Just a Girl? Rock Music, Feminism, and the Cultural Construction of Female Youth Author(s): Gayle Wald Source: Signs, Vol. 23, No. 3, Feminisms and Youth Cultures (Spring, 1998), pp. 585-610 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3175302 . Accessed: 29/10/2013 16:07 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Signs. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Gayle Wald Just a Girl? Rock Music, Feminism, and the Cultural Construction of Female Youth CauseI 'm justa girll,i ttleo l' me Don'tl etm eo uto fy ours ight I'm justa girla, llp rettayn dp etite So don'tl etm eh avea nyr ights. Oh, I've hadi tu p to here! -No Doubt," I'mJ usta Girl,f" romT ragiKc ingdom (Trauma/Intersco1p9e9,6 ) Gweni s someonet hatg irlsc anl ooku p to andf eell iket heyk now. Shei s veryE verygirl. -No Doubtb assisTt onyK anal,o n thea ppeal ofl eads ingerG wenS tefanil t would have been difficultto tunei n to a U.S. Top 40 radio stationf or veryl ong duringt he summera nd fallo f 1996 withouth earinga t least one iterationo f "I'm Justa Girl,"t he catchyb reakthroughsi nglet hat propelledt he neo-skab and No Doubt to a positiona s one of the year's top-sellingr ocka cts." I'm Justa Girl"n ot onlye arnedN o Doubt commer- cial visibilityn earlya decade (and threea lbums)i nto theg roup'sc areeri,t also establishedt wenty-seven-year-oGlwd en Stefani,t he band's charis- maticl ead singer,a s the latesti n a serieso f femaler ockm usicianst o have attractedw idespreadc ommerciavl isibilityas well as a loyal followingo f youngf emalef ans.S portingh er trademarkb ared midriffr,e tro-platinum hair,a nd conspicuouslym ade-up face (which ofteni ncludesa n Indian bindio rnamentingh er forehead),S tefanih as establisheda reputationa s a skillfual nd dynamicl ive performewr ho puts on energeticn, o-holds- barreds hows (she once danceds o hardd uringa concertt hats he fractured I would liket o thankR ajeswariS underR ajan and You-meP arkf ort heiri nvaluablec riti- cisms of variousd raftso f this articlea nd for theirs upporti n the processo f writinga nd revisingit . I would also liket o acknowledget he commentso f thet wo anonymousr eviewers fromS igns.I am veryg ratefutl o George WashingtonU niversityw, hichp rovidedr esearch supporti n the formo f a UniversityF acilitatingF und Awarda nd a JuniorS cholarI ncentive Award. 1Q uoted in Wartofsk1y9 97, G1. [SignJs:o ual ofWomeinnC ulturaen dS ociet1y9 98,v ol.2 3, no. 3] ? 1998 byT heU niversiotyfC hicagoA. llr ightrse serve0d0. 97-9740/98/2303-0001$02.00 This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 586 I Wald a foot). Stefani'sp erformancoef "I'm Justa Girl" at a 1996 Seattlec on- cert- one variationo f an act she was stillp erforminign the summero f 1997-provides a memorablei llustrationA. t firstp rostratinhg erselfo n thes tagea nd repeatingt hep hrase" I'm justa girl"i n an infantilew, himper- ing voice,s he thena bruptlysh iftedg ears,j umpingu p, railing" Fuck you, I'm a girl!"a t the delighteda udience (at least halfo f whom were young women), and exuberantllya unchingin tot he remaindero f thes ong.2 Stefani'sd ramatics tagingo f disparatem odes of femininiteyx emplifies hera deptm anipulationo f rocks pectaclei n thet raditiono f femaler ockers such as SiouxsieS ioux, GraceJ ones,P oly Styrene(o f X-RayS pex), Annie Lennox, CourtneyL ove, and Madonna. More significantlhye, r perfor- mance of "I'm Justa Girl" exemplifieas trendt hats incet he early1 990s has gainedi ncreasingp rominencwe ithinr ockm usicc ulturesf: emalem usi- cians' strategipc erformanceosf "girlhood"a nd theird eliberatec ultivation of various" girlish"id entitieisn theirm usic,s tyle,a nd stagea cts.T he per- formancoe fg irlhoodb yc ontemporarfye maler ockerse ncompassesa wide rangeo f musicala nd artisticp racticesb y women within,o utsideo f, and on the marginso f the corporatem ainstreamf: roms inger-songwritLeirs a Loeb's championingo ff emalen erdinesasn d cultivationof c hildlikev ocals, to the independentC anadian band Cub's repertoiroef songs about child- hood, playedi n an offbeatd, eliberatelylo -fim annert, o CourtneyL ove's infamous" kinderwhorec"o stumeo f a torna nd ill-fittinbga by-dolld ress and smudged red lipstick,t o the phenomenalg lobal popularityo f the Spice Girls,t he seeminglyo mnipresental l-femalBe rit-pops tudio group thatu pdatest hem anufacturegdl itzinesos f the" girlg roups"o f the 1960s whilep romotinga playfuli,f e quivocallyf eministn,o tiono f "girlp ower" (Walters1 997, 69).3 Such calculateda nd, in Love's case,d eliberatelsye xu- 2 This descriptionis based on an accountb y JonathanB ernstein(1 996, 52). In a perfor- mance in WorcesterM, assachusettsS, tefanig ot the boys in the audiencet o sing" I'm just a girl"a nd theni nstructetdh eg irlst o chant" Fucky ou! I'm a girl!"S ee Wartofsk1y9 97, G1. 3 I revisedt hisa rticlein August1 997, at thes imultaneouhs eighto fS pice Girls'p opularity (as signifieda,t leasti n part,b y theira ppearanceo n thec overo fR ollingS tonem agazine)a nd the incipienta nti-Spice Girls backlash,e speciallyo n the Interet and World Wide Web, wherec uriousb rowsersc an findp agesw itht itless ucha s "Spice GirlsS uck Club" and "Spice Shack of Blasphemy.I" can add littlet o what has alreadyb een said and writtena bout the Spice Girls'd ecidedlyc ynicala ppropriationan d recirculatioonf girlp ower (the "girls"h ere includingt he late Princesso f Wales and even MargaretT hatcher)a s a recordi ndustryco m- modityT. wo aspectso f the Spice Girls's uccesss toryr emaini nterestingf:i rstt,h e Spice Girls phenomenon,f romt he start,h as been accompaniedb y the anti-SpiceG irlsb acklash;a nd second,f ora ll thatt he Spice Girlsr epresenatn obviously" cosmetic"f eminismev acuatedo f commitmentto combatingp atriarchyth, e anti-SpiceG irlsm ovements eems to have given people licencet o use the group'sc ommerciasl uccesst o voice antifeminisetv, en misogynist, This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions S I G N S Spring 1998 I 587 allyp rovocativep erformanceosf girlishf emininitdyr awo n them id-1 980s precedentss et by Madonna, especiallya round the time of her work in Susan Seidelman's1 985 filmD esperatelSye ekingS usan,a nd CindyL auper, whose 1984 hit "GirlsJ ustW antt o Have Fun" is reviseda nd updatedi n No Doubt's "I'm Justa Girl."T hese earlierp op-rocki cons- significantly, the firswt omen in rockt o attractt hek indo f devotedf ollowingo f young femalef ansu suallya ssociatedw ithm ale rocks tars( Lewis 1990, 10) -set the stagef orp erformerlisk eS tefaniw, ho has attractedh ero wn following of fourteen-year-o"ldG wennabes"w ho clamor backstagea t No Doubt showsh opingt o get a glimpseo f theiri dol. Followingi n thef ootstepso f theirp rogenitorsL auper and Madonna, performerssu ch as Stefania nd AlanisM orissetteh ave discoveredi n acting" likea girl"n ew wayso f pro- motingt he culturalv isibilityo f women withinr ock music.A t the same time,t he music industryh as discoveredi n thesef emales tars( each with hero wn carefullycu ltivatedst arp ersona)n ew wayst o sell its productst o youngf emalec onsumers( i.e., "real"g irls). In this articleI examinec ontemporaryfe maler ock musicians'r epre- sentationso f girls,g irlhood,a nd "girlc ulture"- popularc ulturapl ractices thath ave a corollaryin the emergenceo f what I call "girls tudies" a sub- genreo f recenta cademicf eminisstc holarshipth atc onstructgsi rlhooda s a separate,e xceptionala, nd/orp ivotalp hase in femalei dentityf ormation.4 As evidencedb y" I'm Justa Girl,"t hes ong that,n ot incidentallyp,r opelled Stefanit o her currentp osition as femaler ock icon, the performancoef girlhood,a lthoughb y no means a homogeneouso r universale nterprise, can now be said to constitutea new culturald ominantw ithint he musical sentimentsM. anyo ft hea nti-SpiceG irlsW eb sitese xempliftyh ist endencyt o conflated isdain fort he group'sm usicalp roduction( i.e., disdainf orm usicalc ommodities)w ithd isdainf or women, generallys peaking.T his lattera specto f the backlashs eems particularliyn sidious, givent het endencyt o elidef emales ubjectivitnyo t onlyw ithc onsumptionb ut witht hec om- modityf ormi tself. 4 "Girl studies"e mergesn ot only fromf ieldss uch as psychologyw, ithi ts long-standing interesitn humans ocial and psychicd evelopmentb, ut also fromn ewerf ieldss uch as cultural studies,w hichh as its own tradition(sb y way of Birminghaman d the Centref orC ontempo- raryC ulturalS tudies) of analyzingy outha nd the politicso f youths ubcultures(p articularly working-classp,r edominantlmy ale youths ubcultures)T. he popularitya nd visibilityof the "girl"w ithinp opulary outh/musiccu lturesc, ombinedw ithr enewedi nteresitn formso f vio- lence/traumtah atp rimarilyaf fecgt irls( e.g., incest,e atingd isorderss, elf-mutilatioonr "cut- ting"),m ayh ave had the effecotf spurringa cademici nterestin studyingt hes pecificc ultural formationasn d culturalp racticeso f girls.A t the timew hen Signsw as solicitinga rticlesf or thisv olume,e .g., a numbero f otherc allsf orp apersa nd/orb ook chapterso n thist opicw ere circulatingT. his articlem ightb e said to constitutem y own ambivalenta nd criticavl enture into girls tudies,a subjectI returnt o lateri n the article. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 588 I Wald practiceo f women in rock. This is particularlyth e case among white women" alternativer"o ckersw, ho drawo n practiceps ioneeredi n thee arly 1990s in independentm usic.I n thisr ealm,f emalea rtisths avev enturedt o celebrateg irlhooda s a meanso f fosterinfge maley ouths ubculturea nd of constructinnga rrativetsh atd isruptp atriarchadli scoursew ithint radition- allym ale rocks ubcultures.T5h e "girlishnesss"o conspicuouslyo n display among thesec ontemporarwy omen rockersd emandsa ttentionn, ot only because it signalst he emergenceo f new," alternativef"e maler ocks ubjec- tivities( revisinge arlierg enre-specifmic odels such as the rockc hick,t he singer-songwritoerr ,t hed iva),b ut becausei n so doing,i t conveysv arious assumptionsa bout (white)w omen'sv isibilitwy ithinp opulary outh/music culture,s ignpostingt he incorporation-indeed,t he commerciapl reemi- nence- of ironic,p ostmodernm odes of genderp erformance. My interesitn thisa rticleis neithert o celebraten ort o denigratet heg irl as a new modalityo f femaler ockp erformancbeu t to arguet hatt hee mer- genceo ft heg irls ignalsa n importanmt omento fc ontradictiown ithinc on- temporaryy outh/musiccu ltures.I n the exampleo fferedb y Stefani,t he strategyof a ppropriatinggi rlhoodl,i ket hew ordgirli tselfs,i gnifieasm big- uously: as a mode of culturallyvo iced resistancteo patriarchafle mininity; as a tokeno f a sorto f"gesturafl eminismt"h ati s complicitw itht het rivial- ization,m arginalizationa,n d eroticizationo f women withinr ock music culturesa; nd as an expressiono f postmodern"g endert rouble"t hatp oten- tiallyr ecuperategsi rlhoodi n universalizinget, hnocentritce rmsM. ore spe- cificallya,n d notwithstandinSgt efani'se xplicita nd flippantm imicryo f normativfe emininittyh, ei nstabilitoyf hera ppropriationof girlhooda s an oppositionalo r feminisctu lturasl trategybe liest oo optimistiac readingo f "I'm Justa Girl."F or example,e ven as the song'sl yricsr edefingei rl in a rhetoricaol r sarcasticm anner,S tefani'sg irlishlyf emininep ersona-and herv eryc ommerciapl opularityt,i eda s it is to herp erformancoef g ender- potentiallyf urthertsh e notiont hatw ithinp atriarchaslo cietyw omen ac- quire attentiona,p proval,a nd authorityto thed egreet hatt heya rew illing to act likec hildren. Justa s "I'm Justa Girl"p laysc leverlyw itht he codes of good girl/bad girlf emininityso, Stefani'sp erformancies carefillyc alibratedt o display elementso f "transgressivef"e mininit(yw ithouta bandoningt he principle 5 "Alternativer"o ck is oftend efinedi n termso f an aesthetict hatd isavows,o r evinces criticaml istrusotf ,e arlierr ocks ubjectivitieass well as them usici ndustryit self(s ee Weisbard and Marks1 995, vii). And yet" alternativei"s also,f orm yp urposes,a corporated emographic and a new set of industryp racticess purredb y the discoveryt hati ndependentla bels could effectivelsyer vea s major-labeal rtists-and-repertodierpe artmentsa,c cordingt o the logic of outsourcing. