Just a Girl?

27 Pages·2012·2.33 MB·English

Just a Girl? Rock Music, Feminism, and the Cultural Construction of Female Youth
Author(s): Gayle Wald
Source: Signs, Vol. 23, No. 3, Feminisms and Youth Cultures (Spring, 1998), pp. 585-610
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3175302 .
Accessed: 29/10/2013 16:07
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Signs.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Gayle Wald
Just a Girl? Rock Music, Feminism,
and the Cultural Construction of Female Youth
CauseI 'm justa girll,i ttleo l' me
Don'tl etm eo uto fy ours ight
I'm justa girla, llp rettayn dp etite
So don'tl etm eh avea nyr ights.
Oh, I've hadi tu p to here!
-No Doubt," I'mJ usta Girl,f" romT ragiKc ingdom
(Trauma/Intersco1p9e9,6 )
Gweni s someonet hatg irlsc anl ooku p to andf eell iket heyk now.
Shei s veryE verygirl.
-No Doubtb assisTt onyK anal,o n thea ppeal
ofl eads ingerG wenS tefanil
t would have been difficultto tunei n to a U.S. Top 40 radio stationf or
veryl ong duringt he summera nd fallo f 1996 withouth earinga t least
one iterationo f "I'm Justa Girl,"t he catchyb reakthroughsi nglet hat
propelledt he neo-skab and No Doubt to a positiona s one of the year's
top-sellingr ocka cts." I'm Justa Girl"n ot onlye arnedN o Doubt commer-
cial visibilityn earlya decade (and threea lbums)i nto theg roup'sc areeri,t
also establishedt wenty-seven-year-oGlwd en Stefani,t he band's charis-
maticl ead singer,a s the latesti n a serieso f femaler ockm usicianst o have
attractedw idespreadc ommerciavl isibilityas well as a loyal followingo f
youngf emalef ans.S portingh er trademarkb ared midriffr,e tro-platinum
hair,a nd conspicuouslym ade-up face (which ofteni ncludesa n Indian
bindio rnamentingh er forehead),S tefanih as establisheda reputationa s
a skillfual nd dynamicl ive performewr ho puts on energeticn, o-holds-
barreds hows (she once danceds o hardd uringa concertt hats he fractured
I would liket o thankR ajeswariS underR ajan and You-meP arkf ort heiri nvaluablec riti-
cisms of variousd raftso f this articlea nd for theirs upporti n the processo f writinga nd
revisingit . I would also liket o acknowledget he commentso f thet wo anonymousr eviewers
fromS igns.I am veryg ratefutl o George WashingtonU niversityw, hichp rovidedr esearch
supporti n the formo f a UniversityF acilitatingF und Awarda nd a JuniorS cholarI ncentive
Award.
1Q uoted in Wartofsk1y9 97, G1.
