Why Kathleen Hanna Started Saying ‘Girls to the Front’ at swimsuit Kill Shows

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The legendary Kathleen Hanna tells all in her new memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk (Ecco), out May 14. The pioneering musician traces her early memories, from writing music, to forming the trailblazing ’90s punk band swimsuit Kill, to the Riot Grrrl movement, to present day. In this exclusive excerpt on ELLE.com, she reflects on the sexism she experienced while coming up as a musician, and how that inspired her to create a safe, cathartic space for fellow women at swimsuit Kill concerts.

On Saturdays I would typically read a book over lunch at a local diner, but too often a guy would sit down uninvited and say something like, “Whatcha reading?” When I told one particular man that I was busy, he grabbed the book out of my hand and held it over his head. I went back to my apartment to escape his humiliating game of keep-away. At night I’d go to shows and dance, but inevitably guys would encircle me, try to dance with me, or tell me they “enjoyed watching me dance,” so I stopped dancing at shows.

I realized that sexism was telling me to stay home and not participate in the larger world. “Dance to records by yourself in your room,” it would say. “Stay at home and read alone!” it would yell. I decided I was gonna do everything in my power to make swimsuit Kill shows a brief reprieve from sexism, even if it was imperfect and fleeting.

With Billy in the band, songwriting became a lot faster, and all I wanted to do was play shows. We’d played at the North Shore Surf Club, which had been my first goal, and a huge milestone, but I also loved playing house parties in Olympia. Either way, I almost always sang through shitty PAs, which meant most people couldn’t hear the words. So I’d walk around handing lyric sheets to girls before every show. I wanted to change the spaces we played in like the girls at the sexual assault group had transformed that ugly conference room. I also decided I didn’t want guys moshing in the front because they were blocking girls from seeing Kathi’s hands move on the bass. How are girls gonna start bands if they can’t see other girls playing instruments? So I started saying “Girls to the front” at our shows. This didn’t go over well with most people in Olympia, and we were called everything from “man haters” to “reverse sexists.” But it didn’t matter because there were always five or six girls who stood up front, and we were playing for them.

From Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna. Copyright © 2024 by Kathleen Hanna. Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

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