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions S I G N S Spring 1998 I 589 that a femaler ock musician's" prettyf ace" is the ultimates ource of her commerciapl opularityan d, thereforec,u lturaal uthorityI).n deed,S tefani's performanceev incest he possibilityth att he recuperationof girlhoodm ay not, in and of itself,b e incompatiblew ith the relentlesse roticizationo f women'sb odies withinc orporater ock (a contradictionem bodiedi n Ste- fani'sl ook as a kind of punk MarilynM onroe)- in otherw ords,t hatf e- male rockersc an play at being girls,a nd even mock the conventionso f patriarchagli rlhood,w hiler emainings exya nd/orr etaining"t he charmo f passivity"(B eauvoir 1989, 337). The pointh erei s not merelyt hatg irlish innocences ellsr ecordsb ut thatS tefani'ss arcasticd iscourseo f helpless,i n- nocentg irlhoods imultaneouslfyu nctionass a strategyof feminisman d a strategyof commerce( wheref eminisman d commercee xisti n a complex and shiftingr,a thert han a simple and binary,r elationt o one another). Staged, in other words, withint he veryc orporatei nstitutiontsh at are agentso f dominantd iscoursest hatd ivestw omen of culturalp ower,S te- fani'sp erformancoef infantileg, irlishf emininitmy ay be symbolicallyif, not actuallyr, edundant. As an analysiso f"I'm Justa Girl"e lucidatess, o-calledt ransgressivgee n- der playw ithinc ontemporarryo ckm usicc ultureso ftenf rontsf orf arl ess transgressivceo dings and recodingso f racializeda nd nationalizedi denti- ties.A t its worst,t hati s, such recuperationof girlhoodh as been stagedi n termst hate quate girlnessw ithw hiteness.F6 or Stefanii,n particularp,l ay- ing witht he signifierosf girlhoodi s tacitlya strategyof bolsteringw hite raciala uthority-indeed,o f bracingp reciselyt hatc ulturapl ower thata u- thorizesh er to engage in the parodic mimicryo f gendern ormsw ithout socialp enaltyI.n such a way," I'm Justa Girl"a ccentuatesS tefani'sg ender transgression--hepro sition as a girl lead singer--whilem inimizingt he visibilityof anotherm, ores alienta specto f herp erformanc-e hern egotia- tiono fska,J amaica'fs irsut rbanp op stylea nd No Doubt's primarym usical 6 The conclusionso f thisa rticlew ereb roughth ome byt he commerciallsyu ccessfu1l 997 LilithF air concertt our,w hich,a lthought outedb y organizerS arahM cLachlana s a "celebra- tion of women in music,"w as in fact primarilya celebrationo f white female singer- songwritersn,o twithstandintgh e occasionali nclusiono f performerssu ch as TracyC hapman (e.g., at theN ew YorkC ityc oncert).T he corporatea nd independentp ressm ade mucho f the LilithF air's demonstrationth ata music festivaol rganizeda round "women'sv oices" could drawt ickets ales and supporta rostero f appearancesa t medium-sizedar enast hroughoutt he United States,a lthoughv eryf eww riterse vern oticedt hatt his" Galapalooza," as Time (see Farley1 997, 60-61) put it,w as also a universalizinrge cuperationof whitew omen'sm usic/ peformanceas women'ms usic/performanOcen. e has onlyt o look at Spin magazine'sn otable "GirlI ssue" of November1 997 (whichc ame out when thisa rticlew as alreadyi n press)f ora demonstrationo f how feminism--noto nly femininity--mabye similarlyr ecuperateda s white. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 590 I Wald influence(b yw ayo fE nglish" Rude Boys"a nd 2-Toners)I. ndeed,S tefani's pogo-inspiredd ance stylea nd her display of raw, raucous energya re themselvesh allmarkos f ska performancree framedw ithint he contexto f outrageous,u ninhibiteda,n d confidenwt hitef emalea lternativreo ckp er- formance.I n this scenario,S tefani'ss elf-consciou"si nnocence,"" help- lessness,"a nd "charm"a re not onlyc rucialt o herc riticadl isarticulatioonf girlhoodf romi ts meaningw ithinp atriarchadl iscourse,t heya lso enable hert o naturalizen ationala nd raciali dentityIn. focusinga ttentiono n gen- der performancaes a privilegedsi tea nd sourceo f politicalo ppositionality, criticalq uestions of national,c ultural,a nd racial appropriationc an be made to disappearu ndert hes igno f transgressivgee nderp erformance. This instanceo f how a contemporarfye maler ocki con'sa ppropriation of girlhoodc an masko ther,r elatedk indso f appropriationre callsM adon- na's appropriationof stylesa ssociatedw ithb lackg ay dragp erformancien her hit song and video "Vogue,"a song calculatedt o displayM adonna's own transgressivgee nder/sexuiadl entityM. ore recentlyt,h ee mergenceo f the" girl"a s a newlyp rivilegedm ode ofw hitef emininitwyi thina lternative rockc oincidesw itht he appearanceo f the whitem ale "loser" (e.g., Beck, BillyC organo f SmashingP umpkinsa,n d KurtC obain of Nirvana),w hose performanceosf abjecto r disempoweredm asculinityw orkt o recuperate whiter aciala uthorityev ena s theyc irculatwe ithina n ostensiblyse lf-critical performativeec onomyo f"whiteness."S7u ch observationns ecessitatae re- thinkingo f what Coco Fusco calls "the postmoderist celebrationo f ap- propriation"(1 995, 70) - at thev eryl east,t hati s, an acknowledgmenotf the need to drawc riticadl istinctionbse tweent hef eminisrte fusaol f patri- archald iscoursea nd performancetsh atc irculatet he signso f refusawl hile actuallye xpressingco mplicityw ithp atriarchadli scourseA. s Fusco writes, it is imperativteh atw e "cease fetishizintgh e gestureo f crossinga s inher- entlyt ransgressivseo, thatw e can develop a languaget hata ccountsf or who is crossinga, nd thatc an analyzet hes ignificancoef each act" (76).8 Fusco's insighti s crucialf ors pecifyinagn d localizingt he politicale ffi- 7 Of latet hereh as been a greatd eal writtenab out the" loser."F or two good accounts,s ee Pfeil1 995 and Fuchs 1996. 8 Therei s, of course,a n impressivbe odyo f scholarshipth atp robest hen otiono f "appro- priation"s pecificallwy ithint he contexto f U.S. popularm usicc ulturesS. ee, in additiont o Fusco, Jones1 963; George 1988; Rogin 1992; Lipsitz1 994. For morer ecentd iscussionsin thec ontexto f specificg enres/performesrese, M elnick1 997. As I arguei n "One of theB oys? WhitenessG, ender,a nd PopularM usic Studies"( Wald 1997), to date mosto f the worko n appropriationw ithinp opularm usicc ulturesf ocuseso n relationsb etweenm en, a factt hat callsf ora genderedc ritiqueo f then otiono f appropriationit self. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions S I G N S Spring 1998 I 591 cacyo f what Eresto Laclau terms" disarticulation-rearticulatioorn ,t he process of symbolics trugglet hroughw hich social groups reformulate dominantc odes as a meanso f negotiatingp olitical-culturaagl ency( Laclau 1977). Such a practiceo f criticarl eappropriatioins frequentliyn vokedi n discussionso f how variouss ubalternp opulationsd iscovera means of ac- tivelyc onfrontinagn d resistingm arginalizatioinn the ironicr epossession of signs otherwisem eant to enforcem arginalityF.e minist-Marxisctr itic Laura Kipnis,f ollowingL aclau, explainst hisp rocessa s one in which" raw materialsc an be appropriateda nd transformebdy oppositionalf orcesi n order to express antagonismsa nd resistancet o dominant discourses" (1993, 16). And yeti t is cear in the case of Stefani'ss arcastics end-upo f "girl, a word thati n thec ontexto f rockm usicc ultureso ftens ignifiens ot femaley outhfulnesbsu t femaled isempowermen(ti .e., patriarchaclo nde- scensiont owarda nd trivializationof women), that such disarticulation- rearticulatiodno es littlet o undermineh egemonicg irlhood--toa pproxi- mates omethingm orea kint o Stefani'os