Column: grrrls to the front, sit down, boys

The hype surrounding Sleater-Kinney’s “return” has reached a high point. This week, the punk band released its first album in 10 years, No Cities to Love.

Bred from the ’90s riot grrrl movement, Sleater-Kinney is more than a great girl group; it’s a hardcore, highly skilled rock band. In a culture dominated by “beergutboyrock,” bands like S-K are intensely significant for girls and women who don’t feel represented by the hyper-masculinity of rock music.

If you know me in any capacity, you’re aware of my slightly unhealthy obsession with rock. I’ve always loved the guitars, the drums, the attitude.

I can wax poetic on the current state of hip hop, but rock will always cut me deeper than any Jay Z verse. What this means, though, is that I’ve always revered the men who dominate both the historical and current scenes. From Jimmy Page to Dave Grohl, rock is a boy’s club.

Growing into my feminism, I’ve revisited the dominant narratives I once accepted. Cock rock, though “classic” and “valid,” is built on the appropriation of black musical culture and the sexual and emotional oppression of women.

Led Zeppelin is important but so is Bikini Kill. I’ve challenged myself to seek affirming narratives reflective of my own experience.

Once I discovered the riot grrrl movement and its legacy, I found an entire collective of women who write, produce and disseminate hardcore, quality rock.

I don’t intend to suggest that men can’t produce affirming and feminist music; they certainly can and do.

But the sound corporate rock media espouses is one of misogyny for the sake of being “classic.” Sleater-Kinney is, to them, a novelty. Women who play their instruments well? They’re exceptional, a rare and uncommon deviation from the norm. Or so the patriarchs would claim.

Last semester, I had the honor of volunteering with Girls Rock N.C., an organization promoting girls’ and women’s empowerment through music.

Girls Rock hosted a rally at Cat’s Cradle headlined by The Julie Ruin and Ex Hex. The vibe of the rally was of affirmation and unbridled power. Girls Rock was a safe space, a sanctuary for women and girls to express themselves sonically without fear of judgment or misogynistic critique. We didn’t need cock rock. We were beyond it.

No Cities to Love is a great album, an album crafted by skilled and skeptical women. Sleater-Kinney is only one of many impressive all-female bands, but the immense critical attention and acclaim it receives hasn’t yet been accompanied by a broader acceptance of women in rock.

My personal journey with riot grrrl and punk feminism has been empowering and liberating, an open invitation to recognize and reject the mansplainers of the mainstream rock narrative.

Exploring the work of artists who actively seek to express the experiences of oppressed and underrepresented groups should be an essential praxis for all music lovers.