Le Tigre: On Tour: Changing the Landscape for Women in Music and Beyond: Band Member & Director Talk About Experiences on the Road
Setting out to reshape the context of women artists in the music industry, Le Tigre came together in the late 90’s with a combination of danceable music and overtly feminist lyrics. Band member Johanna Fateman and the director of the documentary Who Took the Bomp? Le Tigre: On Tour, Kerthy Fix, talked about the movie at a standing room only screening and question and answer session on Wednesday, March 23 at St. Francis College.
In the movie, Le Tigre lead singer Kathleen Hanna (formerly of Bikini Kill) said that the mission of the band was to shatter expectations that female musicians must be pleasant and make everyone else feel comfortable. The band’s unapologetic approach to challenging misogyny and homophobia is delivered through their unique blend of punk/electro-pop dance music. The band’s live performances are characterized by a mix of multimedia and choreographed performance art-inspired dance moves that are the antithesis of mainstream MTV fare.
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During the question and answers session, Director Fix explained that she thought Le Tigre’s most important contribution was that they made it cool to be a feminist again. The band created a space for young women to express themselves, feel confident in their own identities, and to embrace their creativity. The band as a collective is currently inactive, with each of its members pursuing other creative outlets.
Le Tigre: On tour was sponsored by the St. Francis College Women’s Center and organized by English Professor Athena Devlin and Sociology & Criminal Justice Professor Nickie Phillips. The event was one of several that has helped to increase the popularity of the Women’s Studies Minor at St. Francis College.
St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond.
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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu