There is no doubt that rock music and feminism have a complicated relationship. Numerous bands have overtly boasted objectifying and offensive lyrics, to the point that writing about women in a derogatory way became the industry standard for a while. Not to mention, while there have been several rockstars who are considered feminist icons and who have written songs with feminism at their heart, there are very few mainstream feminist rock songs.
That being said, just because many lyrics in rock music are quite offensive to look back on doesn’t mean that there weren’t rockstars from the time who stood up for women’s rights. A lot of these musicians, unsurprisingly, were women as the likes of the riot grrrl movement did a lot for feminism in music, giving a voice to those who had previously been unable to speak up for themselves; however, many of the songs that stemmed from this movement were still massively considered underground.
Two male bands who were very successful at the time and decided to stand up for women’s rights came in the form of Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Granted, they never massively got along, but a lot of their ideals lined up with one another, as they were willing to take a stand both within their music and during their live shows in the name of feminism and women’s rights.
For instance, when Pearl Jam went on MTV Unplugged to perform ‘Porch’, lead singer Eddie Vedder wrote “pro-choice” down his arm. While this might seem like a small gesture, when you consider how controversial feminist messages these days can be, like when Beyoncé had “feminist” displayed behind her at the VMA’s, Vedder standing up for abortion and protecting women’s rights during a period when the topic was even more taboo than it is today was a bold move.
Unfortunately, that night’s statement was somewhat overshadowed by the chaos of Pearl Jam’s performance. Eddie Vedder drunkenly fell off his stool, Dave Abbruzzese sounded out of place, and Jeff Ament hit the bass drum like he was in an arena. It was this kind of performance which turned Cobain away from the band, saying they were “pioneering a corporate, alternative and cock-rock fusion”.
In Pearl Jam’s defence, they also wrote a lot of music from a woman’s perspective. Songs such as ‘Daughter’, ‘Better Man’, and ‘Why Go’ are all considered feminist songs where Vedder shows a sensitivity towards women’s issues. Again, these kinds of songs sung by men were rare at the time, and their relevance cannot be understated.
Nirvana can also be considered a feminist band. When they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, rather than have one singer replace Cobain, the group enlisted the help of four women to perform four different Nirvana songs. While this might have seemed like a rogue move, it was in keeping with Cobain’s feminist ideals, who was deeply connected with the riot grrrl scene.
Cobain wrote a number of songs that highlighted the problems surrounding gender roles, such as ‘Been a Son’ and ‘Sappy’. The band also sang about rape on tracks such as ‘Polly’ and ‘Rape Me’. They can be uncomfortable to the listener, but they are uncomfortable topics. Nirvana’s willingness to sing about them showed how strongly they felt about them. That being said, a lot of Cobain’s views came less from his music and more from how upfront he was in discussing them.
For instance, he was outspoken about Guns N’ Roses, specifically Axl Rose and his out-of-date sexist lyrics. He was also happy to lose out on record sales and isolate fans if they didn’t share his and his band’s ideals. He said in an interview in 1992, “I would like to get rid of the homophobes, sexists, and racists in our audience. I know they’re out there, and it really bothers me.”
He also wasn’t afraid to insult people who went against his values, as in the liner notes for Insecticide, he referred to one specific incident that made him sick. “I have a request for our fans,” he said, “If any of you in any way hate homosexuals, people of different colour, or women, please do this one favour for us – leave us the fuck alone!”
Cobain continued, “Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records. Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song ‘Polly’. I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience.”
Despite the checkered history that rock music has with feminism, given it is a genre of music built on expression and rebellion, a lot of artists have been willing to call out bad behaviour when they see it. Pearl Jam and Nirvana are excellent examples of this, as given their different musical styles and the fact the two never really got along, there is no denying they remain united in their ideals. If only more musicians were willing to speak out in such a way.
