Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk

Depicting herself as a “Rapunzel gone horribly wrong,” Hanna, lead singer of the punk feminist band Bikini Kill, assesses her career as a singer-songwriter and how music saved her life. Hanna does not sugarcoat descriptions of her childhood, the years she struggled to make ends meet, and band life as she powered through illness and abuse to reinvent herself. Hanna offers a transparent and sincere performance as she narrates her debut memoir, inviting listeners to share her journey and explaining how punk led her to activism and feminism as well as music. Her evolution from riot grrrl to friend, wife, and mother engages and will especially appeal to fans of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre. She admits that the subculture created to empower women was not always fully inclusive, but it nonetheless provided a space for anger and art to forge a path for women performers to find success in a man-dominated business. That international movement continues to examine violence against women and inspire individuals to rise up against injustice.