Unapologetic and powerful.
Those are the feelings that accompany breaking gender stereotypes, according to Carrie Brownstein (you may know her from Portlandia), Corin Tucker and Janet Weiss, all in the rock band Sleater-Kinney, during their interview with Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer.
Although they discussed the band’s new album, No Cities to Love, the recent remastering of their pervious albums and their upcoming tour, the interview was about much more than music.
Sleater-Kinney, a band formed during the ’90s riot grrrl scene, and Broad City, a Web series turned Amy-Poehler-produced Comedy Central show, delve into what it means to break stereotypes that generally cast women as “quiet” and “unfunny.”
It (their music) gives women who feel different than the stereotypes a place to go and express themselves, said Weiss.
The group also talks about their annoyance with the label of “all-female,” and the constant questions and explanations they have to give about their gender.
Or, as Glazer calls it, “The Vag Badge.”
It’s humorous when you think about it, really. I mean, have you ever heard an interview with blink-182 in which they were asked what it feels like to be in an “all-male” band? Have the guys on Workaholics ever had to answer questions about their “male-driven” comedy? No, because it would honestly be weird and uncomfortable since comedy and rock stardom are spaces that are deemed “appropriate” and “normal” for men.
But, as women, the artists of Sleater-Kinney and stars of Broad City have to answer these questions all the time — as if their uteruses are holding the microphones or their ovaries are writing hilarious scripts.
For any artist, having to justify gender, sexuality or race sidetracks from the work they’re producing. However, when it comes to Sleater-Kinney and Broad City, it’s a balancing act between not wanting to be boxed in with labels while also recognizing their importance and influence as feminist icons.
“I think all of us just feel like we’d rather come up with our own adjectives for who we are,” Brownstein said during the interview.
For more on Broad City, read here:
[ READ MORE: Comedy Central’s Broad City breaks the comic mold ]
