Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk

A detailed look back by a remarkable artist who continues to educate and inspire.

I've been a fan of Kathleen and Bikini Kill for some time, loved the idea behind “girls to the front” and Riot grrl. This book made me appreciate her even more. Learning about what she went through, how she reacted to things that happened to her and how she was able to do so much with so little rattled my conceptions. I also love her ability to hold herself and the movement she created accountable, adapting when “girls to the front” doesn't serve its purpose anymore. I loved this book.

As honest and eye opening as every Bikini Kill/Julie Ruin/Le Tigre song.

At first, this book felt like a whole lot of trauma dumping with no meaning other than to trauma dump. That slowly started to change. I still was like, “yeah, this is okay” until I found myself talking about this book to anyone who would listen. Got choked up multiple times the last 1/2 of the book. I loved watching Kathleen's growth as a feminist, friend, partner, and mother. Learned a lot of other fascinating things about her life- like her friendship with Kurt Cobain and interactions with Joan Jett, Sonic Youth, Fugazi. If you like punk music, the 90s, or feminism, read this book. Not for the faint of heart. TW: male violence, assault, r*pe, misogyny, drug use. You will go through a rollercoaster of emotions. I listened to it and highly recommend since it is narrated by the author. Saw Joan Jett in concert last night and her intro song was Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill. A nice full circle moment for me.

I'm not very familiar from Hanna's music from either Bikini Kill or Le Tigre (I believe I was listening to Barney and Elmo when BK was in their heyday) but I was still fascinated by her raw and honest memoir. “Each song felt held together with Scotch tape and was somehow minimal and complex at the same time.” That's Kathleen Hanna describing the music of another band, the Raincoats, but it is also an apt description of this book: short, choppy, episodic chapters that together build a portrait of a woman who experienced numerous traumas but used them to create groundbreaking feminist music and support other women with similar experiences. That's true Girrrl Power. The Spice Girls can kiss Hanna's ass.