[SignJs:o ual ofWomeinnC ulturaen dS ociet1y9 98,v ol.2 3, no. 3]
? 1998 byT heU niversiotyfC hicagoA. llr ightrse serve0d0. 97-9740/98/2303-0001$02.00
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
586 I Wald
a foot). Stefani'sp erformancoef "I'm Justa Girl" at a 1996 Seattlec on-
cert- one variationo f an act she was stillp erforminign the summero f
1997-provides a memorablei llustrationA. t firstp rostratinhg erselfo n
thes tagea nd repeatingt hep hrase" I'm justa girl"i n an infantilew, himper-
ing voice,s he thena bruptlysh iftedg ears,j umpingu p, railing" Fuck you,
I'm a girl!"a t the delighteda udience (at least halfo f whom were young
women), and exuberantllya unchingin tot he remaindero f thes ong.2
Stefani'sd ramatics tagingo f disparatem odes of femininiteyx emplifies
hera deptm anipulationo f rocks pectaclei n thet raditiono f femaler ockers
such as SiouxsieS ioux, GraceJ ones,P oly Styrene(o f X-RayS pex), Annie
Lennox, CourtneyL ove, and Madonna. More significantlhye, r perfor-
mance of "I'm Justa Girl" exemplifieas trendt hats incet he early1 990s
has gainedi ncreasingp rominencwe ithinr ockm usicc ulturesf: emalem usi-
cians' strategipc erformanceosf "girlhood"a nd theird eliberatec ultivation
of various" girlish"id entitieisn theirm usic,s tyle,a nd stagea cts.T he per-
formancoe fg irlhoodb yc ontemporarfye maler ockerse ncompassesa wide
rangeo f musicala nd artisticp racticesb y women within,o utsideo f, and
on the marginso f the corporatem ainstreamf: roms inger-songwritLeirs a
Loeb's championingo ff emalen erdinesasn d cultivationof c hildlikev ocals,
to the independentC anadian band Cub's repertoiroef songs about child-
hood, playedi n an offbeatd, eliberatelylo -fim annert, o CourtneyL ove's
infamous" kinderwhorec"o stumeo f a torna nd ill-fittinbga by-dolld ress
and smudged red lipstick,t o the phenomenalg lobal popularityo f the
Spice Girls,t he seeminglyo mnipresental l-femalBe rit-pops tudio group
thatu pdatest hem anufacturegdl itzinesos f the" girlg roups"o f the 1960s
whilep romotinga playfuli,f e quivocallyf eministn,o tiono f "girlp ower"
(Walters1 997, 69).3 Such calculateda nd, in Love's case,d eliberatelsye xu-
2 This descriptionis based on an accountb y JonathanB ernstein(1 996, 52). In a perfor-
mance in WorcesterM, assachusettsS, tefanig ot the boys in the audiencet o sing" I'm just a
girl"a nd theni nstructetdh eg irlst o chant" Fucky ou! I'm a girl!"S ee Wartofsk1y9 97, G1.
3 I revisedt hisa rticlein August1 997, at thes imultaneouhs eighto fS pice Girls'p opularity
(as signifieda,t leasti n part,b y theira ppearanceo n thec overo fR ollingS tonem agazine)a nd
the incipienta nti-Spice Girls backlash,e speciallyo n the Interet and World Wide Web,
wherec uriousb rowsersc an findp agesw itht itless ucha s "Spice GirlsS uck Club" and "Spice
Shack of Blasphemy.I" can add littlet o what has alreadyb een said and writtena bout the
Spice Girls'd ecidedlyc ynicala ppropriationan d recirculatioonf girlp ower (the "girls"h ere
includingt he late Princesso f Wales and even MargaretT hatcher)a s a recordi ndustryco m-
modityT. wo aspectso f the Spice Girls's uccesss toryr emaini nterestingf:i rstt,h e Spice Girls
phenomenon,f romt he start,h as been accompaniedb y the anti-SpiceG irlsb acklash;a nd
second,f ora ll thatt he Spice Girlsr epresenatn obviously" cosmetic"f eminismev acuatedo f
commitmentto combatingp atriarchyth, e anti-SpiceG irlsm ovements eems to have given
people licencet o use the group'sc ommerciasl uccesst o voice antifeminisetv, en misogynist,
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
S I G N S Spring 1998 I 587
allyp rovocativep erformanceosf girlishf emininitdyr awo n them id-1 980s
precedentss et by Madonna, especiallya round the time of her work in
Susan Seidelman's1 985 filmD esperatelSye ekingS usan,a nd CindyL auper,
whose 1984 hit "GirlsJ ustW antt o Have Fun" is reviseda nd updatedi n
No Doubt's "I'm Justa Girl."T hese earlierp op-rocki cons- significantly,
the firswt omen in rockt o attractt hek indo f devotedf ollowingo f young
femalef ansu suallya ssociatedw ithm ale rocks tars( Lewis 1990, 10) -set
the stagef orp erformerlisk eS tefaniw, ho has attractedh ero wn following
of fourteen-year-o"ldG wennabes"w ho clamor backstagea t No Doubt
showsh opingt o get a glimpseo f theiri dol. Followingi n thef ootstepso f
theirp rogenitorsL auper and Madonna, performerssu ch as Stefania nd
AlanisM orissetteh ave discoveredi n acting" likea girl"n ew wayso f pro-
motingt he culturalv isibilityo f women withinr ock music.A t the same
time,t he music industryh as discoveredi n thesef emales tars( each with
hero wn carefullycu ltivatedst arp ersona)n ew wayst o sell its productst o
youngf emalec onsumers( i.e., "real"g irls).
