Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

typicalgirls - Re: [TypicalGirls] thinking - sometimes too much

typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org

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

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com>
  • To: "Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)" <typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [TypicalGirls] thinking - sometimes too much
  • Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:20:01 -0600

I think this raises an interesting point... I mean the history that this listserv is trying to preserve, are we progressing? What have we learned from Sharon's list of women in punk? I look to these radical women as role models. Discovering Poly changed my life. Made me feel like I...belonged somewhere on this planet? I dunno. There are lots of people paying attention. Bands like the New Bloods, WETDOG, etc. do exist but.. Are we still in the same place facing the same obstacles? I think Germ-free Adolescents remains even more relevant now. Who is listening?

On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 9:10 PM, lsmith <yelmo2000 AT yahoo.com> wrote:
I feel that the ideas and ideals that I saw in "punk/post-punk/underground music (circa 1975-1980s" have fizzled away.  Things I've been thinking about, plus reading your blog (Dina) reminded me of this. The Slits showed me the promise and possibility of joyous nonconformity.  I saw all kinds of promises of a different world when I was a kid in 1960s and 70s, and I still find myself surprised that the world looks the way it does now - full of drab colors, conformity, injustices, etc.  And all the princess crap, etc!

Maybe it's in part because I'm lazy and timid, but I think I relied on other folks to change things for me, and I could walk through the door to a freer future.  Sometimes I find myself blaming those who came before me for not following through and changing the world, but I know I've done less than many of them ever did. 

I second your questions about "growth and maturation." Breaking free of the expectations of young women must have been a wild adventure for Poly and Ari. I have been watching the generation older than me with the hope that they will change the expectations and general perceptions of older women. So far, it does not appear that things have changed a whole lot. 

Another thing that's been on my mind is - why didn't/don't we know more about how Ari passed away? If she had cancer, shouldn't we be using that as a cautionary tale to get checked more often? Can we learn from this - and help others?

I'm not sure if this is from left field, and conspiracy minded but... I just finished a book about the underground press in the 1960s ("Smoking Typewriters: The 60s Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America"), and was naively shocked at the repression (police, fbi, etc) that a lot of underground presses face. I was wondering, was punk subject to anything like that? Is there a possibility that some of the music that was closer to a movement was put under similar pressures? 

Just a few thoughts.
- Lani

--- On Tue, 7/5/11, Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com> wrote:
From: Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [TypicalGirls] I really wish Poly Styrene were still alive
To: "Typical Girls: Women in Punk/Post-Punk/Underground Music (Circa 1975-1980s)" <typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Tuesday, July 5, 2011, 10:31 PM

Thanks for reading, Lani. I don't know exactly what all this means yet -- so don't think too much! ;-)

On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 10:31 PM, lsmith <yelmo2000 AT yahoo.com> wrote:
Wow Dina, 
Thank you for sharing.
You've given me a lot to think about - as ALWAYS!
With love,
Lani


--- On Mon, 7/4/11, Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com> wrote:
From: Dina Hornreich <dina.hornreich AT gmail.com>

Subject: [TypicalGirls] I really wish Poly Styrene were still alive
To: "Typical Girls" <typicalgirls AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Monday, July 4, 2011, 12:35 PM

You know, right before Poly died there were some interviews that discussed her journey to womanhood. Let's face it -- in X-Ray Spex she was still a teenager.

I wish she were still around so I could ask her about that journey. It's obviously from the album that came out recently that she has grown and dealt with her condition well. I seek inspiration from her in that regard because I identify with her so much.

Please send links to interviews discussing her growth and maturation.

It's research for my blog (baldgrrrl.tumblr.com) and memoir.

And happy 4th.

Dina Hornreich
dina.hornreich AT gmail.com
http://portfolio.du.edu/dhornrei



_______________________________________________
TypicalGirls mailing list
TypicalGirls AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/typicalgirls

_______________________________________________
TypicalGirls mailing list
TypicalGirls AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/typicalgirls




--
Dina L. Hornreich
dina.hornreich AT gmail.com
http://portfolio.du.edu/dhornrei

-----Inline Attachment Follows-----

_______________________________________________
TypicalGirls mailing list
TypicalGirls AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/typicalgirls

_______________________________________________
TypicalGirls mailing list
TypicalGirls AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/typicalgirls




--
Dina L. Hornreich
dina.hornreich AT gmail.com
http://portfolio.du.edu/dhornrei



Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page