Hot Grrrl Shit

I’m a stereotypical 17-year-old, black, Gen-Z feminist. The kind of Gen-Z feminist your conservative grandfather would say will “have a hard time finding a husband”. The kind of Gen-Z feminist that proudly marched down Broadway in a neon pink pussy hat in 2016. The kind of Gen-Z feminist that puts books like Hood Feminist and Women Don’t Owe You Pretty on my Christmas list. I’m also an avid Beastie Boys fan. The kind that listens to License to Ill on the way to school, and Pauls’s Boutique on the way back. The kind who holds MCA, AdRock, and Mike D’s words of wisdom in my heart right next to Gloria Steinem and Florynce Kennedy’s. 

Are these personality traits at odds with one another? Is it hypocritical of me to call myself a radical, intersectional feminist while I blast lyrics like “She acts like a nag I don’t know how it started– even when I’m chilling she acts retarded” and “Girls to do the dishes, to clean up my room, to do the laundry, and in the bathroom”? Am I a poser for proudly displaying these three loud-mouth white boys next to artists like Noname and Bikini Kill*?

As much as Beastie Boys are the guys who spouted off party anthems about their sexual conquests and touted go-go dancers in cages during their tour, they’re the guys who fought for the freedom of the Tibetan people. The guys who wrote the lyric “I wanna say a little something that long overdue, the disrespect to women has got to be through, to all the sisters and the mother and the wives and friends I wanna offer my love and respect to the end”. The guys who were outspoken against the Iraq War and islamophobia. 

In truth, this dissonance is what drew me to Beastie Boys. Everything about their identity feels like a paradox, and I’ve never been one for simplicity. They’re white dudes** from Manhattan who managed to be completely themselves while embodying the energy hip hop. Musical savants who are better known by the masses for drenching themselves in beers while advocating for fighting your parents for the God given right to party. It’s within the paradoxical nature of Beastie Boys where their genius lies. I was sucked in by over-the-top party anthems with catchy, all be it morally grey, lyrics, and before I knew it I had gained an understanding of Buddism, the New York punk scene, obscure Jazz records and friendship***. It was their early, slightly**** problematic, career that made way for them to leave a positive impact on both the music industry and the world. 

In yet another paradoxical twist, despite the complexity of the Beastie Boys’ evolution, above all else, they were just three friends doing what any friends do, while simultaneously releasing music that has gone down as hugely impactful. They built their complex career on a foundation of something as simple as friendship. They made stupid jokes and dumb mistakes. They had fun, and always put what was important to them at the forefront. They made things that interested them and prioritized their friendship above comercial success.

So, am I a hypocrite for liking Beastie Boys? I’ll pass the mic to The King Ad-Rock to answer that question “I’d rather be a hypocrite than the same person forever”.  

*Fun fact: Kathleen Hanna and Adam Horovitz have been together since 1996 and I consider them my parents.

**For me, they fall right in the white rapper sweet spot between Jack “basically black” Harlow, and Vanilla “Trying way to hard and doing a terrible job” Ice. 

***My Little Pony was right, friendship IS magic. 

****Ugh, yes it’s more than slight, but I’m trying to give my boys credit!