Punk Women: 40 Years of Musicians Who Built Punk Rock, in Their Own Words

by David Ensminger (Editor)

In this exhaustive anthology, David Ensminger delves underground to explore the oft overlooked community of badass women who shaped the punk scene. There is a common thread of women being excluded and gatekept from the hardcore music scene but this anthology challenges that notion and shows that women have still been able to overcome, kick ass, and shred alongside the best of them. Biographies, interviews, band anecdotes, and never-before-published photos showcase the talent and artistry of bands like Bikini Kill, The Glittersluts, Bratmobile, Spitboy, the Germs, The Slits, and dozens more. Through its intimate aesthetic analysis and raw zine-like presentation, this is an essential resource for anyone looking to discover, rediscover, and cherish punk history.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Punk, Feminism

160 pages, Paperback

Published May 11, 2021

Reviews

[Lexi Reyngoudt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this was a chore for me because of how out of touch the book felt while reading. I think it's great there was a huge highlight on punk bands from the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's, but there was a disconnect between what has happened since then in punk music. I am heavily involved with hardcore and punk right now and have seen so many bands with non-men in them that will begin to pave a new path for heavy music that I feel like wasn't even thought about while reading this. I understand this book was about 40 years of punk history, but there needs to be more than 2 pages dedicated to what is happening in punk and hardcore right now.

Another thing that felt odd to me was the little mention of people of color and punk musicians who are gender non-conforming; the mention of Laura Jane Grace's dead name made me boil with anger. It felt like whoever wrote this is not properly educated on LGBT culture, and that's fine, but I wish they didn't act like they knew what they were talking about. I think that a man being the main writer definitely leads into that; multiple authors/writers would have been much more effective for this style of book.

The lack of mention of hardcore and it's influence on heavy music is probably my own personal beef, but I think that not even mentioning any hardcore bands with non-men in it was a flop. Hardcore has such a huge influence on music right now that to not even talk about one hardcore band felt wrong. However, the surge with hardcore most likely happened after this book was finished so I will take that with a grain of salt.

Overall I think this book barely scratched the surface of what punk is about and how much the non-men involved in punk have done for music. I learned about some bands that I look forward to listening to in the future and have a big appreciation for the countless women who helped pave the way for myself and other non-men in punk/hardcore to become more involved in the music scene. That being said, the best way to support punk is not only by reading about it, but by living it. Go to local shows, find new bands that you love, and write about them so there's more books than this microscopic look inside punk music.

[Brie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nope. Did not like it. Too much asking about feminism from women who went against what was expected of women and were in punk bands. Many seemed a bit bemused about that focus because what else do they have to do to prove they are feminist? Seriously?!?!?

Might be a decent read for the newly "woke" but it had my eyeballs rolling out of my head.

-signed an ex. 80s /early 90s era punk/goth woman

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learned about a bunch of bands I hadn't ever listened to before. It lead me to listen and then buy a number of albums and put a bunch on my list for the future. A really great tribute to about 3 decades of punk and the women in these bands. I do agree with some of the comments I read about the "Zine" like pages in the book... for us that have actually lived through all these generations of punk... our eyes aren't what they used to be. The faded print on black pages was often head-ache inducing. Still, I truly enjoyed the topic, the interviews, and the music I have now discovered.

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed the zine like feel of this book. it was nice to read and learn about bands and artists i grew up loving, as well as rediscovering some i’ve forgotten and being introduced to some new favorites. i made a playlist featuring the bands mentioned in the book which gave this a more interactive feel.
my 13 year old niece is getting into punk music and i’m going to send this to her so she can get a little musical history lesson.

[Anki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why do the text need to be in white letters on top of black pages with white lines from a photo? I can read it, but it takes extra energy and I know people with dyslexia probably can’t. Anyway, the most interesting part is to get more tips for band to search up and listening to. A huge number of bands I haven’t heard about.

[thealecstory · Rating 1 out of 5]

Found a handful of new bands, but some of the shittiest writing I have ever read. Organizationally, grammatically, and rhetorically.

I don't need to be told what they sound like - I can listen to their music. Insight into their histories and lyrical content/meaning would have made for better investigation.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that labeling this as an "exhaustive anthology" seems more than a tad overzealous. I appreciated this as a collection of music reviews but the anarchist organization style meant it was hard to glean anything more from each successive entry than 'ooo that's a cool poster'

[Dee Sanchez · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been so much better. it honestly felt like a mansplaining account of how women in punk were only so good as men of punk. and it is missing so many wonderful female musicians. I did appreciate the modern entries though.