wn brasha nd insubordinat"eF uck you, I'm a girl!" Fusco's argumenta dditionallyin sistso n an interrogatioonf the links betweent hec ulturapl racticeso f contemporarfye maler ockersa nd various raciallya nd culturallysp ecifica ssumptionsa bout girlhood.A cquiringi ts meaning,l iket he signifiewr omanw, ithint he contexto f specificd iscursive regimesg, irlhoodis not a universacl omponento ff emalee xperiencer; ather, thet ermi mpliesv erys pecificp racticesa nd discoursesa bout females exual- ity,w omen'sc ultural-politicaagl ency,a nd women'ss ocial location.L ike- wise, the variousc ontemporarnya rrativeosf girlhoodp roduceda nd dis- seminatedw ithinU .S. rock music culturesa re formedw ithint he terms of veryp articulars trugglesf ors ocial and culturala gency.M oreover,a nd as revealedb y the contrastb etweent he actualm aturityan d/orm usicale x- pertiseo f thep erformerins questiona nd they outhfulnesosf theirp rimary audiences, these strugglest o specifya nd potentiallye ven radicalize girlhood are inseparablef roml ate capitalism'sd esire for new, youthful markets. What,t hen,i s the relationb etweenf eminisman d currents trategieos f representinggi rlhoodw ithinU .S. rock music cultures?E speciallya t the currenth istoricajlu ncture,n otable for the advento f an artisticallsye lf- assureda nd cannilye nterprisingge nerationo f highlyv isiblew omen rock artistsc,a n the" reversiont"o girlhoodw orka s a strategyfo rf eminismo,r forp roducingf eminisgt irls?G iven the contradictionesm bodied in Ste- fani's" I'm Justa Girl,"t o whatd egreei s the appropriationof girlhood,a s a strategyp articularlyas sociatedw ith whitew omen's rock performance, This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 592 I Wald also a strategyo f performingra ce--of racializingg irlhoodi tself?H ow mightf emaler ock performerws ho occupy a differenrte lationt o hege- monicg irlhoodc onstrucdt ifferennta rrativeosf girlhood? In whatf ollows,I investigatteh eseq uestionsi n mored etaila nd as they pertaint o two specificg roups of performersf:i rstt,h e youngw omen in independentr ockk nowna s Riot Grrrlsw, ho in the early1 990s initiated theiro wn ongoing" girl-styrlee volution,a"n d thenl aterS honenK nifea nd Cibo Matto, two Japanesea ll-femaleb ands thath ave attractedsm allb ut significanUt .S. followingsp, articularlaym ong "indie" rocka ficionados.9 In so doing,I relyp rimariloyn a criticaal nalysiso ft hea cts,i mages,m usic, and lyricst hatt hesew omen produce,a s well as on the public,m ediated narrativetsh atc irculate( in the printm edia, on the Interneta nd World Wide Web, in fanzineso, n MTV, or in hearsay)a roundt he musica nd the performersA. s my opening storya bout Stefanis uggests,t he contradic- tionst hatc haracterizteh e use of the girla s a mode of culturalr esistance withinf emaler ock performancaer e not necessarilyex perienceda s such by the consumerso f thism usic,w ho may be more or less receptived, e- pendingo n thec ontexta nd thep articularitioefs t heiro wn sociall ocations, to thel imitation(sp olitical,id eological,a nd even aesthetict) hats uch con- tradictioni mposes on a straightforwardcleyle bratoryn arrativeo f such performanceF.r om the standpointo f a certaing irlc onsumerf orbidden fromu singt hef -worda t schoolo r at home,f ore xample,S tefani'ps rofane mockeryo f/revelriny girlnessm ayh ave an air of transgressiond,a nger,o r defiance( againstp arentala nd school authoritya,g ainstg enderedb our- geois standardsa nd expectationst)h ati s farl esss alientt o anotherg irlc on- sumer( potentiallyo f the same class,n ational,r egional,a nd ethnic/racial background)m orei nclinedt o see Stefani'sp erformancaes merelyp layful, withouts ubstancet hatw ould marki t as authenticalltyr ansgressivTe.h e instabilitoyf the strategirc eappropriatioonf girlhoodi s mirroredan d re- produced,i n otherw ords,i n thev eryi nstabilitoyf them eaningst hatc on- sumersc onstruef romp erformerws ho play the