Punks & Rude Girls: Home

PuNk rOcK music emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock music. The do-it-yourself, anti-establishment trend of punk stirred rebellion among women musicians, who took their self-expression to the next level — in fashion, look, attitude, and persona. At one end of this spectrum was the beat poet lyricism, androgyny, and brutal honesty of the Godmother of Punk Patti Smith; while at the other, Siouxsie Sioux performed in fetish clothing, establishing the classic goth look and inspiring the new wave sound. 

RuDe gIrLs were women of the 2-Tone movement, a genre of British popular music of the late 1970s and early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae music with elements of punk and new wave. This ska movement embraced diversity of race and gender, promoting unity and multiculturalism, anti-racism, and anti-sexism. With her multiracial group The Selecter, Queen of Ska Pauline Black was the Rude Girl archetype, rising to prominence against the backdrop of the 1981 England riots, fueled by racial discrimination from police. 

Artists featured in this section of the exhibit include: