The message below is from the Riot Grrrl Online Ning Community. This was in my Riot Grrrl Online Ning Community Inbox and it was written by a girl named Sam that lives in the United Kingdom. She isn't talking about the ning site, but she is talking about the Riot Grrrl Online website.
hey i imagine that you probably get this a lot
but your riot grrl site is awesome
im learning so much from it
so thanks
x
Sam,
If your reading this, THANK YOU for visiting the Riot Grrrl Online website and for joining the Riot Grrrl Online Ning Community too. Also, I'm glad your learning from the RGO website. I'm glad you think the website is awesome, keep visiting it! THANK YOU for inspiring me to keep on doing the RGO website! It's people like you that makes me want to keep moving forward with the RGO website.
-Greta
Showing posts with label riotgrrlonline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riotgrrlonline. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
What Is Activism And How Can I Be An Activist?
The following information was written by me and is posted on the "Activism" page on my Riot Grrrl Online website.
What Is Activism?
Activism is any intentional action to bring political or social change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an argument. The word "activism" is often associated with "protest" or "dissent". Activism can take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers, protesting, boycotting, blogging, and a number of other tactics. Activism means getting involved in causes or issues that affect you as a person. Activism can be considered DIY or do it yourself as well. There are many ways to get involved in activism.
35 Ways You Can Get Involved In Activism
1.) Make a zine...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
2.) Make a zine distro...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
3.) Submit articles, submissions, classifieds, etc. for a zine.
4.) Create a Ladyfest in your area. (DIY as well)
5.) Support and join ladyfests
6.) Help organize a ladyfest. (DIY as well)
7.) Make a blog, start up a journal, message board, or website. (DIY as well)
8.) Participate in websites, message boards, blogs, etc.
9.) Protest about something you are for or against. (DIY as well)
10.) Sign or start petitions...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
11.) Vote in elections. (DIY as well)
12.) Start a journal...in real life. (DIY only)
13.) Make an online group, such as on yahoo, msn, myspace, etc. (DIY as well)
14.) Write a book. (DIY as well)
15.) Make your own recipes. Don't go traditional, try to make your own food and desserts. (DIY only)
16.) Start your own non-profit organization. (DIY only)
17.) Start a band, write songs, and/or play an instrument. (DIY as well)
18.) Visit websites of important causes/issues and visit click-to-donate websites.
19.) Make art and be an artist. (DIY as well)
20.) Make pins, patches, shirts, clothing, jewelry, stickers, and/or buttons (DIY as well)
21.) Donate blood to the Red Cross and donate an organ to somebody that needs it. You can also donate organs when you die, to be used for research. This involves signing a paper and leaving the request in a will.
22.) Visit a hospital and/or a nursing home. You could be making someone's day.
23.) Donate money to charity or to a non-profit organization.
24.) Write the government or elected officials a letter.
25.) Start your own record label. (DIY as well)
26.) Make and hand out flyers. (DIY as well)
27.) Start your own riot grrrl chapter or join a riot grrrl chapter. Hold riot grrrl conventions. (DIY as well)
28.) Make posters. (DIY as well)
29.) Start a support group, such as for survivors of cancer, abuse, etc. (DIY as well)
30.) Share your stories with others. Others stories can inspire us and can remind us that we are not alone in what we are going through.
31.) Write about causes or issues that are important to you. This is also called ranting, if you share your opinions about the cause or issue. You can also write essays on a cause or issue.
32.) Find your passion. There are lots of causes and issues out there that could inspire you and be your passion. I can't make a list because it would be never ending. You can find some causes and issues on dmoz.org, under "Society". It is a web directory. You can even do a search for "causes", "issues", "get involved", "list of causes", and "list of issues".
33.) Volunteer at a shelter.
34.) Create and/or Organize a fundraiser. (DIY as well)
35.) Advocate for a general cause or issue.
What Is Activism?
Activism is any intentional action to bring political or social change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an argument. The word "activism" is often associated with "protest" or "dissent". Activism can take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers, protesting, boycotting, blogging, and a number of other tactics. Activism means getting involved in causes or issues that affect you as a person. Activism can be considered DIY or do it yourself as well. There are many ways to get involved in activism.
35 Ways You Can Get Involved In Activism
1.) Make a zine...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
2.) Make a zine distro...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
3.) Submit articles, submissions, classifieds, etc. for a zine.
4.) Create a Ladyfest in your area. (DIY as well)
5.) Support and join ladyfests
6.) Help organize a ladyfest. (DIY as well)
7.) Make a blog, start up a journal, message board, or website. (DIY as well)
8.) Participate in websites, message boards, blogs, etc.
9.) Protest about something you are for or against. (DIY as well)
10.) Sign or start petitions...online or in real life. (DIY as well)
11.) Vote in elections. (DIY as well)
12.) Start a journal...in real life. (DIY only)
13.) Make an online group, such as on yahoo, msn, myspace, etc. (DIY as well)
14.) Write a book. (DIY as well)
15.) Make your own recipes. Don't go traditional, try to make your own food and desserts. (DIY only)
16.) Start your own non-profit organization. (DIY only)
17.) Start a band, write songs, and/or play an instrument. (DIY as well)
18.) Visit websites of important causes/issues and visit click-to-donate websites.
