Kathleen Hanna Is Inspiring Me Again

I added this photo because I loved how she said mentions that feminist badasses are still capable of being vulnerable and deserve to be viewed as precious, valuable enough to be protected. Also, Kurt Cobain being a great example of a straight male ally.

Rebel Girl is already one of my absolute favorite memoirs, because Kathleen Hanna is one of my absolute favorite artists.

I will always be grateful for the time I got to see Le Tigre live at Nashville’s Exit/In in August 2005. It was one of the raddest moments in my life. Kathleen Hanna was kind enough to hand out some bottled waters onstage once the show was over, because we were all a sweaty, happy mess.

She ended the show with a cartwheel and landed in a split. I was in AWE, you hear me?! Wowsers.

I saw her documentary, The Punk Singer, about 11 years ago, and it put a spark inside of me. it was right when I started doing stand-up comedy. I was nowhere near experienced (read: good) enough to get booked on regular paid showcases, and instead was hitting up open mic after open mic for a solid year.

The jokes were coming naturally, because I was always crackin’ ‘em. My bro-in-law once said, “You know how people have pockets full of jokes? She’s got BUCKETS.”

But I wanted to add social commentary. I wanted to find a way to “joke” about my daily frustrations of warding off at least one cat-calling creepy dude. I wanted to mock the people who hurl micro aggressions at me. After a few months, I felt I was ready to incorporate that into my sets.

Until I bombed. Again. And again. Annnnnnd…damn, again? Damn. Maybe I should quit comedy before I embarrass myself any further! Luckily, I did not let that discourage me. I returned my focus to the basics: make them laugh with a premise and a punchline.

I got better and better, and then came the paid shows. I was getting booked regularly on different shows in different areas of the city, but it was the first out-of-town booked show that changed everything.

It was in Chattanooga, an hour and a half away from my home-base, Atlanta. I was booked on an all-female comedy show, and it sold out! And I killed! I want to feel this good after every show!

That show had the wheels turning in my brain. By this time, I had already watched Hanna’s documentary twice, so a spark was ignited. I was cooking up something, even though I wasn’t a veteran like the comedy producers and bookers I’ve met or heard of.

I waited to see if any of the other women who performed on that show wanted to create an all-female comedy show in Atlanta. The comedy scene was bustling and full of supporters who were willing to pay admission.

Over six months passed. One day I’m scrolling on Facebook and saw a fellow female comedian post this:

I saw that and was AMPED! The comedian — let’s call her Greta — who posted it was working at this venue at the time, and she was taking pitches for showcase ideas. I thought about this photo and about how I was getting kinda (read: very) frustrated at how I was seeing a pattern when I got booked: I was not only the sole female comedian in lineups, but also the only Black comedian. A two-fer. I did not like that shit, and I felt I was too new in the comedy scene to complain about it to my peers.

I thought about how rad that Chattanooga show was, and how I wanted to re-create that feeling in Atlanta. So I message Greta and pitched to her: how about an all-female comedian showcase that’s called Grrrls Nite Out? It’s a riot grrrl take on the “girls night out” concept.

Greta said, “Hell yeah! I love this idea.” After all, she’s the one who shared that photo of Kathleen Hanna. And Hanna was right: I was going to get criticized anyway, so I did what I wanted. Mission accomplished.

I’ve already written the story about GNO, but I will add: that show lasted way longer than I anticipated. I originally pitched it as a one-off, but the tickets kept selling, peaking during 2016-2020. I’ve made some very meaningful friendships and connections through it.

That’s the true embodiment of the riot grrrl movement, and I will always be proud that I merged those ideals with stand up comedy. I’ve done countless awesome shows in various cities now that I have over 10 years of experience, but Grrrls Nite Out shows were my favorite. Yes, I was responsible for booking the talent, but the talent COOKED every single time, so they were the real chefs in the kitchen.

They say don’t meet your heroes, but screw that: I would love to see Kathleen Hanna at at Grrrls Nite Out show. It would be the fullest of circles.