Rebel Grrrls

How punk engaged with the fight for women's rights and how it can achieve liberation for women. Punk was different and new from anything else. In a lot of ways, I was drawn to the scene because of the politics - feminism, working class solidarity, questioning everything, challenging authority. All these issues were important. - Camilla

For women like Camilla - who spent her teenage years in 1970s immersed in the local punk scene - punk was a thrilling and cataclysmic event that provided a new look, a new attitude and a new community. Gone were the school discos spent swaying along to 10CC; instead, Camilla and her friends spent their weekends pogoing to The Sex Pistols and trying to (in the words of their heroes) provoke anarchy in the UK. It seemed like the start of a social and cultural revolution, where old ideas and norms were swept away and new terms negotiated, especially for women. In a society where sex sells, these rebellious kids weren't buying the superficial and tawdry anymore - they were in search of the meaningful and the authentic...