Episode 19: Freedom for My Body

In 1990s America, progress had a look: diverse casts, school assemblies, glossy Benetton ads, “girl power,” public testimony, and a mainstream culture ready to believe the room was finally getting bigger.

But visibility is not the same as power.

This episode of The Persistence looks at Anita Hill, the Clarence Thomas hearings, Riot Grrrl, Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna, punk counterpublics, zines, Alice Bag, Sista Grrrl Riots, the Guerrilla Girls, and 1990s feminism to ask what happens when being seen gets mistaken for being safe, believed, funded, protected, or free.

From Anita Hill’s televised testimony and the national conversation around sexual harassment, to Riot Grrrl’s DIY networks and “girls to the front,” to the Guerrilla Girls exposing sexism and racism in museum collections, we trace how the 90s gave America powerful images of change, and how those images often left the deeper demand outside the frame.

By the time progress had a picture, the demand had already been cropped.

And by the time the door looked open, someone still had the key.

This episode traces 1990s feminism, visibility politics, Anita Hill’s testimony, the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Riot Grrrl, Bikini Kill, zine culture, punk history, media absorption, the Guerrilla Girls, museum politics, and the gap between representation and power.

🎧 Listen if you’re interested in:1990s history · 90s pop culture · Anita Hill · Clarence Thomas hearings · sexual harassment history · Riot Grrrl · Bikini Kill · Kathleen Hanna · zines · Girls to the Front · punk feminism · Alice Bag · Sista Grrrl Riots · Guerrilla Girls · feminist art · museum politics · representation · girl power

Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits

Books

Clarence Thomas—Anita Hill Hearings: October 11, 12, 13, 1991 edited by Anita Miller

Confessions of the Guerrilla Girls by The Guerrilla Girls