MY WORLD: [my favorite things][writings & musings]
CYBERGRRL WEBSTATION: [planet cybergrrl] [cybergrrl village] [webgrrls] [femina] [womenzone]
One of those Frequently Asked Questions I get via email or in the real world is "Why do you spell it Cyberg-r-r-l? What is a grrl?" Well, don't start pulling out those dictionaries because you won't find grrl (2 r's), grrrl (3 r's or more) or gurl (get it, g-U-R-L) in any of them (yet) but there seems to be an implied meaning in these words while each of them also invokes a different response from each person who sees them.
Is it a Feminist Thing? For me, there wasn't any deep or controversial thought process behind calling myself Cybergrrl (2 r's). I had created a cartoon version of myself to put on my website because I wanted to remain "behind the scenes" and when I gave her a name, Cybergirl seemed too young (female under 12) and Cyberwoman seemed to lack that edge. So I simply replaced the "I" with and "R" and liked what I saw and heard. Grrl - the strong version of Girl and she was a cartoon character after all.
Having spent some years in the music business, I later thought about the Riot Grrrls (3 r's) movement but didn't know much about it other than the group consisted of young women across the country who created their own zines such as Foxy, Girls Can Do Anything, ROCKRGRL, and Anonymous, distributing their fiery words of female-dom first through the mail and more recently on the Web. They also started great alternative bands like Bikini Kill and Ani DiFranco, snarling, sassy rockers with brains and xx chromosomes. Although I wasn't familiar with their stance, I could get the vibe without the details.
Is Girl a Dirty Word? These days, women are taking the names that had previously been used against them like girl, chick, babe, broad, honey, and bitch and repossessed them, claiming them, owning them, then using them to refer to themselves and each other. But this time, the names were loud, strong, defiant and cool. The alleged explanation: If someone tries to hurt you by calling you names, especially a gender-specific name, use it yourself and you take away their power because the name can no longer hurt you. Sticks and stones might break your bones, but words can be turned around to be a badge of honor or a shield.
Take the Guerilla Girls - not only do they call themselves Girls but then they play with it with their gender/identity play on words, donning huge, black, furry gorilla masks when they make their appearances to protest anything that they feel is against women. On the other side of the spectrum are Webgrrls who are women interested in new media and who have meetings in cities around the world, more about networking for jobs and learning HTML than about politics.
Attitude Gurls. Then there are the women around the world with websites, wired women who have something to say and say it, they do. Check out Netchick or Homegrrrl which is all about web design or the Riot Page by Rebecca Ryan Hunter who gives some examples of famous girls: Mary Tyler Moore, Marlo Thomas, Cindy Crawford, Jennie Garth and Courtney Cox versus Grrrls: Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson and Captain Janeway. Visit Blue Grrrl who, yes, has blue hair or for the non-human females, try Grrls in the Comix. Each of these women has her own voice and her own point of view about everything under the sun. And they've got web pages so you can hear them roar!
Famous Grrrl. After the Grammy's, there is no doubt in my mind that Alanis Morissette is leader of the Grrrl's, with a few extra r's thrown in for good measure. Check out Brian's page of links to everything Alanis from the official record company page to a fan club page to CD Now where you can order her award-winning album "Jagged Little Pill." Try it, you'll like it, and maybe it help it all make sense to you.
Cybergrrl (shaken, not stirred), is just a regular female type who claims no affiliation to any one group, no loyalty to any place except cyberspace and secretly wishes she lived in the country. Hey, with a computer, this grrl can live anywhere and still be connected.