Feminist Playlist: Week 1
Every March I put together a feminist playlist for Womens History month. Some years I get all 31 days; some months I don't. Some years there is a coherent theme; most years there is not. Last year, I got one together and it was rage but also joy and acceptance.
I am an unabashed feminist. My feminism, by its very nature, must be intersectional. My feminism cares about the planet; we all live here, you know? And its the only one we got. My feminism cares about my Black and Brown sisters, who face worsening conditions in the US. (Yes, Sister Sledge, we are family). My feminism embraces our trans sisters. My feminism cares about how anti-fat rhetoric kills women. My feminism also cares about how toxic masculinity destroys everyone, including men. My feminism loves abortion. It's sex-positive af and hates fascism (true feminism cannot embrace fascism and yes, I said true. Examine fascism and tell me where equality can live in that grotesque thing)
So I created a playlist that tries to embrace it.
Feminism feels even more vital right now in the US. The US gov't is attempting to strip women, especially poor women and married women, of their rights to vote. The Supreme Court just said the mail can discriminate against people, including Black women. Women are dying because they can't receive healthcare. A woman in KY who tried to get healthcare for a miscarriage, nearly died, and was arrested in hospital.
I am angry. I feel helpless. I wanted my playlist this month to reflect that rage, but also to remind me of the joy in being a woman. The power. You have to have hope and things to celebrate, otherwise why are you bending the moral arc of the universe toward justice? (We cut our hands with the hope that it will be better for others. For those after us. In case you were unsure of the answer)
Much of this month's playlist is owed to this wonderful one I found.
This is week 1.
Thank God for Abortion Anthem - Shout Your Abortion
Abortion is healthcare. Outlawing abortion leads to people dying, as we've seen. Maternal healthcare has fallen since Dobbs in the US. Griswold (right to contraceptive) is the right's target.
VIAL - Just Fine
This punk band for Minneapolis is one of my favorites. Sometimes, we have to accept being just fine. (Yes, my feminism cares about mental health). This is also a fun melody about how we build coping strategies to get by.
Dead Men Can't Catcall - The Shiverettes
According to the Girl Scouts of America, one in ten girls is catcalled before her 11th birthday. One in six face gender based harassment in elementary school. I have a memory of being about 23. I was driving from DC back to Buffalo, and I was getting gas in PA. It was a beautiful evening. The air was soft and sweet, the hills were flush with green, the drive was easy. I was singing to Damian Marley while getting gas. I was thinking about what time I'd get home and if I should get food in Erie and pumping gas. A man walked by and said: "Smile. You'd be prettier to look at." I stared in shock.
Yo, I was pumping gas. The damn audacity. I am not there for consumption, dude.
Anyways, a big answer to this is to raise better men. That onus is often put on mothers but I'm shoving it back on fathers, too. What kind of sons are you raising?
Puncha Nazi- Doll Skin
Fascism repudiates feminism. It does not believe in equality of sexes, classes, or races. It believes in consolidating power and destroying all that it can to achieve, and keep, that power.
Feminism fights back. Sometimes you gotta fight back with a fist.
No Obligation - The Linda Lindas
I love The Linda Lindas. This catchy tune is about how women are expected to modify ourselves for the pleasure of men. But why? Why do we care about their pleasure? Why not the pleasure in wearing what we want? The pleasure in deciding how these jeans fit or this mumu or just letting our greys grow out because aging is a gift?
This song gives me real riot grrl vibes (yes we will have some riot grrl later this month)
How It's Done - Huntrx/K Pop Demon Hunters
I love this movie and it's feminist as hell (should I write an essay on that?) This is a traditional feminist strong girl anthem. But it also shows the girls taking care of one another. Enjoying their food. Embracing what they love. Fit check for my napalm era is a lyric for all time (Feminism does hate Henry Kissinger tho)
I also wanted to avoid only white artists (a lot of feminism packaged for easy consumption is Feminine Mystique white feminism) and I wanted this list to embrace Black, Brown, and Asian artists. (I fear the global south has been neglected, so please recs below!)
My Body, My Choice - Naika
Naika is a French-Haitian singer. Hey, remember during Trump's inauguration some chod posted "Your body, my choice"? The dead have more rights than women.
And that's it for week 1!
Hopefully I'll get week 2 on here. My playlist is done but posting is so often incremental.