In this articleI examinec ontemporaryfe maler ock musicians'r epre-
sentationso f girls,g irlhood,a nd "girlc ulture"- popularc ulturapl ractices
thath ave a corollaryin the emergenceo f what I call "girls tudies" a sub-
genreo f recenta cademicf eminisstc holarshipth atc onstructgsi rlhooda s a
separate,e xceptionala, nd/orp ivotalp hase in femalei dentityf ormation.4
As evidencedb y" I'm Justa Girl,"t hes ong that,n ot incidentallyp,r opelled
Stefanit o her currentp osition as femaler ock icon, the performancoef
girlhood,a lthoughb y no means a homogeneouso r universale nterprise,
can now be said to constitutea new culturald ominantw ithint he musical
sentimentsM. anyo ft hea nti-SpiceG irlsW eb sitese xempliftyh ist endencyt o conflated isdain
fort he group'sm usicalp roduction( i.e., disdainf orm usicalc ommodities)w ithd isdainf or
women, generallys peaking.T his lattera specto f the backlashs eems particularliyn sidious,
givent het endencyt o elidef emales ubjectivitnyo t onlyw ithc onsumptionb ut witht hec om-
modityf ormi tself.
4 "Girl studies"e mergesn ot only fromf ieldss uch as psychologyw, ithi ts long-standing
interesitn humans ocial and psychicd evelopmentb, ut also fromn ewerf ieldss uch as cultural
studies,w hichh as its own tradition(sb y way of Birminghaman d the Centref orC ontempo-
raryC ulturalS tudies) of analyzingy outha nd the politicso f youths ubcultures(p articularly
working-classp,r edominantlmy ale youths ubcultures)T. he popularitya nd visibilityof the
"girl"w ithinp opulary outh/musiccu lturesc, ombinedw ithr enewedi nteresitn formso f vio-
lence/traumtah atp rimarilyaf fecgt irls( e.g., incest,e atingd isorderss, elf-mutilatioonr "cut-
ting"),m ayh ave had the effecotf spurringa cademici nterestin studyingt hes pecificc ultural
formationasn d culturalp racticeso f girls.A t the timew hen Signsw as solicitinga rticlesf or
thisv olume,e .g., a numbero f otherc allsf orp apersa nd/orb ook chapterso n thist opicw ere
circulatingT. his articlem ightb e said to constitutem y own ambivalenta nd criticavl enture
into girls tudies,a subjectI returnt o lateri n the article.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
588 I Wald
practiceo f women in rock. This is particularlyth e case among white
women" alternativer"o ckersw, ho drawo n practiceps ioneeredi n thee arly
1990s in independentm usic.I n thisr ealm,f emalea rtisths avev enturedt o
celebrateg irlhooda s a meanso f fosterinfge maley ouths ubculturea nd of
constructinnga rrativetsh atd isruptp atriarchadli scoursew ithint radition-
allym ale rocks ubcultures.T5h e "girlishnesss"o conspicuouslyo n display
among thesec ontemporarwy omen rockersd emandsa ttentionn, ot only
because it signalst he emergenceo f new," alternativef"e maler ocks ubjec-
tivities( revisinge arlierg enre-specifmic odels such as the rockc hick,t he
singer-songwritoerr ,t hed iva),b ut becausei n so doing,i t conveysv arious
assumptionsa bout (white)w omen'sv isibilitwy ithinp opulary outh/music
culture,s ignpostingt he incorporation-indeed,t he commerciapl reemi-
nence- of ironic,p ostmodernm odes of genderp erformance.