19.) Make art and be an artist. (DIY as well)
20.) Make pins, patches, shirts, clothing, jewelry, stickers, and/or buttons (DIY as well)
21.) Donate blood to the Red Cross and donate an organ to somebody that needs it. You can also donate organs when you die, to be used for research. This involves signing a paper and leaving the request in a will.
22.) Visit a hospital and/or a nursing home. You could be making someone's day.
23.) Donate money to charity or to a non-profit organization.
24.) Write the government or elected officials a letter.
25.) Start your own record label. (DIY as well)
26.) Make and hand out flyers. (DIY as well)
27.) Start your own riot grrrl chapter or join a riot grrrl chapter. Hold riot grrrl conventions. (DIY as well)
28.) Make posters. (DIY as well)
29.) Start a support group, such as for survivors of cancer, abuse, etc. (DIY as well)
30.) Share your stories with others. Others stories can inspire us and can remind us that we are not alone in what we are going through.
31.) Write about causes or issues that are important to you. This is also called ranting, if you share your opinions about the cause or issue. You can also write essays on a cause or issue.
32.) Find your passion. There are lots of causes and issues out there that could inspire you and be your passion. I can't make a list because it would be never ending. You can find some causes and issues on dmoz.org, under "Society". It is a web directory. You can even do a search for "causes", "issues", "get involved", "list of causes", and "list of issues".
33.) Volunteer at a shelter.
34.) Create and/or Organize a fundraiser. (DIY as well)
35.) Advocate for a general cause or issue.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
She Is My Best Friend
The article below was written for the "Riot Boy" section of my Riot Grrrl Online website. The article was written by Deshawn and he lives in the United States.
She Is My Best Friend
he was never my first love, she was and her name was riot grrrl. she entered my life as a 15 year-old boy still lost in his emotions and still learning what it was to live. out of this desire to be "different" from the "different" kids at school grew the love of a "different" way of life among the "different", a movement called riot grrrl. of course, at the time i was just beginning to experience and appericate this new found way of life, the media had already did their job of mislabeling and fucking up something so meaningful just a few years before. but, i knew if i still had felt what i felt at that time, so did others and i assumed correctly.
after feeding my new addiction daily, the internet, i would spend days on end reading about bands like bikini kill, building my vocabulary with new words such as feminism, and falling in love with such radical women like kathleen hanna. it wasn't until i was 16 when i first got my hands on a real bikini kill cd, the cd version of the first two records. at first listen, it was very intense, nothing like anything i was listening to at the time. bikini kill's sound was raw and jagged and their words blunt, very blunt. i began to take in the literature that i was reading online and the words in the cd booklet itself to heart.
at that time in my life i was experiencing, almost on a daily basis, domestic violence (physcially and emotionally), witnessing my mother being degraded in such a manner by someone who they had the god given right (literally) to do so because he was a "man". battling and coming to terms with my sexuality. straight? bisexual? gay? gay and that face that stared back at me in the mirror. yes, enough to drive anyone crazy in this openly image crazed society called america. instead, i learned to accept myself for who i was, learned that i do have rights as a human being, and somehow keep on livin'.
almost five years have passed since my discovery of riot grrrl and what an impact to this very day that it has shaped me into this black, queer, survior of abuse, pro-choice, feminist, activist, d.i.y., artist, aka ME, that i am today.
She Is My Best Friend
he was never my first love, she was and her name was riot grrrl. she entered my life as a 15 year-old boy still lost in his emotions and still learning what it was to live. out of this desire to be "different" from the "different" kids at school grew the love of a "different" way of life among the "different", a movement called riot grrrl. of course, at the time i was just beginning to experience and appericate this new found way of life, the media had already did their job of mislabeling and fucking up something so meaningful just a few years before. but, i knew if i still had felt what i felt at that time, so did others and i assumed correctly.
after feeding my new addiction daily, the internet, i would spend days on end reading about bands like bikini kill, building my vocabulary with new words such as feminism, and falling in love with such radical women like kathleen hanna. it wasn't until i was 16 when i first got my hands on a real bikini kill cd, the cd version of the first two records. at first listen, it was very intense, nothing like anything i was listening to at the time. bikini kill's sound was raw and jagged and their words blunt, very blunt. i began to take in the literature that i was reading online and the words in the cd booklet itself to heart.
at that time in my life i was experiencing, almost on a daily basis, domestic violence (physcially and emotionally), witnessing my mother being degraded in such a manner by someone who they had the god given right (literally) to do so because he was a "man". battling and coming to terms with my sexuality. straight? bisexual? gay? gay and that face that stared back at me in the mirror. yes, enough to drive anyone crazy in this openly image crazed society called america. instead, i learned to accept myself for who i was, learned that i do have rights as a human being, and somehow keep on livin'.
almost five years have passed since my discovery of riot grrrl and what an impact to this very day that it has shaped me into this black, queer, survior of abuse, pro-choice, feminist, activist, d.i.y., artist, aka ME, that i am today.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tobi Vail's Words On Bikini Kill
The article below was written by Tobi Vail from an old riot grrrl zine in the early 1990's, when Bikini Kill was still together. I got the article from my Riot Grrrl Online website.
Tobi Vail's Words On Bikini Kill
BIKINI KILL IS A BAND MADE UP OF FOUR INDIVIDUALS, Kathi, Tobi, Billy, and Kathleen...
