In class when we looked at riot grrrl and the feminist punk scene, it was pretty much a consistent affair, with a lack of racial diversity. The movement was relatively homogeneous, so this glossing over isn’t that big of a deal to me personally, but I thought it would be interesting to look at some black women who might fall (even if a little loosely) under this genre.
First up, Grace Jones.
Of the women I’ve included in this post, Grace Jones is the probably the most iconic. She has been recording since 1977, released ten studio albums and is a successful actress. Jones adopted the New Wave music style, and tailored a very strong visual presence and androgynous look, with square-cut hair and angled sharp clothes. Ironically her “flat top” hairstyle which she wore in her concerts in the ‘70s, became popular among black men in the ‘80s. Jones is known for her unique look as much as she is for her music, with her elaborate costumes during concert performances and music videos.
I saw X-Ray Spex on the documentary “Punk in London” that I watched with my dad. Poly Styrene, the lead singer, is pretty wonderful; her vocal style is unique to the punk scene, and her hair bows and bright outfits gave X-Ray Spex’s overall reputation as one of the more inventive bands of the mid- to late-‘70s punk era. As a feminist punk she was already nonconventional, but as a braces-wearing, mixed race lead singer, she was even more so. The band was a little pre-riot grrrl movement, and the band’s music focuses more on anti-consumerism and anti-racism.
Fefe Dobson is definitely more commercial than the previous musicians, but she battled with the same kind of racial bias when she broke into the pop punk world previously dominated by female artists like Avril Lavigne. Fefe was constantly stereotyped as a contemporary R&B singer because of her race, despite her interest in rock music, and thrashy punk sound.
Beyonce Knowles, I know this doesn’t fit, but let’s just agree that this cover is awesome.
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