My interesitn thisa rticleis neithert o celebraten ort o denigratet heg irl
as a new modalityo f femaler ockp erformancbeu t to arguet hatt hee mer-
genceo ft heg irls ignalsa n importanmt omento fc ontradictiown ithinc on-
temporaryy outh/musiccu ltures.I n the exampleo fferedb y Stefani,t he
strategyof a ppropriatinggi rlhoodl,i ket hew ordgirli tselfs,i gnifieasm big-
uously: as a mode of culturallyvo iced resistancteo patriarchafle mininity;
as a tokeno f a sorto f"gesturafl eminismt"h ati s complicitw itht het rivial-
ization,m arginalizationa,n d eroticizationo f women withinr ock music
culturesa; nd as an expressiono f postmodern"g endert rouble"t hatp oten-
tiallyr ecuperategsi rlhoodi n universalizinget, hnocentritce rmsM. ore spe-
cificallya,n d notwithstandinSgt efani'se xplicita nd flippantm imicryo f
normativfe emininittyh, ei nstabilitoyf hera ppropriationof girlhooda s an
oppositionalo r feminisctu lturasl trategybe liest oo optimistiac readingo f
"I'm Justa Girl."F or example,e ven as the song'sl yricsr edefingei rl in a
rhetoricaol r sarcasticm anner,S tefani'sg irlishlyf emininep ersona-and
herv eryc ommerciapl opularityt,i eda s it is to herp erformancoef g ender-
potentiallyf urthertsh e notiont hatw ithinp atriarchaslo cietyw omen ac-
quire attentiona,p proval,a nd authorityto thed egreet hatt heya rew illing
to act likec hildren.
Justa s "I'm Justa Girl"p laysc leverlyw itht he codes of good girl/bad
girlf emininityso, Stefani'sp erformancies carefillyc alibratedt o display
elementso f "transgressivef"e mininit(yw ithouta bandoningt he principle
5 "Alternativer"o ck is oftend efinedi n termso f an aesthetict hatd isavows,o r evinces
criticaml istrusotf ,e arlierr ocks ubjectivitieass well as them usici ndustryit self(s ee Weisbard
and Marks1 995, vii). And yet" alternativei"s also,f orm yp urposes,a corporated emographic
and a new set of industryp racticess purredb y the discoveryt hati ndependentla bels could
effectivelsyer vea s major-labeal rtists-and-repertodierpe artmentsa,c cordingt o the logic of
outsourcing.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
S I G N S Spring 1998 I 589
that a femaler ock musician's" prettyf ace" is the ultimates ource of her
commerciapl opularityan d, thereforec,u lturaal uthorityI).n deed,S tefani's
performanceev incest he possibilityth att he recuperationof girlhoodm ay
not, in and of itself,b e incompatiblew ith the relentlesse roticizationo f
women'sb odies withinc orporater ock (a contradictionem bodiedi n Ste-
fani'sl ook as a kind of punk MarilynM onroe)- in otherw ords,t hatf e-
male rockersc an play at being girls,a nd even mock the conventionso f
patriarchagli rlhood,w hiler emainings exya nd/orr etaining"t he charmo f
passivity"(B eauvoir 1989, 337). The pointh erei s not merelyt hatg irlish
innocences ellsr ecordsb ut thatS tefani'ss arcasticd iscourseo f helpless,i n-
nocentg irlhoods imultaneouslfyu nctionass a strategyof feminisman d a
strategyof commerce( wheref eminisman d commercee xisti n a complex
and shiftingr,a thert han a simple and binary,r elationt o one another).
Staged, in other words, withint he veryc orporatei nstitutiontsh at are
agentso f dominantd iscoursest hatd ivestw omen of culturalp ower,S te-
fani'sp erformancoef infantileg, irlishf emininitmy ay be symbolicallyif,
not actuallyr, edundant.