We have been written about a lot by big magazines who have never talked to us or seen our shows. They write about us authoritively, as if they understand us better than we understand our own ideas, tactics and significance. They largely miss the point of everything about us because they have no idea what our context is/has been. Their idea of punk rock is not based on anything they have ever experienced directly or even sought an understanding of by talking to those who have, yet they continue to write about it as if their stereotypical suraface level view of it is all there is. A lot of times we have been asked why we don't do interviews very often if we are so concerned with being misrepresented. To us this seems obvious... it is mostly based on our experiences. As a rule we don't do interviews with mainstream newspapers or magazines. In the few cases where we did do them we feel like we were totally fucked over by the way our words were framed to back up ideas that weren't our own. Quotes were taken out of context, we were made to look like we were dissing other women in bands when that wasn't our intention and in the worst case scenerious our confidence was totally violated by having stuff we told the individual writers NOT to focus on exploitatively (abuse histories, where we work/have worked, etc.) turned into the main focus of the article. We have constantly told writers to leave out personal information about us (our last names, who we go out with/used to date) out of articles and they always are sure to include it if we tell them not to. We always try to include perspectives of different band members but often times the writer only puts in quotes by Kathleen, our singer. When she has done interviews by herself as an indivudual it is often seen as an interview with the whole band even tho she continually says she is only speaking as an individual member of Bikini Kill whose opinions do not necessarily refelct those of the whole band. When we have granted these sources interviews it made us look like everything they said about us was done with our co-operation. The times when we have asked to see articles or edit them before they come out it has never really worked out. One time in particular we were told by N.M.E. in the U.K. that we could write our own articles and they would not in anyway comment on it or edit it. When the articles came out Kathi's was not included, but was rather taken out of context and cited to back up their ideas about us in the introduction they wrote to my article (something that to our understanding they weren't going to do). They laid it out in a way that included catty remarks bigger than our own words and put in a bunch of dumb pictures that we didn't send them. This was the last time we ever tried to co-operate with a big magazine but they have continued to write stuff about us. This is really frustrating but what is even more frustrating is when people who should know better, other punks for instance, believe these takes on who we are as being based on reality rather than on conjecture and in most cases on ill intentions of the writer/magazine. (when you refuse to grant interviews people get really insulted and make a point of going out of their way to use their influences to elaborately dis you--usually this is to the point of spreading deliberate lies or saying really naive sexist things in an effort to provoke a response from you) I want to make it cleat that we do not give a shit what people think of us, that is not what we object to in all of this, it is not about us being pissed off because of a bad review... it is about feeling like no matter what we say or do there continues to be this media created idea of 'Bikini Kill/Riot Girl' that has little or nothing to do with our own ideas and efforts... we want to be an underground band, we don't want to be featured in Newsweek magazine... maybe this sounds like a weak complaint to some of you who have worked really hard to get people to hear about your band, projects, record label, ideas, etc. and would appreciate any kind of publicity... we recognize that different strategies are totally valid for different situations... we are not trying to set any kind of 'correct' standard, we are just trying to present our views on what our experiences with the media has been in order to start to comment on how it has affected us as a band... we stopped doing interviews altogther for while mainly because we felt that we didn't need any mroe publicity but also because these experiences led us to not feeling like talking about our ideas atall... sometimes not even to each other, but fuck that you know and right now we are making Nu fanzine(s) about this whole weird machine media spectaclization process we have been going thru and so you should look forward to that ...
IN THE MEANTIME WE ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT US AND THINK ABOUT HOW YOU GOT THAT INFORMATION, CUZ IN MOST CASES IT PROBABLY ISN'T TOO ACCURATE...
SEND US PICTURES, VIDEO TAPES, AUDIO TAPES OF OUR SHOWS, INTERVIEWS, RADIO SHOWS AND COPIES OF OR XEROXES OF MAGAZINE ARTICLES CUZ WE WANNA DOCUMENT THE SOUND OF THE SPECTACLE AND OFTEN TIMES DON'T GET SENT COPIES OF STUFF.
Oh yeah and please address all correspondence to Bikini Kill c/o kill rock stars (120 N.E. State Ave. #418/Olympia, WA 98501).
One huge misconception for instance that has been repeated over and over again in magazines we have never spoken to and also by those who beleive these sources without checking things out themselves is that Bikini Kill is the definitive 'riot girl band'... We are not in any way "leaders of" or authorities on the 'Riot Girl' movement. In fact, as individuals, we have each had different experiences with, feelings on, opinions of and varying degrees of involvement with 'Riot Girl' and tho we totally respect those who still feel that the label is important and maningful to them, we have never used that term to describe ourselves AS A BAND. As, individuals we respect and utilize and subscribe to a variety of different aesthetics, strategies and beliefs, both political and punk-wise, some of which are probably considered 'riot girl' . . .
You can get back issues of Bikini Kill fanzines (issues #1 and #2) from riot girl press for $2 each. They are a girl run girl fanzine distribution network, write to them and send them $1 for their catalog which contains brief descriptions of stuff available thru them as well as info on how to get involved in what they're doing. Please note that these fanzines are way outdated--both were made in 1991 and also that although both have contributions by other band members most of the stuff in them was written by our singer, Kathleen, this is not to say they aren't informative but rather to make an effort to posit them more exactly with regards to the factors of history and subjectivity . . . R.G.P. P.O. Box 73308/Washington, D.C.20009
Tobi Vail's Words On Bikini Kill
BIKINI KILL IS A BAND MADE UP OF FOUR INDIVIDUALS, Kathi, Tobi, Billy, and Kathleen...
