God Save The Queens: New exhibition celebrates the women of punk and 50 years of She Punk history
A new exhibition titled 'Up Yours! God Save The Queens' at London's Museum of Youth Culture celebrates the foundational role of women in the 1970s punk movement. The show highlights the contributions of female artists who challenged societal norms and shaped the genre's counter-cultural identity.
Why it matters
This exhibition corrects historical narratives by acknowledging the essential, often overlooked, contributions of women to punk music and subculture.
Most people will tell you that punk rock kicked off in New York in 1976 when four rascals from Queens released their self-titled debut and gave the world the first punk anthem - 'Blitzkrieg Bop'. The Ramones' hugely influential debut album celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, with many honouring punk's supposed Year Zero. However, Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn't come out of nowhere, with several artists like The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls considered as the music genre's forebearers – the artists who were punk, ie: rejected overproduction and mainstream arena rock, before the movement had a name.Both a music genre and major cultural phenomenon leading to a subversive subculture expressing rebellion and an anti-establishment spirit through music, fashion and socio-political statements, the word 'punk' usually conjures certain names...
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