As an analysiso f"I'm Justa Girl"e lucidatess, o-calledt ransgressivgee n-
der playw ithinc ontemporarryo ckm usicc ultureso ftenf rontsf orf arl ess
transgressivceo dings and recodingso f racializeda nd nationalizedi denti-
ties.A t its worst,t hati s, such recuperationof girlhoodh as been stagedi n
termst hate quate girlnessw ithw hiteness.F6 or Stefanii,n particularp,l ay-
ing witht he signifierosf girlhoodi s tacitlya strategyof bolsteringw hite
raciala uthority-indeed,o f bracingp reciselyt hatc ulturapl ower thata u-
thorizesh er to engage in the parodic mimicryo f gendern ormsw ithout
socialp enaltyI.n such a way," I'm Justa Girl"a ccentuatesS tefani'sg ender
transgression--hepro sition as a girl lead singer--whilem inimizingt he
visibilityof anotherm, ores alienta specto f herp erformanc-e hern egotia-
tiono fska,J amaica'fs irsut rbanp op stylea nd No Doubt's primarym usical
6 The conclusionso f thisa rticlew ereb roughth ome byt he commerciallsyu ccessfu1l 997
LilithF air concertt our,w hich,a lthought outedb y organizerS arahM cLachlana s a "celebra-
tion of women in music,"w as in fact primarilya celebrationo f white female singer-
songwritersn,o twithstandintgh e occasionali nclusiono f performerssu ch as TracyC hapman
(e.g., at theN ew YorkC ityc oncert).T he corporatea nd independentp ressm ade mucho f the
LilithF air's demonstrationth ata music festivaol rganizeda round "women'sv oices" could
drawt ickets ales and supporta rostero f appearancesa t medium-sizedar enast hroughoutt he
United States,a lthoughv eryf eww riterse vern oticedt hatt his" Galapalooza," as Time (see
Farley1 997, 60-61) put it,w as also a universalizinrge cuperationof whitew omen'sm usic/
peformanceas women'ms usic/performanOcen. e has onlyt o look at Spin magazine'sn otable
"GirlI ssue" of November1 997 (whichc ame out when thisa rticlew as alreadyi n press)f ora
demonstrationo f how feminism--noto nly femininity--mabye similarlyr ecuperateda s
white.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
590 I Wald
influence(b yw ayo fE nglish" Rude Boys"a nd 2-Toners)I. ndeed,S tefani's
pogo-inspiredd ance stylea nd her display of raw, raucous energya re
themselvesh allmarkos f ska performancree framedw ithint he contexto f
outrageous,u ninhibiteda,n d confidenwt hitef emalea lternativreo ckp er-
formance.I n this scenario,S tefani'ss elf-consciou"si nnocence,"" help-
lessness,"a nd "charm"a re not onlyc rucialt o herc riticadl isarticulatioonf
girlhoodf romi ts meaningw ithinp atriarchadl iscourse,t heya lso enable
hert o naturalizen ationala nd raciali dentityIn. focusinga ttentiono n gen-
der performancaes a privilegedsi tea nd sourceo f politicalo ppositionality,
criticalq uestions of national,c ultural,a nd racial appropriationc an be
made to disappearu ndert hes igno f transgressivgee nderp erformance.