We have been written about a lot by big magazines who have never talked to us or seen our shows. They write about us authoritively, as if they understand us better than we understand our own ideas, tactics and significance. They largely miss the point of everything about us because they have no idea what our context is/has been. Their idea of punk rock is not based on anything they have ever experienced directly or even sought an understanding of by talking to those who have, yet they continue to write about it as if their stereotypical suraface level view of it is all there is. A lot of times we have been asked why we don't do interviews very often if we are so concerned with being misrepresented. To us this seems obvious... it is mostly based on our experiences. As a rule we don't do interviews with mainstream newspapers or magazines. In the few cases where we did do them we feel like we were totally fucked over by the way our words were framed to back up ideas that weren't our own. Quotes were taken out of context, we were made to look like we were dissing other women in bands when that wasn't our intention and in the worst case scenerious our confidence was totally violated by having stuff we told the individual writers NOT to focus on exploitatively (abuse histories, where we work/have worked, etc.) turned into the main focus of the article. We have constantly told writers to leave out personal information about us (our last names, who we go out with/used to date) out of articles and they always are sure to include it if we tell them not to. We always try to include perspectives of different band members but often times the writer only puts in quotes by Kathleen, our singer. When she has done interviews by herself as an indivudual it is often seen as an interview with the whole band even tho she continually says she is only speaking as an individual member of Bikini Kill whose opinions do not necessarily refelct those of the whole band. When we have granted these sources interviews it made us look like everything they said about us was done with our co-operation. The times when we have asked to see articles or edit them before they come out it has never really worked out. One time in particular we were told by N.M.E. in the U.K. that we could write our own articles and they would not in anyway comment on it or edit it. When the articles came out Kathi's was not included, but was rather taken out of context and cited to back up their ideas about us in the introduction they wrote to my article (something that to our understanding they weren't going to do). They laid it out in a way that included catty remarks bigger than our own words and put in a bunch of dumb pictures that we didn't send them. This was the last time we ever tried to co-operate with a big magazine but they have continued to write stuff about us. This is really frustrating but what is even more frustrating is when people who should know better, other punks for instance, believe these takes on who we are as being based on reality rather than on conjecture and in most cases on ill intentions of the writer/magazine. (when you refuse to grant interviews people get really insulted and make a point of going out of their way to use their influences to elaborately dis you--usually this is to the point of spreading deliberate lies or saying really naive sexist things in an effort to provoke a response from you) I want to make it cleat that we do not give a shit what people think of us, that is not what we object to in all of this, it is not about us being pissed off because of a bad review... it is about feeling like no matter what we say or do there continues to be this media created idea of 'Bikini Kill/Riot Girl' that has little or nothing to do with our own ideas and efforts... we want to be an underground band, we don't want to be featured in Newsweek magazine... maybe this sounds like a weak complaint to some of you who have worked really hard to get people to hear about your band, projects, record label, ideas, etc. and would appreciate any kind of publicity... we recognize that different strategies are totally valid for different situations... we are not trying to set any kind of 'correct' standard, we are just trying to present our views on what our experiences with the media has been in order to start to comment on how it has affected us as a band... we stopped doing interviews altogther for while mainly because we felt that we didn't need any mroe publicity but also because these experiences led us to not feeling like talking about our ideas atall... sometimes not even to each other, but fuck that you know and right now we are making Nu fanzine(s) about this whole weird machine media spectaclization process we have been going thru and so you should look forward to that ...
IN THE MEANTIME WE ASK YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT US AND THINK ABOUT HOW YOU GOT THAT INFORMATION, CUZ IN MOST CASES IT PROBABLY ISN'T TOO ACCURATE...
SEND US PICTURES, VIDEO TAPES, AUDIO TAPES OF OUR SHOWS, INTERVIEWS, RADIO SHOWS AND COPIES OF OR XEROXES OF MAGAZINE ARTICLES CUZ WE WANNA DOCUMENT THE SOUND OF THE SPECTACLE AND OFTEN TIMES DON'T GET SENT COPIES OF STUFF.
Oh yeah and please address all correspondence to Bikini Kill c/o kill rock stars (120 N.E. State Ave. #418/Olympia, WA 98501).
One huge misconception for instance that has been repeated over and over again in magazines we have never spoken to and also by those who beleive these sources without checking things out themselves is that Bikini Kill is the definitive 'riot girl band'... We are not in any way "leaders of" or authorities on the 'Riot Girl' movement. In fact, as individuals, we have each had different experiences with, feelings on, opinions of and varying degrees of involvement with 'Riot Girl' and tho we totally respect those who still feel that the label is important and maningful to them, we have never used that term to describe ourselves AS A BAND. As, individuals we respect and utilize and subscribe to a variety of different aesthetics, strategies and beliefs, both political and punk-wise, some of which are probably considered 'riot girl' . . .
