Riot Grrrl and the Media Blackout

This episode explores how Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill engineered a media blackout to protect riot grrrl’s feminist politics from mainstream sensationalism, tracing the scene's DIY infrastructure, zine culture, and underground distribution that enabled this bold move. We unpack the tension between commercial visibility and political integrity, the backlash from major outlets, and the lasting influence on punk feminism. The story shows how a deliberate refusal of coverage can become a powerful act of resistance.

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