Tag Archives: kathleen hanna

Kathleen Hanna Calls Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl” Song “Straight Up Offensive”

Jessica WakemanJune 12, 2011 //

“I mean, is it really that different when it’s a skinny white woman in a bathing suit singing [about gay rights]? None of these women ever wear pants, first of all. Second of all, just because you’re wearing a goofy hat doesn’t make it performance art. I mean, that’s just my feeling about it. A lot of the music just sounds like bad Euro disco, though that first Ke$ha song ‘TiK ToK’ was good. But (Katy Perry‘s) ‘I Kissed a Girl‘ was just straight-up offensive. The whole thing is like, I kissed a girl so my boyfriend could masturbate about it later. It’s disgusting. It’s exactly every male fantasy of fake lesbian porn. It’s pathetic. And she’s not a good singer. I don’t want to trash other women. I mean, I think Jason Mraz is horrible. It’s not just like I hate other women performers. Jason Mraz, and the new James Blunt song is the worst thing that has ever been created on the face of the Earth.”

— This CNN interview with Kathleen Hanna about the new Le Tigre documentary, “Who Put The Bomp,” is amazeballs. I may not agree with every single thing she says (Lady Gaga does not sound like bad Euro disco!), but she’s always thought-provoking. And I love, love, love that she has the ovaries to speak her mind. [CNN] Keep reading »

Kathleen Hanna On Being A Feminist Ambassador

Jessica WakemanJune 9, 2011 //
Le Tigre photo

“I feel like there’s this weird thing that as a feminist band you get put in this role as ambassadors. Certain people are like ‘Oh, here come the Feminazis!’ You end up acting 10 times nicer than you even need to be, to be the opposite of the stereotype like ‘You’re the man haters!’ We’re always bending over backwards being extra nice. And I don’t know if being nice is my legacy. Johanna [Fateman, my Le Tigre bandmate] and I talked about it a lot. Both of us wish that we would have broken out of the mold sometimes and just be jerks more often.”

—Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre on giving interviews as a feminist musician. While I’m not sure I’d ever condone being a “jerk” — the world has enough jerks! — I can also relate to feeling responsible for ‘making feminism look good,’ so to speak. The “feminazi” stereotype is so pervasive that lots of people don’t understand what feminism actually is. Thanks a pantsful, Rush Limbaugh. But proving that we don’t hate men — which is completely untrue, obviously — is a waste of our valuable time and energy. [Spinner] Keep reading »

Tavi’s Sweater Says The “F Word” On It

Jessica WakemanSeptember 21, 2010 //

Is it OK if I live vicariously through Tavi for a while? The 14-year-old style blogger brunched with Kathleen Hanna of Le Tigre and Bikini Kill while in New York for Fashion Week and not only did Kathleen hush up Tavi’s inside-baseball fashion jibber jabber with “Who cares? People are dying!” but she gifted the style rookie with some old Riot Grrrl ‘zines and a kickass sweater. How psyched am I that Tavi wore a sweater with the “f word” to high school and lived to tell about it? [The Style Rookie] Keep reading »

Le Tigre + Christina Aguilera = OK, Whatever

Jessica WakemanJuly 10, 2009 //

Pitchfork says the kick-ass electro-punk group, Le Tigre, is working on music with Christina Aguilera of all people. Presumably they’re doing music for X-tina’s new album, since JD Samson recently told NickyDigital.com that Le Tigre won’t be touring again “anytime in the near future.” (Kathleen Hanna has been teaching at NYU, Johanna Fateman recently had a baby, and JD Samson has been DJing with a group called MEN.) Oh, poo. Well, at least we’ll hear Christina get their beats dirrty. But still…what’s next? Ani Di Franco and Miley? Cowboy Junkies and Taylor Swift? Ooh wait, that would be kind of awesome. [Pitchfork] Keep reading »