The I Index

Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk

Top of the pile

85

/100

I Index Overall Rating

Readers

96/100

Critics

75/100

Scholars

N/A

Author:

Kathleen Hanna

Publisher:

Ecco

Date:

May 14, 2024

Kathleen Hanna's band Bikini Kill embodied the punk scene of the 90s, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like "Rebel Girl" and "Double Dare Ya" are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from? In Rebel Girl, Hanna's raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumul-tuous childhood to her formative college years and her first shows. As Hanna makes clear, being in a punk "girl band" in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination.

What The Reviewers Say

Allison Stewart,
The Washington Post
An unblinking, purple bruise of a memoir.
Evelyn McDonnell,
The New York Times Book Review
Unfolds in raw, ragged segments. She has always explored difficult subjects, but without the music’s cathartic power and her commanding stage presence, the book can be dark.
Zack Ruskin,
The San Francisco Chronicle
Packed with harrowing stories and illuminating revelations.
Leah K. Huey,
Library Journal
A raucous, rousing tale about the power of music and activism.