on the newly proclaimed Riot Grrrl Day.
Reports Boston Magazine, Boston mayor Marty Walsh issued the proclamation in time for the original Riot Grrrl Hanna to visit the city for a speech and performance. She will be introduced and presented with the proclamation by Boston’s Chief of Policy Joyce Linehan.
According to Pitchfork Linehan is actually a longtime friend of Hanna, having once worked for the label Sub Pop and as a manager and show promoter. At one point she managed Boston alt-rockers the Lemonheads.
Mayor Walsh’s proclamation is in part adapted from Kathleen Hanna’s Riot Grrrl Manifesto, originally published in 1991 in the BIKINI KILL ZINE 2. Part of the proclamation reads:
“The riot grrrl philosophy has never felt more relevant, with misogyny still rampant in many cultural spaces… Riot grrrls redefine the language used against them and continue to fight the newest incarnations of patriarchy. In doing so, they ironically confirm one ex-congressman’s accidental wisdom: ‘the female body has ways to try to shut that down.’ It sure does: women’s voices telling their stories can shut that down.”
Marty Walsh has a bit of a history of trying to incorporate rock history into the culture of his state. As a state representative in 2013 he put forward a proposal, crafted by Joyce Linehan nonetheless, to make the Modern Lovers’ track Roadrunner the official rock song of Massachusetts. Sadly they didn’t succeed.
See an image of the full Riot Grrl Day proclamation below.
Watch: Bikini kill – Rebel Girl
Listen: The Modern Lovers – Roadrunner
Riot Grrl Day Proclamation (Via Vanyaland)
