5 Women Redefining What It Means to be Punk

Punk is not only synonymous with the fast-paced rock genre, but also alludes to going against the grain, being yourself unabashedly, and not caring what anyone else thinks. Here are five women who are doing just that.

Written by Emily Gruner

Sneaks

Eva Moolchan, also known as Sneaks, is a post-punk and spoken word musician from Washington D.C. In the first few seconds of the DIY maverick’s latest album, Highway Hypnosis, she makes it clear she doesn’t want to ease listeners into her world as she eerily repeats the album’s moniker, “Highway hypnosis.” One song after another, Sneaks proves she is a master hypnotist, freewheeling her entrancing spoken word amid looped vocals and R&B beats. As for her writing inspiration, Moolchan explains to The Nation, “[it comes] from my environment, lyrically: words, some of what sticks out in a commercial, or what sticks out in an ad, what words grab my attention. And then reusing that with a different meaning. With my own meaning.” The absurdity of her made up words and childlike mantras not only speak volumes about Moolchan’s world, but also her “IDGAF” attitude.

Daddy Issues

This all-girl punk trio’s striking alias is the first sign that these women are marching to the beat of their own drum. The Nashville natives ironically found their name marked on the wall of a now-defunct venue in 2014 and mistook it for an all-girl punk band. Upon discovering that no such group existed, the girls decided to take the name for their own. Since then, the former Belmont students have released two EPs and their critically acclaimed 2017 debut LP, Deep Dream. The ferocity behind one of their lead singles, “Dog Years,” was inspired by a video of a raccoon trying to wash a piece of cotton candy in a pool of water, only to watch his treat melt away. But not all of their songs play into frivolous virality — “I’m Not” deals with the devastation of abuse and sexual assault. The group’s unbridled honesty towards the simultaneous playfulness and devastation of the female experience creates a sound that proves more intriguing with every listen.

Lizzo

Some think punk is merely a type of music — however, “being punk” is being unapologetically yourself. This chart-topper and eight-time 2020 Grammy nominee has one of the most “punk” attitudes in music today, preaching self-love in a culture where women, especially thicker women of color, have massive trouble with self-acceptance. Lizzo’s music may be defined by funky R&B beats with pop sensibilities, but her empowering lyrics and striking nudity on the cover of Cuz I Love You proves she is a beacon of confidence for women who are simply searching for someone who looks like them. The starlet proclaims self-love is a process, but this album is here to help listeners with that. With a true punk mentality, Lizzo urges every woman to remember that she is “100% THAT bitch.”

Brooke Candy

You may know this wild child from Charli XCX’s “Shake It” and “I Got It,” or from Grimes’ music video for “Genesis,” or even from her tour as a supporting act for fellow counterculture queen Lizzo (see above). But the rapper and singer-songwriter is making her own waves with her equally raunchy and sex-positive debut album, Sexorcism. Employing features from Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Girardi (known by her stage name of Erika Jayne), rapper Rico Nasty, and drag queens Aquaria and Violet Chachki, Brooke Candy collects features from a large range of artists openly defining their sexuality through outright lyrics that challenge sex as a hush hush topic.

SASAMI

Former Cherry Glazerr guitarist and synth goddess Sasami Ashworth turned away from the group in 2018 to focus on her solo career, and quickly released her debut album a year later with her self-titled SASAMI. Her first single, “Not The Time,” is not only punk-sounding within itself, but her creative process is also truly unique. She told The FADER, "I wrote both of these songs on tour on a guitar on my iPad with GarageBand plugins and Moog 15 app sounds and then re-recorded them in the studio onto tape with really great tones. So it's kind of like emotionally scribbling a letter on a tear and snot-stained napkin and then re-writing it on fancy papyrus paper to make it look like you have your sh*t together." This raw and real approach has earned the artist a Mitski co-sign, and appearances on bills alongside Japanese Breakfast and The Breeders. Ashworth is simply proving she’s releasing amazing rock music on her own terms, embodying the epitome of a punk attitude.

Afterglow ATXDecember 10, 2019