Riot grrl is a form of
hardcore punk rock music, known for its militant
feminist stance. The
genre first appeared in the early
1990s as an offshoot of
alternative rock and punk music. Riot grrl musicians were fiercely independent, and most shunned the
major labels[?], sticking with
indie labels[?] like
Kill Rock Stars. Like its contemporary,
grunge music, riot grrl arose in the fertile
Seattle and
Olympia, Washington scene, though groups like
Huggy Bear came from
England, and others arose across the
United States and
United Kingdom, especially
Washington D.C.. The group
Bikini Kill is widely considered the most representative of the sound and was the unofficial leaders of the genre.