ABOUT THE HERSTORY OF THE LADYFEST.

In the early 1990s the punk/hardcore scenes in Washington D.C. and Olympia [USA] experienced an upsurge of feminist and left activism: The birth of the riot grrrl movement. Women, girls, lesbians and transgender people joined forces against the continuous underrepresentation of women in art and music. The growing female self-empowerment ethic gave birth to the Ladyfests. Well known bands in this scene are Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Team Dresch, Sleater Kinney, Tribe 8 and Le Tigre.

In the following years the image of the rebellious grrrls became a trend setter, especially in Europe: The music and clothing industries discovered that girlism sells well; the "grrrl" concept became "girlie", a stigmatised term devoid of political or feminist meaning. Because of this commercialization we now use the label "lady" as an objection to the monopolization by the industry and main stream culture.

Today the Ladyfest is more than music: For many it has become synonymous for a way of life outside the male and female stereotypes and addressing all people who want to participate in a queer-feminist setting. But the Ladyfest political agenda encompasses more than feminism: A clear stand against racism, globalism and exclusion politics play an important role as well.