Artemis Wants in on the REVOLUTION, GIRL STYLE NOW

Sorry for the title. I can’t speak for Artemis (or any God for that matter). But if I had to guess, I’d think She’d say that Riot Grrrl feminism is pretty cool. 

This week, my girlfriend and I went to a Bikini Kill concert. The venue was small and relatively safe, and everyone looked fabulous: older adult punks, queer people everywhere, and a bunch of teenage girls who were wayyyyy too cool for me to talk to.

For those who aren’t as obsessed as me and my girlfriend (https://wiltedrosesandpoems.blogspot.com/), Bikini Kill is a feminist punk band from the 90’s. They’ve aged well- their feminism is inclusive of trans people and people of color, and their raw RAGE is still as relevant as ever. 

Bikini Kill basically created Riot Grrrl, a subcultural movement focused on intersectional feminism, punk, and revolutionary politics. They, are put simply, some of the greatest Queer Girl music artists of all time- right up there with Lesbian Jesus [ie. Hayley Kiyoko] and Sappho. 

Kathleen Hanna was still as hot (I mean, talented!) as ever and the angry energy in the air was incredible. Someone in the audience passed out copies of her feminist zine, which I think is pretty neat. I don’t agree with some of her politics, but it got me really hyped- it was a moment straight out of the 90’s. 

Anyway, you know that feeling where you can sense a God just hovering in the air around you? That was Artemis. I could Her screaming with us. 

Whether or not it’s fair to apply our personal politics to the Theoi is a blog post for later. But I think it’s common consensus that Artemis is a deeply feminist Goddess. Religion evolves; maybe the Gods do as well. And for me, Artemis has Riot Grrrl culture written all over Her. 

The girl power. The gives-no-fucks attitude. The style. 

Yeah. I think Artemis was screaming with us. 

When I got home- way past my bedtime- I thanked Artemis for showing up to the concert with us. Then I filled Her offering cup with some hot chamomile tea and wished Her goodnight.  

Artemis was like, “Put that zine right there. Right there behind me.” 

So I did. 

It’s tough times, guys. Sometimes we women and queers need to scream. 

Artemis shrine pictured with the SCUM band zine (Society for Cutting Up Misogynists), not to be confused with the radical manifesto by Valerie Solanas. 

In the Gods,

Rose E. 💐