You can get back issues of Bikini Kill fanzines (issues #1 and #2) from riot girl press for $2 each. They are a girl run girl fanzine distribution network, write to them and send them $1 for their catalog which contains brief descriptions of stuff available thru them as well as info on how to get involved in what they're doing. Please note that these fanzines are way outdated--both were made in 1991 and also that although both have contributions by other band members most of the stuff in them was written by our singer, Kathleen, this is not to say they aren't informative but rather to make an effort to posit them more exactly with regards to the factors of history and subjectivity . . . R.G.P. P.O. Box 73308/Washington, D.C.20009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Riot Boi Manifesto
If you have read some of the previous entries of this blog, You will see the "Riot Grrrl Manifesto". The article below was written by Joey Van Houten that lives in the United States. He submitted this article to the old Riot Grrrl Online website on girlsvomitcandy.com and ever since then, It has been up on the Riot Grrrl Online website. He got the idea for writing this article from reading the “riot grrrl manifesto” on a website. So, he decided to write his own "riot boi manifesto".
Some riot guys have asked, “Why is this manifesto directed at gay riot boys? There are straight riot boys out there too.” If your a straight riot boy, Feel free to send me your version of a riot boy manifesto, by emailing me. I have not received a riot boy manifesto from a straight guy yet and I hope to receive one, so I can post it on my Riot Grrrl Online website. Let me make this clear: Like the riot grrrls, Riot boys can be of any race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
Riot Boi Manifesto
We desire music, literature, and zines, but most of all a way of
life that calls out to us, one that us boysinthebackoftheclub group can
feel apart of. We’re the types that don’t fit into the stereotypical
queer lifestyle.
We are artists and musicians, but most of all creative and
intelligent human beings that are fed up and desire a society in which we can
see/hear each others work, so that we can share ideas and
criticize-applaud each other.
We seek to create revolution in our lives everyday by finding new
ways around, and also ideas on how to rise above the bullshit Christian
right wing way of life.
We are unwilling to assimilate to someone else’s ways of conducting
their lives. As if life as we know it is nothing more than the premise
of some big wig television network program only showing the downside
of OUR culture. It seems most of us try to live up to this way of
thinking, and the rest of us simply can’t find the remote!
We are interested in creating non-hierarchical way of being AND making
music, friends, and scenes based on communications + understanding,
instead of competition + good/bad categorizations.
Because doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and
challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we
need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism,able-bodieism,
ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-Semitism and
heterosexism figure in our own lives.
We know that life is much more that physical survival and are patently
aware that the punk rock “you can do anything” idea is crucial to
the coming angry queer rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic
and cultural lives of gays and lesbians everywhere, according to their
own terms, not ours.
We recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical
lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming dreams. And
thus must take over the means of production in order to create our own
moanings!
We are angry at a society that tells us Gay=Moraless, Gay=Wrong,
Gay=Weak!
We are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or
turned against us via the internalization of hate as witnessed in gay/gay
jelousism and self defeating gay type behaviors.
We live in a society that tells us we must pick a way of life and act
this way or that, have such and such morals because we have picked this
way of life and if not than we face social disgrace!
Jigsaw Youth, seeing the world as misshaped pieces that form a big
picture. My life has always been full of contradictions; male feminist,
misanthropic social butterfly. Life doesn’t make sense, and it doesn’t
have to.
To go from a manic depressive burnout to the writer of a manifesto
about accepting the not always glamorous, angry, not hormonally oversexed
underbelly of the gay lifestyle says a lot.
It’s all about rising above people’s expectations of your
life/lifestyle and showing them not everything is AS SEEN ON TV.
I believe with my wholeheartbodymind that us boysinthebackoftheclub
constitute a revolutionary soul force that can and will change the world
FOR REAL
Some riot guys have asked, “Why is this manifesto directed at gay riot boys? There are straight riot boys out there too.” If your a straight riot boy, Feel free to send me your version of a riot boy manifesto, by emailing me. I have not received a riot boy manifesto from a straight guy yet and I hope to receive one, so I can post it on my Riot Grrrl Online website. Let me make this clear: Like the riot grrrls, Riot boys can be of any race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
Riot Boi Manifesto
We desire music, literature, and zines, but most of all a way of
life that calls out to us, one that us boysinthebackoftheclub group can
feel apart of. We’re the types that don’t fit into the stereotypical
queer lifestyle.
We are artists and musicians, but most of all creative and
intelligent human beings that are fed up and desire a society in which we can
see/hear each others work, so that we can share ideas and
criticize-applaud each other.
We seek to create revolution in our lives everyday by finding new
ways around, and also ideas on how to rise above the bullshit Christian
right wing way of life.
We are unwilling to assimilate to someone else’s ways of conducting
their lives. As if life as we know it is nothing more than the premise
of some big wig television network program only showing the downside
of OUR culture. It seems most of us try to live up to this way of
thinking, and the rest of us simply can’t find the remote!
We are interested in creating non-hierarchical way of being AND making
music, friends, and scenes based on communications + understanding,
instead of competition + good/bad categorizations.
Because doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and
challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we
need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism,able-bodieism,
ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-Semitism and
heterosexism figure in our own lives.
We know that life is much more that physical survival and are patently
aware that the punk rock “you can do anything” idea is crucial to
the coming angry queer rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic
and cultural lives of gays and lesbians everywhere, according to their
own terms, not ours.
We recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical
lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming dreams. And
thus must take over the means of production in order to create our own
moanings!
We are angry at a society that tells us Gay=Moraless, Gay=Wrong,
Gay=Weak!
We are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or
turned against us via the internalization of hate as witnessed in gay/gay
jelousism and self defeating gay type behaviors.
We live in a society that tells us we must pick a way of life and act
this way or that, have such and such morals because we have picked this
way of life and if not than we face social disgrace!
