As well as movements such as Chartism and the Suffragettes, the Working Class Movement Library in Salford also collects and promotes the histories of more recent radical movements including the punk scene in Britain.

As part of their series of free Invisible Histories talks, on Wednesday May 29, 2013 at 2pm there will be a talk entitled Worlds within worlds: punk ladies, riot grrrls and fanzine culture. Cazz Blase will discuss the role women played in the UK punk scene and the British incarnation of the female focused, female dominated riot grrrls.

The image of punk is dominated by men including the Sex Pistols and The Clash but their female contemporaries such as the Slits, The Raincoats and the Au Pairs have found it hard to secure a place in punk history. In her articles, Blase has shown how women from the 1970s punk scene in the UK have challenged this by writing their own histories or capturing  it on film. She has also looked at the influence of punk today in the music and fashion industry and shown how what was a culture of nihilism has been taken up and refashioned as an acceptable lifestyle that can be bought in your local Topshop.

Preview by Bernadette Hyland

 

What: Worlds within worlds: punk ladies, riot grrrls and fanzine culture at the Working Class Movement Library, Salford

More info: www.wcml.org