Best Kathleen Hanna Quotes About Feminism

Kathleen Hanna formed the feminist punk rock band Bikini Kill in 1990. She played a huge role in the Riot Grrrl feminist movement that allowed women to participate in the punk scene without being pushed to the side. She is an incredible musician, feminist activist and role model to women around the world. In honor of Kathleen Hanna’s birthday, here are some of her quotes fuel the punk rock feminist in you.

• “Girls to the front!”

There is no way to start this list with anything other than this classic statement. Kathleen yelled it out in the middle of a Bikini Kill show, telling the boys in the crowd to go to the back and encouraging all the girls to come to the front. Bikini Kill shows were going to be a space where women could participate just as much as men were always allowed to at punk shows.

• “You’re a big girl now/You’ve got no reason not to fight/You’ve got to know what they are/’Fore you can stand up for your rights/Rights, rights?/You do have rights”

From Bikini Kill’s song “Double Dare Ya,” these words serve as a reminder to girls that they have rights, and the whole song encourages girls to do whatever they want to do, because Bikini Kill is “double daring” them to do so.

• “White boy, don’t laugh, don’t cry, just die!/I’m so sorry if I’m alienating some of you/Your whole fucking culture alienates me”

These lines are from Bikini Kill’s song “White Boy.” The songs opens with a man talking about how girls are “asking for it” because of the way they dress, act and talk. Bikini Kill is no stranger to speaking up against rape culture and slut shaming, and the anger in Kathleen’s voice when she screams these lyrics reflect the anger women face every day from being alienated by men.

• “I won’t stop talking. I am a girl you have no control over. There is not a gag big enough to handle this mouth.”

There is another version of this quote in one of Kathleen’s spoken word performances titled “The Middle of the Night In My House” that goes like, “I am your worst nightmare come to life. I’m a girl who you can’t shut up. There’s not a gag big enough that can handle this mouth.” This performance deals with sensitive subject such as assault, but the power behind her words speak to so many women. Ladies, always remember to speak your mind and never let someone shut you up. Speak up when you want to and when you need to.

• “I would much rather be the obnoxious feminist girl than be complicit in my own dehumanization.”

Why all women still aren’t feminists, I don’t know.

• “How does it feel?/It feels blind/How does it feel?/Well, it feels fucking blind/What have you taught me? Nothing/Look at what you have taught me/Your world has taught me nothing”

Kathleen Hanna wrote these lyrics as a poem when she was 16, after she was taken advantage of by an older man. This song and these lyrics are what it’s like growing up and living in a man’s world.

• “I’m not going to sit around and be peace and love with somebody’s boot on my neck.”

In a world where women continue to be oppressed, this quote reminds people why women are angry. Why we have a right to be angry and a right to be loud about it.

• Every single word in “Run Fast”

“Run Fast” is a song by one of Kathleen Hanna’s other bands, The Julie Ruin. The song paints a picture of what it’s like to grow up as a girl. The teasing girls endure, the fear that comes from being in a situation with a man and doing what you have to because you’re scared they might get violent, wearing certain clothes to avoid being looked at and finally having enough of it. Although every line in the song has great importance, my favorite is, “But whatever the truth, in the end we made/Tiny islands where we didn’t always have to be afraid/And an X will forever mark the spot/When we decided we had had just about enough”

• “I am not going to have any more ‘fat days.’ I will not be dictated to by patriarchal media bullshit which tells me I’m not good enough. I will wear what I like, eat what I like, fuck who I like and identify however I want.”

Don’t let media tell you how you should look or act. Do what you want, and don’t feel bad for it.

• “When she talks, I hear the revolution/In her hips, there’s revolution/When she walks, the revolution’s coming/In her kiss, I taste the revolution”

Finally, from Bikini Kill’s most known song, “Rebel Girl,” the lyrics remind women to love each other. This song is about seeing a woman you think is cool, and instead of hating her, you want to be her best friend. Instead of preaching hate and jealousy, build other women up and support them instead of tearing them down and looking for reasons to hate them.

Happy birthday Kathleen Hanna, the rebel girl who paved the way and created a safe space for women in punk.