Thursday, April 7, 2011

Punk and Stuff Like That

A couple days ago I was asked to contribute a guest post for I Live Sweat on my experiences with sexism in the punk scene. I'm not typically one of those people who thrives on making a big stir or writing something I know would isolate more than half the people I'm friends with, but I decided to go for it anyway, just because sometimes I really do think things are not fair and it took me years to not get discouraged over it.  At this point, the way girls are sometimes treated when they're in certain creative fields is really more of mosquito bite than something that gets me fiery.
Here's an excerpt:
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Let me start this by saying that sitting down to write this was not easy for me because not only does it make me upset to think about, but I know that when people talk about this topic, it’s mostly taken with a grain of salt. I don’t like people rolling their eyes at me; I don’t like being preachy; and I hate sounding like I’m some sort of victim—all which I think is part of the problem. I shouldn’t ever feel like I have to apologize for wanting to be treated like one of the guys or even wanting to be treated like I’m different because girls are different.

The difference wasn’t always clear to me. Before I was completely immersed in any music scene, let alone the DIY punk community I now call home, I’m ashamed to admit I was the first person to roll my eyes when the stereotypical Bikini Kill-obsessed, cut-off-shorts-clad punk  girl complained about the way men treated her at shows. I just didn’t believe it was true, and I think it’s something that’s hard to recognize if you don’t experience it yourself, which is why I’d never fault anyone for thinking that the punk scene is immune to sexism—especially because it’s empowering and supportive in so many ways.

Read the whole thing on I Live Sweat's blog

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