Girls with Guitars and Rad Attitudes

Appreciating women in American rock music

Some of the OG ladies of rock and roll are now household names. Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Janis Joplin and Patti Smith have shaped the history of music by daring to enter the industry at a time when it was overwhelmingly dominated by men. The Breeders, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Fleetwood Mac each boasted dynamic, female members as well—and although those women may have appeared strong, it couldn’t have been easy to keep up such a tough demeanour in the face of doubt and discrimination.

As a matter of fact, an ex-lover of Janis Joplin’s said that “sexism killed her” in response to her death.

“People kept saying that she was just ‘one of the guys’… That’s a real sexist bullshit trip,” he said. “She was one of the women.”

The struggle against sexism hasn’t seemed to slow these rockers down, though. Since the ‘60s, more and more female musicians have been making it into the mainstream. After Joplin’s time came Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Murmurings of radical change were just beginning in the ‘80s, and sure enough, the riot grrrls burst into heavy music with guns a-blazing.

They showed up in the ‘90s, donning genre tags like foxcore, queercore, anarcho-punk and no wave. Really, they were punk, grunge, and rock music.

The riot grrrl bands were largely represented by Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna, who also helped put together fanzines and shows for women in punk. Their message consisted of being unapologetically loud, political, and sexually liberated as women. In their music and narratives, they openly discussed sexism, encouraged societal revolution, and demanded justice for those discriminated against. Some of the riot grrrl bands that got big are Babes in Toyland, Erase Errata, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy.

The 2000s rolled around, and the riot grrrl movement started to simmer down. Their point had mostly gotten across; female musicians weren’t having such a hard time getting their start in music and the sexism they dealt with was much more subtle, though definitely still present.

Nowadays, folks barely bat an eye when they see a girl onstage, and that’s a good thing. It means that they’re finally being treated as valid musicians rather than being reduced to a fetish or delicacy, and they’re doing great things with the opportunity.

Here are three of the coolest and most talented women in rock music today:

Carrie Brownstein: Most people know Brownstein from her role in Portlandia, which she also writes with her co-star, Fred Armisen. In her lifetime, she’s worn almost too many hats to count. She’s had a prosperous writing career as a journalist and novelist, made notable appearances in film and television, and played in several bands. The most successful of those bands is the all-girl group Sleater-Kinney, which she plays guitar in alongside Heavens to Betsy ex-vocalist Corin Tucker. The two were dating at the time and are the group’s only founding members. Janet Weiss joined them in 1996, and they’ve released seven full-length albums since.

Alison Mosshart: This singer-songwriter, artist and model shares the stage with Jack White, Dean Fertita, and Jack Lawrence in supergroup The Dead Weather. She also co-founded The Kills in 2000 with guitarist Jamie Hince. Mosshart’s made appearances on tracks by Primal Scream, Placebo, and Cage the Elephant.

Bree McKenna: McKenna is a child of rock, quite literally. Recently, she outed herself as the daughter of Dave Mustaine, lead singer of Megadeth and original guitarist for Metallica. It’s important to note that her father’s status doesn’t define her, however. McKenna plays bass for two successful Seattle-based feminist groups, Tacocat and Childbirth.