girl or who attemptt o signifyg irlnessin an ironico r parodicf ashion. However,a s the followingd iscussioni s meantt o illustratet,h e ethno- 9 Independenrto ck- or,m orec olloquiallyi,n dier ock- is a commont ermt hatr eferns ot to a musicala estheticb ut to the meanso f productiono f the musicu nderd iscussion.I ndepen- dent rock is music that is produced and marketedt hroughi ndependenti nstitutionsi,.e ., institution(sr ecordl abels,d istributorcso, ncertv enues)t hata rei ndependenft romt hem ega- corporationst hat dominatet he global rock music industryR. ecent yearsh ave seen many "indie-majorm" ergerrs eflectinag v arietyo f corporatea rrangementisn; mostc ases,f ormerly independentla bels exchanges ome parto f ownershipo f the label fort he financingp,r omo- tion,a nd distributionre sourceso f a majorl abel. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions S I G N S Spring 1998 1 593 centrismth atc haracterizecse rtaina ppropriationosf girlhoodi s playedo ut at the level of production,w here femalem usicianso peratew ithinv ery differentrlyac ializeds phereso f girlhood.W hilet hee xampleo f Riot Grrrl raisess pecificq uestionsa bout ther elationb etweeni deologya nd indepen- dent modes of culturalp roduction,a s well as about the potentiali nstru- mentalityof g irlhoodt o a feminisctr itiqueo f thec orporatem usici ndustry, thec ase ofJ apanesew omen bandsi llustratehso w womenw ho arem argin- alized by dominantn arrativeosf racea nd gender( understooda s mutually constitutivdei scourses)n egotiatet heiro wn parodico r complicitc ounter- narrativesIn. sofara s mediar epresentationosf Japanesew omen rockersr e- capitulatef amiliarst ereotypeosf Asian femininitygi,v ingr iset o imageso f Japanesef emalea rtistsa s ideallyg irlisha nd innocent( a portrayatl hati s not necessarilyat odds withr epresentationosf "exotic"A sianf emales exu- alities),t hesea rtistsp roduced istinctn arrativetsh atd enyg irlhoodt he sta- tus ofu niversalitayn d thati nsteade ngaget hec ulturaal nd racials pecificity of hegemonicg irlhood.T hese observationsh ave relevancem, oreovert, o thew ayst hatg irlhoodi s recuperate-d or not- withint hev ariedm usical and performancpe racticeso f AfricanA mericanw omen, includingc ur- rentlyp opulary oung femalep erformerssu ch as Da Brat,L il' Kim, Foxy Brown,a nd Brandy( as well as, perhaps,a n earlierin carnationof theg roup TLC), some of whom (e.g., Brandy)h ave workedt o projecta n air of girl- ish "innocence"i n theirm usic,v ideos,l yricsa, nd performanceo,t herso f whom (e.g., FoxyB rown) havea ggressivelmy arketedth eir" youthfuls"e x- ualitys, ometimesb y pretendingto be youngert hant heyr eallya re.10 My argumenta bout the ambiguous politicale ffectos f "actingl ike a girl"- eithera s a strategyf orp rogressivea,n tiracisfte minismo r a means of fosteringth e careersa nd the creativityof youngf emalep opularm usi- cians-is informedb y my own fan/consumeprr actices,a s well as by mys tatusa s a relativelyyo ungw hitef emalea cademic.T he issuesI discuss here are particularlgye rmanet o my own discoverya,r ound 1992, of the loud, fast,a nd unapologetically"a ngry"m usic associatedw ith the pre- dominantlyw hite, middle-classw omen in and around the Riot Grrrl movementT. his musicals ubculturen ot onlyp rovidedm e new aural and kinesthetipc leasures,i t also encouragedm e to begin writinga bout con- temporarym usicc ulturea s parto f myp rofessionapl racticeI. t is therefore with an investments imultaneouslyp olitical,p rofessionala, nd personal 10T hese women'sp erformanceusn derscoret hew ay thatg irlhoodi s both denied to, and reinterpretewdi thint he contexto f,A fricanA mericanw omen,w hose use of the termgirla s a mode of addresss uggestsa vernaculart raditiono f such reinterpretation/reappropriation as well. This content downloaded from 158.121.247.60 on Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:07:05 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions