Riot Woman: Using Feminist Values to Destroy the Patriarchy
by Eleanor C. Whitney Author
A celebratory but critical look at the Riot Grrrl movement
Growing up immersed in the feminist, DIY values of punk, Riot Grrrl, and zine culture of the 1990s and early 2000s gave Eleanor Whitney, like so many other young people who gravitate towards activism and musical subcultures, a sense of power, confidence, community, and social responsibility. As she grew into adulthood she struggled to stay true to those values, and with the gaps left by her punk rock education.
This insightful, deeply personal history of early-2000s subcultures lovingly explores the difficulty of applying feminist values to real-life dilemmas, and embrace an evolving political and personal consciousness. Whitney traces the sometimes painful clash between her feminist values and everyday, adult realities — and anyone who has worked to integrate their political ideals into their daily life will resonate with the histories and analysis on these pages, such as engaging in anti-domestic violence advocacy while feeling trapped in an unhealthy relationship, envisioning a unified "girl utopia" while lacking racial consciousness, or espousing body positivity while feeling ambivalent towards one's own body.
Throughout the book, the words and power of Bikini Kill and other Riot Grrrl bands ground the story and analysis, bringing it back to the raw emotions and experiences that gave this movement its lasting power while offering a complex, contemporary look at the promises and pitfalls of Riot Grrrl-informed feminism.
by Eleanor C. Whitney Author
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Comments & Reviews
"Eleanor Whitney's essays are both deeply political and deeply personal, shining light on how individual feminist consciousness and collective movements evolve. Her writing shows how readers can boldly embrace the transformative power of intersectional feminism in all its complexity and empower themselves to speak up and change the world."
"Eleanor Whitney's Riot Woman is a deeply personal exploration of the power feminism had in shaping her life. With vivid detail, she chronicles intimate and professional milestones, striking a tone that is at once accessible and yet critically sophisticated. Describing how she navigated everything from activist organizing to seasons of compulsory coupledom, Whitney pushes us all to embrace a more inclusive, expansive, and egalitarian feminist politics."
"Eleanor Whitney's Riot Woman is a great contribution to contemporary feminist thought—her essays are vital, fascinating, and more relevant with every passing day."
"Eleanor Whitney is the girl we all wish we knew in high school, and the grown-ass woman whose insightful work we’re so lucky we get to read now. Maybe as teenagers she would have shown us her sparkly sticker-covered zines on racial justice or fat positivity, or let us borrow her Sleater-Kinney tapes, and maybe a little bit of her confidence, savvy and riot grrrl conviction would have rubbed off onto us, as it does reading Riot Woman. From leaving an abusive teenage relationship to working at a feminist art center to learning how to be a white ally, Whitney’s essays shine a spotlight on the relevance of feminism in each moment and corner of one woman’s life. As we grow up and our understanding of the political and social world around us evolves, Riot Woman offers valuable lessons on how to continually learn from our younger selves."
"Eleanor Whitney’s Riot Woman is a collection of raw and vulnerable self-reflections on the author’s personal evolution as an intersectional radical feminist activist, which act as a very vital reminder to readers that our own personal growth as activists and conscientious human beings are often non-linear, messy, uncomfortable, and never-ending—but always worth the journey in our collective pursuit of manifesting a just and equal society."