The Revenge of the She-Punks - Book (by Vivien Goldman)

A feminist music history from Poly Styrene to Pussy Riot

Vivien Goldman

Punk history from a feminist perspective

As the historiography of punk is predominantly male, a "Revenge of the She-Punks" was long overdue. This feminist reckoning was written by none other than post-punk pioneer Vivien Goldman, who, due to her work as a musician and music journalist, possesses an insider's perspective. Along four thematic areas – identity, money, love, and protest – the "Punk Professor" searches for empowering moments that punk holds specifically for women.

Goldman writes many of her punk comrades into the canon; for the book, she conducted extensive interviews with, among others, Patti Smith, Tamar-kali, Poly Styrene, and Kathleen Hanna. "The Revenge of the She-Punks" traces a feminist music history in which female perspectives in punk, with all their commonalities and differences, find their place. How this history sounds is shown by a list of thematically relevant songs for each chapter, which form the soundtrack to Goldman's explanations.

Translated from English and with an afterword by Vojin Saša Vukadinovic.