My oldest went through a Riot Grrrl phase. That phrasing sounds dismissive. I don’t mean it that way at all. She still loves loud music that challenges social norms, and I love that she loves that. I also love the idea that Martian tweens have that same rebellious streak, even in a culture more nurturing than our own.
Excerpt:
“A heavy drumbeat filled the cabin of the Peregrine. A guitar moaned softly then erupted into distorted power chords. The singer came in, shouting the first verse. The sisters looked at each other, smiled, then they shouted the chorus together: Rebel Girl!”
— from Food: Generation Mars, Book Four
Maybe the sisters recognize a kindred soul in the confrontational lyrics. Mars had its moment of revolution (the Schism). It was quiet, as revolutions go, but likely not without trauma. Of course the kids share that rebellious streak.
The end goal of the Schism was to build a culture in which we do a better job of treating each other well. Reading the text of the flyer pictured here, I feel like Kathleen Hanna would make a good Martian.
Image: Flyer written by Kathleen Hanna in 1989.