Prometheus and The Legend of Fire

Humans were never supposed to have fire.

Well, at least according to the Greek myths. 

If it hadn’t been for Prometheus, we would still be mindless, noisy beings, spending our days moaning and running after animals with sticks and stones. As a matter of fact, this very Titan had shaped us out of mud. One might even call him the father of humanity. As Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, breathed life into these small beings, Prometheus modeled Humans to stand upright as the gods were. 

Now, it’s important to note that Prometheus adored his creations. Sure, they weren’t doing much of anything, and did seem like a bunch of dolts, but he preferred them over the immortals.  

See, Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. His beings had ruled the cosmos, in a period known as the Golden Age. As you can imagine, the Golden Age was the primordial era of peace and harmony. But their ruler, Kronos (or Cronus, up to you), the Titan of Time, was a ruthless leader. When the time came, his children, the Gods, overthrew him and gained control of the universe. With the exception of Prometheus and a handful of neutral Titans, the rest were thrown into the depths of Tartarus (Hell). Even though Prometheus was grateful for not being banished, he still slightly resented the Olympians. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be happy if someone exiled my entire family into the abyss for eternity. 

Zeus ordered Hephaestus to tie up Prometheus on a rock in the Caucasus Mountains with unbreakable chains, and the Titan was forced to endure a giant eagle eating his liver out, day and night. For eternity (since Titans were immortal). In some versions of the myth, Prometheus is freed, either by doing a favour to Zeus or at the generosity of others (Chiron the Centaur sacrifices himself for him and Hercules kills the eagle.) The King of the Olympians also punished humans with an infamous woman and her box, but that will be a story for another day. 

Sure, Mankind was gifted with fire, but what did that change? As a matter of fact, fire changed a lot. Fire meant light during the darkness, an illumination man’s world. They could see and feel safe, and most importantly keep themselves warm during the colder seasons. Food could be cooked and ingested safely, and the human digestive system was secured. Fire was also the first step between mankind and innovation - humans could adapt to situations, build tools and utilise the environment around them to their own benefit. In a way, Prometheus had gifted his creation with intelligence and critical thinking. It’s ultimately a symbol for the birth of technology, creativity, culture and civilization as we know it. 

All in all, if Prometheus hadn’t stolen Fire for us, we wouldn’t be where we are today. He wouldn’t have known eternal suffering either, but hey, you can’t win them all, right?

Sources:

Britannica

Theoi

desy. 

greek myths  

"Riot Grrrl". A critique of the feminist punk movement.

Punk - a word that usually brings to mind unique mohawks or loud, angry rock music - is a bold, colourful subculture that emerged in the 1970s. The subculture is characterised by strong values concerned with anti-establishment, anti-hierarchy, a belief in a DIY (do it yourself) and non-conformity. However, despite its bright beliefs in freedom, the punk scene was a minefield for rampant sexism and misogyny, discrimination could be traced back to the very beginning of the movement.

In 1979, for example, a zine (an independently published magazine) called “Sniffin’ Glue” contained the phrase “punks are not girls” - a single instance that is a part of countless times where blatant bias was expressed towards the women in the subculture.

To combat the discrimination, a group of women from Olympia, Washington, held a meeting to address sexism in the punk scene. They decided that they wanted to start a ‘girl riot’ against a society that simply did not care about women and their experiences. Thus, in the early 1990s, the Riot Grrrl movement was born. The word “girl” was used because it focused on childhood, a period in which girls have the most confident belief in themselves and strong self-esteem, unaware of the pains and struggles to follow. The word “girl” was re-written as “grrrl” to represent a growl, the cry of anger and frustration that fueled the movement.

A girl is a growl, a scream, a riot.

The movement is typically associated with third-wave feminism (a feminist movement that began in the early 1990s) and was centred around the sexism women faced in the male-dominated punk society and the punk music scene. Many feminist activists in the punk scene began to form their own Riot Grrrl bands that were loud, angry and expressive. They also created their own self-published zines to express their views on the gender inequality that they faced.