Jigsaw Youth, seeing the world as misshaped pieces that form a big
picture. My life has always been full of contradictions; male feminist,
misanthropic social butterfly. Life doesn’t make sense, and it doesn’t
have to.
To go from a manic depressive burnout to the writer of a manifesto
about accepting the not always glamorous, angry, not hormonally oversexed
underbelly of the gay lifestyle says a lot.
It’s all about rising above people’s expectations of your
life/lifestyle and showing them not everything is AS SEEN ON TV.
I believe with my wholeheartbodymind that us boysinthebackoftheclub
constitute a revolutionary soul force that can and will change the world
FOR REAL
Friday, April 17, 2009
My Herstory
This is my "herstory" of how I got into feminism and riot grrrl. This herstory also tells my story behind the Riot Grrrl Online website. Here goes my herstory:
The Story Behind The Riot Grrrl Online Website And How I Got Into Riot Grrrl (My Herstory)
How I Got Into Feminism and Riot Grrrl I became interested in riot grrrl and feminism in 1997. (12 years ago as of 2009) My interest started when I found out, through the internet, about feminism and riot grrrl. I had also heard a little bit on MTV back in 1997 about the riot grrrl movement. (I used to watch MTV, but not anymore.) I also heard about it by doing some internet searches on the band “Hole”. I found all kinds of Hole websites. I had already started listening to hole and nirvana, since 1994, through MTV. I done some research on Nirvana as well. After surfing hole and nirvana websites, I started hearing about Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna. I also started hearing about Tobi Vail and her past relationship with Kurt Cobain. I began listening to bikini kill and I liked their sound. The first bikini kill song I heard was “Rebel Girl”. I began going to some Bikini Kill websites. Most of the bikini kill websites were riot grrrl websites. After finding this out, I started going to a bunch of riot grrrl and feminist sites. I wanted to find more riot grrrl bands to listen to. That’s when I found out about Bratmobile and other Kill Rock Stars records musical artists. Most of those riot grrrl/feminist websites are no longer around, but some of them can still be found on Archive.org. After visiting the riot grrrl websites, I realized that riot grrrl was an underground, punk, and feminist movement. That sparked my interest in feminism, so I started discovering feminist websites.
In 2000, I realized a shortage of riot grrrl sites and most of the sites I enjoyed were gone. I guess alot of people figured that when the riot grrrl bands broke up, that riot grrrl was gone. I guess some people thought that the riot grrrl movement died. I read and researched more about riot grrrl through Yahoo! Yahoo had a lot of “grrrl” websites in their directory and I researched riot grrrl through Yahoo as well. I don’t believe in labels, but I really believed in the riot grrrl movement. After the riot grrrl websites had died, I realized that I still believed in the philosophy of riot grrrl and feminism.
In 2001, I decided I should make a riot grrrl website. I wanted to make a riot grrrl resource and information site, with some information about feminism. I wanted a website where I could add lots of pages and have an active website. I didn’t care if anyone liked my website or not, but it was something I wanted to do for myself and for fun. In a way, I wanted to connect other riot grrrls (and riot boys, feminists, and male feminists) to each other by making the website and that’s when I decided to start ‘Riot Grrrl Online’. I hoped that there were still people out there that felt the same way I did about riot grrrl.
The website was made in 2001, at angelfire. While the website was on angelfire, My online friend Shawnee (aka Deshawn) from Pennsylvania, United States made the purple Tobi Vail layout and helped me out with the website. (I still keep in touch with him.) He knew how to make layouts, but I didn't know how to make them. When the website was on angelfire, I had other pages as part of Riot Grrrl Online, but I deleted a few of those pages, once Riot Grrrl Online got hosted. I had a “female icons” page, and a few other pages that are no longer on the current RGO website. I made the website as a start to revive riot grrrl. The website can still be viewed on angelfire because I never deleted it from angelfire. Just do a search for "angelfire riot grrrl online" or "riot grrrl revolution girl style now" and you'll probably find the website.
In 2004, I got hosted on girlsvomitcandy.com, by Jilly that lives in the United Kingdom. A year later, the girlsvomitcandy.com site died. (which I knew it was going to) Jilly told me she was getting rid of the domain, but that she’d email me when my site left from there. (which she never did) The website is on archive.org now. The website started on angelfire, then moved to girlsvomitcandy.com, and is currently on hot-topic.org. After finding out that girlsvomitcandy.com was no more, I was offered the riotgrrl.co.uk domain, by Rhiannon that lives in the UK. It was her domain and is now a dead link. (Note: No, I am not talking about the current riotgrrrl.co.uk email domain that Nam also owns.) Shortly after, I was offered some space on hot-topic.org and I made plans to be hosted on hot-topic.org, but I thanked Rhiannon for offerering riotgrrl.co.uk to me. I was always a fan of her riotgrrl.co.uk domain.
