Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)

[Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com>]

Thanks for the correction -- although females can be called dudes,  
too. (Please know I'M ONLY KIDDING!)

My response (posted to HIS blog) should be posted:

"As the creator and moderator of the Typical Girls listserv, I salute  
you! You raise interesting questions about the significance of the  
women of this era/”genre”/etc. My thesis has always been that these  
women collectively contribute a certain unique quality of the  
“feminine” (whatever that means) while at the same time transcending  
the boundaries assumed by being “feminine.” They’re not monolithic,  
but as a composite these women contribute something new and  
interesting to the mix. The timing is essential — if only for  
political reasons. Their influence is fundamental, essential, and  
cuts close to the bone. It sets the tone for today’s “Rock Chick”  
climate — even though so many are only catching up with them in  
present…"

FYI

This blog convinced me that I should create the Facebook group  
"Typical Girls II: the Facebook connection".

To register, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=675558394&k=55DUQ5SZ434M5AGGWA43QP&r

Thanks for reading,

Dina

On Feb 14, 2009, at 5:36 PM, Mike Appelstein wrote:

> This is actually a dude - name of Ian, I think.  He's best known  
> for the
> 1981 box set he offered for sale on ILXOR.com a few years back: 12  
> CDs worth
> of gems from said year, organized by vague mood/subject matter.   
> Looks like
> he's posting many of those 1981 mixes on this new blog.  Everyone  
> should
> check 'em out - he's pretty young and it's interesting to hear how  
> he's
> absorbed the sounds from that year.
>
> But it is an interesting question, isn't it?  It seems like there  
> were women
> involved in the underground scene that certainly had a role in  
> shaping the
> culture from the very beginning: Linder Sterling, early Siouxsie,  
> the Slits,
> etc.  But I was a teenager in the early '80s, and I can tell you that
> Chrissie Hynde and Deborah Harry had more influence on the rock  
> culture at
> large at the time.  I don't mean to demean either of them - the  
> Pretenders
> had some great songs, and Blondie was consciously subverting the  
> girl-singer
> image before being subsumed by it.  But very few people were  
> listening to
> the Slits or Ludus at the time beyond their immediate clique.  I think
> what's happened is that the rest of the world finally caught up to  
> them (and
> we can thank listmembers like Tobi and Sharon for helping to make it
> happen).
>
> - Mike
>
> ----------------------------------------------
> mike AT appelstein.com
> http://www.appelstein.com/blog/
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: typicalgirls-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:typicalgirls-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Dina  
> Hornreich
> Sent: Saturday, February 14, 2009 6:17 PM
> To: Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa
> 1975-1980s)
> Subject: Re: [TypicalGirls] The Young Lady's Post-Punk Handbook
>
> Thanks for pointing us in this directions. This woman's blog asks
> interesting questions. I just posted something very quickly trying to
> answer the questions she's raised:
>
> "But what's interesting to me is that the women of post-punk seem to
> have felt completely free to express their feminine and masculine and
> simply human qualities freely. Few female musicians of post-punk seem
> to be "playing a man's game," nor presenting a "version" of the main
> channel, nor catering to male expectations of the Rock Chick
> (certainly not in an unproblematised, unironic way).  These figures
> stand as central to my understanding of this sort of music as any
> men.  And I feel they're recognised broadly as pillars of the music.
> But having presented these mixes, I'd be very keen to hear your
> ideas: had you ever thought particularly one way or another about
> women in post-punk; are there identifiable ways in which women shaped
> post-punk, or was post-punk simply rock's first androgynous
> embodiment; do you agree women are central to the story of post-punk,
> or were they in fact marginalised at the time? (I'd be especially
> curious to hear the experiences of those of you who were "there," and
> not in diapers like myself.)"
>
> Discuss!
>
> -Dina
>
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