Those girls. You were either one of us or you secretly wanted to be. We were the girls with the dark lipstick and baby barrettes, belly-baring shirts and combat boots. Thanks to bands like Hole, 7 Year Bitch, Bikini Kill, and Sonic Youth, we had finally found a voice for what we wanted to express, and they were female voices (for the most part; Eric Erlandson and Thurston Moore got a pass). Finally, it seemed, there was music meant just for us, and we screamed along to Babes In Toyland with smeared eyeliner and all the angst we could muster.

It was about more than a sense of belonging; it was the feeling that young girls could stand up for themselves, because our role models would certainly never take shit from any guy. It was the feeling that we could form our own band, to get out what we had to say, and if we sucked it was okay because at least we were trying. The ’90s were all about girl power, DIY, and women finding a place in male-dominated worlds.

That’s why it’s so important to see things like this: a short film by Tamra Davis, who also directed videos for the likes of Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth, and the Beastie Boys (she’s also married to Mike D). In it, she talks to some of the heavyweights of the day on what feminism–still an insanely loaded topic today–means.

Image: YouTube