Yahoo LifestyleKurt Cobain's Feminism: Why We Still Need His Words In 2015
2014 was a year when feminism enjoyed a resurgence with a spate of influential women and men agreeing that yes, of course they identify as feminist, but why haven't we come further?
In 1991 Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain spoke out about rape, suggesting the wild idea that we 'teach men not to rape'. But 23 years later, women are still taught that they are the ones to take steps to prevent it.
And while it's looking increasingly like Cobain was an ahead-of-his-time feminist, the pleas he's recently been lauded for sound mighty like the calls we've had this year from the likes of Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe. So why on the 20th anniversary of Cobain's death, has nothing changed?
A Feminist Year
Why in 2014 - one of the most exciting, inspiring and hopeful years modern feminism has ever had - are we still failing to put into action the calls made by the troubled rock star?
Cobain said in an interview with the NME: “Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth and it happens every few minutes.
“The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.”
Here here!
Over the years Cobain's lyrics, particularly in songs that relate directly to rape - Rape Me and Polly - have been open to interpretation. But this year more than ever, he's been celebrated for his advocation of women and equality.
In fact it's hard to believe that what self-identified male feminists such as Ryan Gosling, John Legend and JGL are just jumping on a bandwagon he was advocating more than two decades ago. In many ways so little has changed.
In 1993 Cobain explained more about his understanding of feminist issues, saying: "Because I couldn't find any friends, male friends that I felt compatible with, I ended up hanging out with the girls a lot.
"I just always felt that they weren't treated with respect. Especially because women are totally oppressed."
Making Real Change In 2015
There have been some great moments for women in 2014 and the tide towards equality has been turning, but online trolling, the Rolling Stone rape article backlash and the nude celebrity hacking scandal that disproportionally affected women have all shown that any progress we've made is delicate.
Pop culture icons including Beyonce and Taylor Swift identifying as feminist have hopefully encouraged young women and girls to think about their own expectations. And powerful campaigns such as Like A Girl, Everyday Sexism, YesAllWomen and HeForShe have helped prove to a sometimes ignorant or sceptical wider public that no, we haven't reached equality yet, and yes, we really really need to. For ourselves, our daughters and our sons.
Cobain's statements were ahead of the curve by a good 20 years, but that's no reason not to heed them now we're finally catching up.
[Male Feminists: Why More Of You Need To Speak Out]
[Do We Need Feminism In 2014? (Clue: Yes)]
