Women of punk, whoever you are and wherever you are, we’ve had a tough time of it lately. Always. In fact, as long as the patriarchy has existed (so – forever then) the ladies of the world have played second fiddle to the men in charge, and with what feels like a never-ending stream of hideous stories about the behaviour of some in the scene cropping up over and over, it’s difficult not to feel downhearted.
Fear not, however. The mainstream may be a lads’ game (we’re working on it) but when it comes to killer shows in little venues and snappy punk tunes full of humour and attitude, the women are winning. London’s Dream Girls are just one of many female bands – alongside the likes of The Baby Seals and Tuts – stamping their mark on the DIY scene, so we asked them about their music, their fans and what feminism means to them.
With influences from The Distillers to Sia, Sleater Kinney to Abba, Dream Nails grew up on a varied diet of music. Guitarist Anya Pearson says, “all the skater boys at school told me about Green Day and The Offspring. I swung between that and Destiny Child’s ‘Writing on the Wall’. It was a solid education.” That strong female influence manifests itself in their music today and their mission as a whole.
“We’re all feminists and the band is a beautiful vehicle for our feminism to ride in, picking up new passengers everywhere we go!” singer Janey Starling says. “I was involved in feminist direct action for years and saw forming a band as an extension of that – and a way to break out of the feminist bubble to get messages into new spaces.”
Anya continues, “our feminism and our music are one and the same, a two-headed hydra sent to slay the patriarchy.”
That bolstered self-assuredness translates in their music, confident and determined. In single ‘DIY’, from last year’s EP of the same name, the band sing “you are good enough, you are strong enough, you a smart enough” to the listener and encourage the finding of inner strength. Whether it’s starting a punk band, putting shelves up, or making peanut butter (yep – you read that correctly), they’re capable of doing anything.
But it’s easier for some than others. Janey reminds us, “women in punk’ isn’t a homogeneous group and there will automatically be more women who get more attention because they have more societal privilege – like white, straight, femme women. The punk scene needs to take a good look at itself and check how inclusive it is. We need more women of colour, queer women, trans women, working class women and disabled women in punk.”
So how can the scene make itself more inclusive? “We need to all support our sisters and refuse to accept anything less” Janey continues. “No more all-white line ups. No more playing in inaccessible venues. No more mugging working class women off to play for free whilst the promoter creams all the money from the door. Punk sisterhood needs to be intersectional.”
Anya argues that confidence is a big issue. “A fair number of female and non-binary musicians on the punk scene don’t realise how talented they are. I want them to have more confidence in themselves and their abilities because they awe and inspire me so much.” Drummer Lucy Katz goes on to suggest bands like Dream Nails can help alleviate these issues and they try to put this at the forefront of all their actions.
Their music certainly screams with attitude and a determination to make a change. They call out male privilege in ‘Nt Abt U’, a snarling rejection of men always insisting feminism is an attack on them personally. The self-proclaimed punk witches cast a voodoo spell on ‘Bully Girl’ – an angry track with simple but emotive imagery. And ‘Deep Heat’ – it’s just brilliant.
