In the early ’90s, there was a movement to take back the idea of “Girl Power.” Not in the way we see it now, where glittery planners and flower-adorned t-shirts display the phrase. No, this was more chains and leather than pink and fluffy. It was the start of the Riot Grrrl movement, which was musically spurred by Bikini Kill. If you’ve ever heard to the Russian band P*ssy Riot, think of Bikini Kill as their genre mothers. They’re the original badasses that showed the punk scene that women could rock, too. They started out in Olympia, WA, but were soon a national success – or at least a national point of conversation. As the saying goes, “well behaved women rarely make history.”

Feminist Fatales

The band has been called many things by people over the years. Probably the most common is Feminazis, but the singers are okay with that. They want people to like their music, but they also want it to hurt people’s feelings – so they wake up and pay attention to the sexism going on. Part of their early shows acted as a group therapy session, inviting audience members to come to the mic and talk about how sexism hurts everyone. Their first big hit was the cassette (yes, cassette) Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, which they split with British group Huggy Bear.

P*ssy Whipped and Joan Jett

One of their most impressive collaborations was with rockstar Joan Jett, on the song “New Radio/Rebel Girl.” Joan’s woman-in-rock, no apologies music was the perfect fit for the up and coming girl band. Their biggest album to date came out in 1994, titled P*ssy Whipped, and they’re still performing hits from it today. So the next time you’re mad at the patriarchy, put Bikini Kill on. Got passed up for a promotion even though you were more qualified? Bikini Kill has a song for that.