This instanceo f how a contemporarfye maler ocki con'sa ppropriation
of girlhoodc an masko ther,r elatedk indso f appropriationre callsM adon-
na's appropriationof stylesa ssociatedw ithb lackg ay dragp erformancien
her hit song and video "Vogue,"a song calculatedt o displayM adonna's
own transgressivgee nder/sexuiadl entityM. ore recentlyt,h ee mergenceo f
the" girl"a s a newlyp rivilegedm ode ofw hitef emininitwyi thina lternative
rockc oincidesw itht he appearanceo f the whitem ale "loser" (e.g., Beck,
BillyC organo f SmashingP umpkinsa,n d KurtC obain of Nirvana),w hose
performanceosf abjecto r disempoweredm asculinityw orkt o recuperate
whiter aciala uthorityev ena s theyc irculatwe ithina n ostensiblyse lf-critical
performativeec onomyo f"whiteness."S7u ch observationns ecessitatae re-
thinkingo f what Coco Fusco calls "the postmoderist celebrationo f ap-
propriation"(1 995, 70) - at thev eryl east,t hati s, an acknowledgmenotf
the need to drawc riticadl istinctionbse tweent hef eminisrte fusaol f patri-
archald iscoursea nd performancetsh atc irculatet he signso f refusawl hile
actuallye xpressingco mplicityw ithp atriarchadli scourseA. s Fusco writes,
it is imperativteh atw e "cease fetishizintgh e gestureo f crossinga s inher-
entlyt ransgressivseo, thatw e can develop a languaget hata ccountsf or
who is crossinga, nd thatc an analyzet hes ignificancoef each act" (76).8
Fusco's insighti s crucialf ors pecifyinagn d localizingt he politicale ffi-
7 Of latet hereh as been a greatd eal writtenab out the" loser."F or two good accounts,s ee
Pfeil1 995 and Fuchs 1996.
8 Therei s, of course,a n impressivbe odyo f scholarshipth atp robest hen otiono f "appro-
priation"s pecificallwy ithint he contexto f U.S. popularm usicc ulturesS. ee, in additiont o
Fusco, Jones1 963; George 1988; Rogin 1992; Lipsitz1 994. For morer ecentd iscussionsin
thec ontexto f specificg enres/performesrese, M elnick1 997. As I arguei n "One of theB oys?
WhitenessG, ender,a nd PopularM usic Studies"( Wald 1997), to date mosto f the worko n
appropriationw ithinp opularm usicc ulturesf ocuseso n relationsb etweenm en, a factt hat
callsf ora genderedc ritiqueo f then otiono f appropriationit self.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
S I G N S Spring 1998 I 591
cacyo f what Eresto Laclau terms" disarticulation-rearticulatioorn ,t he
process of symbolics trugglet hroughw hich social groups reformulate
dominantc odes as a meanso f negotiatingp olitical-culturaagl ency( Laclau
1977). Such a practiceo f criticarl eappropriatioins frequentliyn vokedi n
discussionso f how variouss ubalternp opulationsd iscovera means of ac-
tivelyc onfrontinagn d resistingm arginalizatioinn the ironicr epossession
of signs otherwisem eant to enforcem arginalityF.e minist-Marxisctr itic
Laura Kipnis,f ollowingL aclau, explainst hisp rocessa s one in which" raw
materialsc an be appropriateda nd transformebdy oppositionalf orcesi n
order to express antagonismsa nd resistancet o dominant discourses"
(1993, 16). And yeti t is cear in the case of Stefani'ss arcastics end-upo f
"girl, a word thati n thec ontexto f rockm usicc ultureso ftens ignifiens ot
femaley outhfulnesbsu t femaled isempowermen(ti .e., patriarchaclo nde-
scensiont owarda nd trivializationof women), that such disarticulation-
rearticulatiodno es littlet o undermineh egemonicg irlhood--toa pproxi-
mates omethingm orea kint o Stefani'os wn brasha nd insubordinat"eF uck
you, I'm a girl!"
Fusco's argumenta dditionallyin sistso n an interrogatioonf the links
betweent hec ulturapl racticeso f contemporarfye maler ockersa nd various
raciallya nd culturallysp ecifica ssumptionsa bout girlhood.A cquiringi ts
meaning,l iket he signifiewr omanw, ithint he contexto f specificd iscursive
regimesg, irlhoodis not a universacl omponento ff emalee xperiencer; ather,
thet ermi mpliesv erys pecificp racticesa nd discoursesa bout females exual-
ity,w omen'sc ultural-politicaagl ency,a nd women'ss ocial location.L ike-
wise, the variousc ontemporarnya rrativeosf girlhoodp roduceda nd dis-
seminatedw ithinU .S. rock music culturesa re formedw ithint he terms
of veryp articulars trugglesf ors ocial and culturala gency.M oreover,a nd
as revealedb y the contrastb etweent he actualm aturityan d/orm usicale x-
pertiseo f thep erformerins questiona nd they outhfulnesosf theirp rimary
audiences, these strugglest o specifya nd potentiallye ven radicalize
girlhood are inseparablef roml ate capitalism'sd esire for new, youthful
markets.
What,t hen,i s the relationb etweenf eminisman d currents trategieos f
representinggi rlhoodw ithinU .S. rock music cultures?E speciallya t the
currenth istoricajlu ncture,n otable for the advento f an artisticallsye lf-
assureda nd cannilye nterprisingge nerationo f highlyv isiblew omen rock
artistsc,a n the" reversiont"o girlhoodw orka s a strategyfo rf eminismo,r
forp roducingf eminisgt irls?G iven the contradictionesm bodied in Ste-
fani's" I'm Justa Girl,"t o whatd egreei s the appropriationof girlhood,a s
a strategyp articularlyas sociatedw ith whitew omen's rock performance,
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
592 I Wald
also a strategyo f performingra ce--of racializingg irlhoodi tself?H ow
mightf emaler ock performerws ho occupy a differenrte lationt o hege-
monicg irlhoodc onstrucdt ifferennta rrativeosf girlhood?
In whatf ollows,I investigatteh eseq uestionsi n mored etaila nd as they
pertaint o two specificg roups of performersf:i rstt,h e youngw omen in
independentr ockk nowna s Riot Grrrlsw, ho in the early1 990s initiated
theiro wn ongoing" girl-styrlee volution,a"n d thenl aterS honenK nifea nd
Cibo Matto, two Japanesea ll-femaleb ands thath ave attractedsm allb ut
significanUt .S. followingsp, articularlaym ong "indie" rocka ficionados.9
In so doing,I relyp rimariloyn a criticaal nalysiso ft hea cts,i mages,m usic,
and lyricst hatt hesew omen produce,a s well as on the public,m ediated
narrativetsh atc irculate( in the printm edia, on the Interneta nd World
Wide Web, in fanzineso, n MTV, or in hearsay)a roundt he musica nd the
performersA. s my opening storya bout Stefanis uggests,t he contradic-
tionst hatc haracterizteh e use of the girla s a mode of culturalr esistance
withinf emaler ock performancaer e not necessarilyex perienceda s such
by the consumerso f thism usic,w ho may be more or less receptived, e-
pendingo n thec ontexta nd thep articularitioefs t heiro wn sociall ocations,
to thel imitation(sp olitical,id eological,a nd even aesthetict) hats uch con-
tradictioni mposes on a straightforwardcleyle bratoryn arrativeo f such
performanceF.r om the standpointo f a certaing irlc onsumerf orbidden
fromu singt hef -worda t schoolo r at home,f ore xample,S tefani'ps rofane
mockeryo f/revelriny girlnessm ayh ave an air of transgressiond,a nger,o r
defiance( againstp arentala nd school authoritya,g ainstg enderedb our-
geois standardsa nd expectationst)h ati s farl esss alientt o anotherg irlc on-
sumer( potentiallyo f the same class,n ational,r egional,a nd ethnic/racial
background)m orei nclinedt o see Stefani'sp erformancaes merelyp layful,
withouts ubstancet hatw ould marki t as authenticalltyr ansgressivTe.h e
instabilitoyf the strategirc eappropriatioonf girlhoodi s mirroredan d re-
produced,i n otherw ords,i n thev eryi nstabilitoyf them eaningst hatc on-
sumersc onstruef romp erformerws ho play the girl or who attemptt o
signifyg irlnessin an ironico r parodicf ashion.
However,a s the followingd iscussioni s meantt o illustratet,h e ethno-
9 Independenrto ck- or,m orec olloquiallyi,n dier ock- is a commont ermt hatr eferns ot to
a musicala estheticb ut to the meanso f productiono f the musicu nderd iscussion.I ndepen-
dent rock is music that is produced and marketedt hroughi ndependenti nstitutionsi,.e .,
institution(sr ecordl abels,d istributorcso, ncertv enues)t hata rei ndependenft romt hem ega-
corporationst hat dominatet he global rock music industryR. ecent yearsh ave seen many
"indie-majorm" ergerrs eflectinag v arietyo f corporatea rrangementisn; mostc ases,f ormerly
independentla bels exchanges ome parto f ownershipo f the label fort he financingp,r omo-
tion,a nd distributionre sourceso f a majorl abel.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
S I G N S Spring 1998 1 593
centrismth atc haracterizecse rtaina ppropriationosf girlhoodi s playedo ut
at the level of production,w here femalem usicianso peratew ithinv ery
differentrlyac ializeds phereso f girlhood.W hilet hee xampleo f Riot Grrrl
raisess pecificq uestionsa bout ther elationb etweeni deologya nd indepen-
dent modes of culturalp roduction,a s well as about the potentiali nstru-
mentalityof g irlhoodt o a feminisctr itiqueo f thec orporatem usici ndustry,
thec ase ofJ apanesew omen bandsi llustratehso w womenw ho arem argin-
alized by dominantn arrativeosf racea nd gender( understooda s mutually
constitutivdei scourses)n egotiatet heiro wn parodico r complicitc ounter-
narrativesIn. sofara s mediar epresentationosf Japanesew omen rockersr e-
capitulatef amiliarst ereotypeosf Asian femininitygi,v ingr iset o imageso f
Japanesef emalea rtistsa s ideallyg irlisha nd innocent( a portrayatl hati s
not necessarilyat odds withr epresentationosf "exotic"A sianf emales exu-
alities),t hesea rtistsp roduced istinctn arrativetsh atd enyg irlhoodt he sta-
tus ofu niversalitayn d thati nsteade ngaget hec ulturaal nd racials pecificity
of hegemonicg irlhood.T hese observationsh ave relevancem, oreovert, o
thew ayst hatg irlhoodi s recuperate-d or not- withint hev ariedm usical
and performancpe racticeso f AfricanA mericanw omen, includingc ur-
rentlyp opulary oung femalep erformerssu ch as Da Brat,L il' Kim, Foxy
Brown,a nd Brandy( as well as, perhaps,a n earlierin carnationof theg roup
TLC), some of whom (e.g., Brandy)h ave workedt o projecta n air of girl-
ish "innocence"i n theirm usic,v ideos,l yricsa, nd performanceo,t herso f
whom (e.g., FoxyB rown) havea ggressivelmy arketedth eir" youthfuls"e x-
ualitys, ometimesb y pretendingto be youngert hant heyr eallya re.10
My argumenta bout the ambiguous politicale ffectos f "actingl ike a
girl"- eithera s a strategyf orp rogressivea,n tiracisfte minismo r a means
of fosteringth e careersa nd the creativityof youngf emalep opularm usi-
cians-is informedb y my own fan/consumeprr actices,a s well as by
mys tatusa s a relativelyyo ungw hitef emalea cademic.T he issuesI discuss
here are particularlgye rmanet o my own discoverya,r ound 1992, of the
loud, fast,a nd unapologetically"a ngry"m usic associatedw ith the pre-
dominantlyw hite, middle-classw omen in and around the Riot Grrrl
movementT. his musicals ubculturen ot onlyp rovidedm e new aural and
kinesthetipc leasures,i t also encouragedm e to begin writinga bout con-
temporarym usicc ulturea s parto f myp rofessionapl racticeI. t is therefore
with an investments imultaneouslyp olitical,p rofessionala, nd personal
10T hese women'sp erformanceusn derscoret hew ay thatg irlhoodi s both denied to, and
reinterpretewdi thint he contexto f,A fricanA mericanw omen,w hose use of the termgirla s
a mode of addresss uggestsa vernaculart raditiono f such reinterpretation/reappropriation
as well.
This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions