I don’t get giddy very often, but dear readers, today I am giddy. I am a giddy, giddy riot grrrl. The Experience Music Project has posted an online collection of short documentaries in “an in-depth online exhibit that seeks to document and offer new insight into this important musical phenomenon. ”

Via Jezebel, the EMP has put together some videos focusing on the biggies of the girl-centric music movement of the early 90’s. They’re all here! Bikini Kill, Calamity Jane, Heavens to Betsy! Fan Zines, Sassy Magazine, and all out war in the mosh pit as men tried to rip the guitars out of their hands!

Riot Grrrl focused around women’s groups, whether it was bands or fan zines or consciousness raising, coming together and finding new ways of discussing sexism, male hegemony and the cultural wasteland of music made by women for women.

As described by the EMP,

…Performers and many others would gather together under the banner “riot grrrl,” a catch-all phrase coined by the participants of what would become an educational and revolutionary movement, partially inspired by women in alternative music. Later, the mass media would use the term “riot grrrl” to describe what they perceived as the seemingly “new” arrival of angry women in rock. From the moment of its inception, riot grrrl suffered from intense media scrutiny. But as an ideology and an evolving community, it has had a lasting influence on aspiring female musicians.

Says Corin Tucker, who might be better known as 1/3 of Sleater Kinney, but was originally in a kick ass band called Heavens to Betsy,

The whole point of riot grrrl was that we were able to rewrite feminism for the 21st century. Feminism was a concept that our mothers and that whole generation had, but for teenagers there wasn’t any real access to feminism — it was written in a language that was academic, and it was inaccessible to young women. And we took those ideas and rewrote them in our own vernacular.

Predictably, as the 90’s eased towards the new millenium, national media began covering the movement, and things pretty much fell apart. Sassy Magazine was replaced by Seventeen Magazine, songs about sexual assault and rape were taken out of context and trivialized and America started wearing hair barrettes and baby-t’s and calling themselves empowered.

But Riot Grrls lives on, in girls skateboarding, the Rock and Roll Camp For Girls (hosted by some of the ladies from Sleater Kinney!), and fan zines that have become blogs, fostering conversation.

Let’s all remember that Women’s History Month can also include rocking the f*ck out, and revolution, girl style now. You can takepart by checking out the Rock and Roll Girls camp which teaches young girls to write and perform in their own rock bands, building confidence and self expression. Long live Riot!