In 2005, I got hosted on hot-topic.org by Nam. He lives in the United Kingdom. I met him through his now defunct Le Tigre forum on hot-topic.org. He noticed that I was in a dilemma from girlsvomitcandy.com and decided to host me. He also wanted to do something for me since I was active on his Le Tigre forum and helped spread the word about his Le Tigre forum. That’s how I wound up on hot-topic.org, not to be mistaken for the clothing company, "Hot Topic". hot-topic.org was named after the Le Tigre song “Hot Topic”. Nam helps me out with my website if it acts up, goes offline, has errors, or if I have an idea for the website. He answers my questions and gives me ideas. Nam is always there for me and for that I really appreciate him. I have him to thank for my website and for hosting me. He’s a great host and he's helped me add on to the website since it was on angelfire. Nam is a great person and he is very much appreciated. I admire his kindness and helpfulness. He knows alot about websites and computers. At first, the website was in its original purple layout here on hot-topic.org. Then, A couple of months later, Nam started using siteman (a CMS) for my website. He owns the hot-topic.org domain. The siteman version of my website was hacked twice in 2007 and was an annoyance. That’s why I decided not to use siteman anymore. In December 2007, I started using Drupal instead of siteman. Drupal has lots more features than siteman.
In 2007, I found out that alot of people were viewing my Riot Grrrl Online website and that they liked it. Nam told me that RGO was #2 on google searches for "riot grrrl". I realized that I had fans and people that liked the website. People started linking to the website and emailing me about how much they enjoy Riot Grrrl Online. I was shocked that people liked my website and that people actually viewed the website. I got lots of members on the siteman version, but now I am still getting more members with the Drupal version. In 2005, I wanted to do more riot grrrl reviving. I wanted to meet more riot grrrls and people that felt the same way I did. So, I decided to make the Riot Grrrl Online Message Board in November 2005 on proboards as part of the ‘Riot Grrrl Online’ site. In 2007, I decided I wanted more features on the proboards message board. So, I made a new Riot Grrrl Online forum on freeforums.org. In April 2008, The freeforums Riot Grrrl Online forum was hacked, but it went back to running properly and hasn't been bothered since. The freeforums forum isn’t as active as it was because the website is now using Drupal.
In February 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online social network on ning. The RGO website was down at the time, so I decided to create a social network for people that still wanted to participate in the Riot Grrrl Online website and forums. In March 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online blog on wordpress. The website was still down at the time and I decided to create a blog specifically about feminism and riot grrrl. The blog didn’t have updates about the website posted on it, but it does have articles, news, and other stuff on the blog. A couple months later, I decided to end the blog. It is no longer around and here I am writing a new blog called "Forwrrrd", which is what your reading right now. For the past couple of years, I have done a few riot grrrl/feminist online interviews for class projects and zines.
In December 2008, I realized that RGO was down too much. It seemed to be x10hosting's fault. Nam decided to change hosts and the website hasn't been down since. Also, In December 2008, I found out that my name and the website were mentioned in a UK riot grrrl book called "Revolution Girl Style Now". The book was published by Black Dog Publishing in 2007. I was interviewed for the book by one of the writers in 2007, Red Chidgey. Bryan (a user on the Riot Grrrl Online website) that lives in the US, told me on my riot grrrl ning website about RGO being mentioned and my name being mentioned. I didn't actually think my name or website would be mentioned in the book. I was sure that she probably interviewed alot more people besides me. RGO and myself are mentioned on page 134 in the book. The very last paragraph on that page mentions me and RGO. Bryan highlighted the part of the page that I'm listed on. He done that by making a bold rectangle around the text. Here is the page from that book:
The Story Behind The Riot Grrrl Online Website And How I Got Into Riot Grrrl (My Herstory)
How I Got Into Feminism and Riot Grrrl I became interested in riot grrrl and feminism in 1997. (12 years ago as of 2009) My interest started when I found out, through the internet, about feminism and riot grrrl. I had also heard a little bit on MTV back in 1997 about the riot grrrl movement. (I used to watch MTV, but not anymore.) I also heard about it by doing some internet searches on the band “Hole”. I found all kinds of Hole websites. I had already started listening to hole and nirvana, since 1994, through MTV. I done some research on Nirvana as well. After surfing hole and nirvana websites, I started hearing about Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna. I also started hearing about Tobi Vail and her past relationship with Kurt Cobain. I began listening to bikini kill and I liked their sound. The first bikini kill song I heard was “Rebel Girl”. I began going to some Bikini Kill websites. Most of the bikini kill websites were riot grrrl websites. After finding this out, I started going to a bunch of riot grrrl and feminist sites. I wanted to find more riot grrrl bands to listen to. That’s when I found out about Bratmobile and other Kill Rock Stars records musical artists. Most of those riot grrrl/feminist websites are no longer around, but some of them can still be found on Archive.org. After visiting the riot grrrl websites, I realized that riot grrrl was an underground, punk, and feminist movement. That sparked my interest in feminism, so I started discovering feminist websites.
In 2000, I realized a shortage of riot grrrl sites and most of the sites I enjoyed were gone. I guess alot of people figured that when the riot grrrl bands broke up, that riot grrrl was gone. I guess some people thought that the riot grrrl movement died. I read and researched more about riot grrrl through Yahoo! Yahoo had a lot of “grrrl” websites in their directory and I researched riot grrrl through Yahoo as well. I don’t believe in labels, but I really believed in the riot grrrl movement. After the riot grrrl websites had died, I realized that I still believed in the philosophy of riot grrrl and feminism.
In 2001, I decided I should make a riot grrrl website. I wanted to make a riot grrrl resource and information site, with some information about feminism. I wanted a website where I could add lots of pages and have an active website. I didn’t care if anyone liked my website or not, but it was something I wanted to do for myself and for fun. In a way, I wanted to connect other riot grrrls (and riot boys, feminists, and male feminists) to each other by making the website and that’s when I decided to start ‘Riot Grrrl Online’. I hoped that there were still people out there that felt the same way I did about riot grrrl.
The website was made in 2001, at angelfire. While the website was on angelfire, My online friend Shawnee (aka Deshawn) from Pennsylvania, United States made the purple Tobi Vail layout and helped me out with the website. (I still keep in touch with him.) He knew how to make layouts, but I didn't know how to make them. When the website was on angelfire, I had other pages as part of Riot Grrrl Online, but I deleted a few of those pages, once Riot Grrrl Online got hosted. I had a “female icons” page, and a few other pages that are no longer on the current RGO website. I made the website as a start to revive riot grrrl. The website can still be viewed on angelfire because I never deleted it from angelfire. Just do a search for "angelfire riot grrrl online" or "riot grrrl revolution girl style now" and you'll probably find the website.
In 2004, I got hosted on girlsvomitcandy.com, by Jilly that lives in the United Kingdom. A year later, the girlsvomitcandy.com site died. (which I knew it was going to) Jilly told me she was getting rid of the domain, but that she’d email me when my site left from there. (which she never did) The website is on archive.org now. The website started on angelfire, then moved to girlsvomitcandy.com, and is currently on hot-topic.org. After finding out that girlsvomitcandy.com was no more, I was offered the riotgrrl.co.uk domain, by Rhiannon that lives in the UK. It was her domain and is now a dead link. (Note: No, I am not talking about the current riotgrrrl.co.uk email domain that Nam also owns.) Shortly after, I was offered some space on hot-topic.org and I made plans to be hosted on hot-topic.org, but I thanked Rhiannon for offerering riotgrrl.co.uk to me. I was always a fan of her riotgrrl.co.uk domain.
In 2005, I got hosted on hot-topic.org by Nam. He lives in the United Kingdom. I met him through his now defunct Le Tigre forum on hot-topic.org. He noticed that I was in a dilemma from girlsvomitcandy.com and decided to host me. He also wanted to do something for me since I was active on his Le Tigre forum and helped spread the word about his Le Tigre forum. That’s how I wound up on hot-topic.org, not to be mistaken for the clothing company, "Hot Topic". hot-topic.org was named after the Le Tigre song “Hot Topic”. Nam helps me out with my website if it acts up, goes offline, has errors, or if I have an idea for the website. He answers my questions and gives me ideas. Nam is always there for me and for that I really appreciate him. I have him to thank for my website and for hosting me. He’s a great host and he's helped me add on to the website since it was on angelfire. Nam is a great person and he is very much appreciated. I admire his kindness and helpfulness. He knows alot about websites and computers. At first, the website was in its original purple layout here on hot-topic.org. Then, A couple of months later, Nam started using siteman (a CMS) for my website. He owns the hot-topic.org domain. The siteman version of my website was hacked twice in 2007 and was an annoyance. That’s why I decided not to use siteman anymore. In December 2007, I started using Drupal instead of siteman. Drupal has lots more features than siteman.
In 2007, I found out that alot of people were viewing my Riot Grrrl Online website and that they liked it. Nam told me that RGO was #2 on google searches for "riot grrrl". I realized that I had fans and people that liked the website. People started linking to the website and emailing me about how much they enjoy Riot Grrrl Online. I was shocked that people liked my website and that people actually viewed the website. I got lots of members on the siteman version, but now I am still getting more members with the Drupal version. In 2005, I wanted to do more riot grrrl reviving. I wanted to meet more riot grrrls and people that felt the same way I did. So, I decided to make the Riot Grrrl Online Message Board in November 2005 on proboards as part of the ‘Riot Grrrl Online’ site. In 2007, I decided I wanted more features on the proboards message board. So, I made a new Riot Grrrl Online forum on freeforums.org. In April 2008, The freeforums Riot Grrrl Online forum was hacked, but it went back to running properly and hasn't been bothered since. The freeforums forum isn’t as active as it was because the website is now using Drupal.
In February 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online social network on ning. The RGO website was down at the time, so I decided to create a social network for people that still wanted to participate in the Riot Grrrl Online website and forums. In March 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online blog on wordpress. The website was still down at the time and I decided to create a blog specifically about feminism and riot grrrl. The blog didn’t have updates about the website posted on it, but it does have articles, news, and other stuff on the blog. A couple months later, I decided to end the blog. It is no longer around and here I am writing a new blog called "Forwrrrd", which is what your reading right now. For the past couple of years, I have done a few riot grrrl/feminist online interviews for class projects and zines.
In December 2008, I realized that RGO was down too much. It seemed to be x10hosting's fault. Nam decided to change hosts and the website hasn't been down since. Also, In December 2008, I found out that my name and the website were mentioned in a UK riot grrrl book called "Revolution Girl Style Now". The book was published by Black Dog Publishing in 2007. I was interviewed for the book by one of the writers in 2007, Red Chidgey. Bryan (a user on the Riot Grrrl Online website) that lives in the US, told me on my riot grrrl ning website about RGO being mentioned and my name being mentioned. I didn't actually think my name or website would be mentioned in the book. I was sure that she probably interviewed alot more people besides me. RGO and myself are mentioned on page 134 in the book. The very last paragraph on that page mentions me and RGO. Bryan highlighted the part of the page that I'm listed on. He done that by making a bold rectangle around the text. Here is the page from that book:
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