Zines allowed women in the punk scene to be able to express their anger and opinions on domestic violence, rape, female empowerment, sexuality and many more censored topics. The Riot Grrrl movement changed feminism as it evolved to become much louder and bolder - redefining femininity as  powerful instead of something associated with weakness and fragility. 

Unfortunately, even though the movement was born to give women freedom from male-dominated punk culture, it lacked inclusivity and did not focus on intersectional feminism. The movement quickly became dominated by white figures. Bands with all white members such as Bikini Kill and Le Tigre became faces of the movement while women of colour felt unwelcomed and excluded. The band Spitboy explicitly stated that their band was not associated with Riot Grrrl or was a Riot Grrrl band because they felt as though the movement was not supportive. 

In the late 90s, the musician Tamar-Kali Brown decided to create an alternative movement to the white-centred Riot Grrrl one, labelling it Sista Grrrl Riots. She explained “I didn’t think [the Riot Grrrl movement] was exclusive, but it didn’t feel inclusive to me. I didn’t see myself or my story, and so that’s why Sista Grrrl came about later [...] Sista Grrrl was my response to Riot Grrrl because it just felt super white.”

White Riot Grrrls occasionally brought up racism in their zines, however, it was ineffective. After all, feminism is a complex movement, with different systems of oppression overlapping and interlinking. They were unable to express their opinions without being apologetic or defensive about their whiteness. White women criticised the power white men held while failing to recognise their own privilege. Many members of the Riot Grrrl movement were white, middle-class women who refused to see the privilege they held over women of colour and usually painted themselves as the sole victims of sexism in the punk scene. 

Discussions about racism were rarely brought up in the Riot Grrrl movement and the minimal representation of women of colour in the movement was not recognised. It simply wasn’t enough to encourage change in the community. Many Riot Grrrls spoke over the voices of marginalised women and spoke out for feminist issues, without taking into account that not all women were being represented. They advocated for “women’s issues” without considering intersectionality and the interrelated topics of race, gender and class.

Although, we should not ignore the fact that Riot Grrrl wasn’t a genuine feminist movement that supported all women nor the fact that it was mostly white-based, we should still acknowledge that Riot Grrrl was a movement that changed feminism and redefined the way femininity is perceived. It gave women the opportunity to express their frustrations and be unapologetically loud, as well as paved the way for girls to be angry and for feminists to share opinions on what they were passionate about. However, it was never a true feminist movement because the focal point of the movement was not inclusivity or intersectionality. Yet despite this, the movement should be allowed to evolve.

Riot Grrrl is an impactful demonstration of how movements that intend to uplift a certain group of people will not always be inclusive. Riot Grrrl will always serve as a reminder that it takes active effort to create a truly empowering and revolutionising movement, and that intersectionality in activism is always necessary.

SOURCES:

1. Campillo, Giana. “Riot Grrrl: Revolution or Exclusion?” DOWN MAGAZINE. December 5th,

2023. https://downatyale.com/riot-grrrl-revolution-or-exclusion/

2. Feliciano, Stevie. “The Riot Grrrl Movement” The New York Public Library. June 19th, 2013.

https://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/06/19/riot-grrrl-movement

3. Demir, Emia. “Riot Grrrl: A Critique of 90s Punk Feminism” Unpublished. February 18th, 2021.

https://www.unpublishedzine.com/music/riot-grrrl-a-critique-of-90s-punk-feminism

4. Cipalla, Rita. “Riot Grrrl” HistoryLink. July 29th, 2022. https://www.historylink.org/file/22505

5. Hunt, El. “A brief history of Riot Grrrl – the space-reclaiming 90s punk movement” NME.

August 27, 2019.

https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/brief-history-riot-grrrl-space-reclaiming-90s-punk-move

ment-2542166

6. Mphuthi, Emmanuelle. “RACIST GRRRL: THE POLITICS OF RACE AND ANGER IN PUNK

FEMINIST MOVEMENTS” THE B-SIDE. December 28, 2022.

https://berkeleybside.com/racist-grrrl/

7. Gisto, Ellen. “RIOT GRRRL: RECLAIMING PUNK AND FEMININITY” Sexual Health

Alliance. August 14 2023.

https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/riot-grrrl-reclaiming-punk-and-femininity