As a fan of Kathleen Hanna, I was looking forward to reading her memoir Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk especially after attending an event where she spoke about the book. For those unfamiliar with Kathleen Hanna, she was part of the “Riot Grrl” movement in the 1990s as well as the lead singer /writer of the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. Maybe because I was already familiar with her story, the book didn’t resonate as I hoped.
The book is of a collection of stories that are very loosely tied together in a chronological order. Hanna herself acknowledges that she deliberately kept the stories/chapters super short (all less than ten pages) because she knew many people liked shorter chapter and also, I think she wanted to mimic the punk aesthetic of short bursts of energy. Unfortunately, I found this format distracting with very few of the stories fully formed and further disjointed by a fractured timeline. For example, she physically moved around a lot in her life but in many instances, she will recount a story in one place and then the next story is in a completely different state with only a cursory mention of needing to move.
Please note that the book does address sexual traumas and can be triggering. This is probably the most impactful part of the book because it has informed a lot of who and what Hanna is and does. Also, an unhappy reminder that the world has not changed much to improve the lives for women – we are still fighting for basic human rights.
The book isn’t terrible and if you are unfamiliar with her and her work it is a good primer about the Riot Grrrl and the 90s indie music scene. I would also recommend the movie “The Punk Singer” which (in my opinion) is a better look at Kathleen Hanna’s life. [3 stars]