Kinderwhore

Courtney Love

Kinderwhore was a clothing style used by a handful of mostly female grunge bands in the US during the early to mid-1990s. The kinderwhore look consisted of torn, ripped tight or low-cut babydoll and Peter Pan-collared dresses, slips, knee-socks, heavy makeup with dark eyeliner,[1] barrettes, and leather boots or Mary Jane shoes.[2][3][4]

It was described as "a strong feminist statement...about so much more than a little velvet dress, ripped tights and a dumb media-made label. It was about intentionally taking the most constraining parts of the feminine, good-girl aesthetic, inflating them to a cartoon level, and subverting them to kill any ingrained insecurities."[5] It has been noted that although the look was very feminine, when its exponents performed onstage they "stood tall and confident, they threw their guitars around like weapons, and screamed out whip-smart feminist lyrics. These women were questioning the cultural importance of typical beauty through costume and the stage. The whole mess of tits, lace and lipstick was purposeful symbolic."[5]

History

The origin of kinderwhore is uncertain. It is believed that Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland was the first to define it, while her former roommate Courtney Love of Hole was the first to popularize it. The term was coined by Melody Maker journalist Everett True.[5]

Love has claimed that she took the style from Divinyls frontwoman Christine Amphlett.[2] The look became very popular in 1994.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Kinderwhore grunge fashion guide". Mookychick. 2014.
  2. 1 2 Garis, Mary Grace. "THE EVOLUTION OF COURTNEY LOVE". Elle. Kevin O'Malley. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Miss World" music video. Viewed on dailymotion at http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1sf1c_hole-miss-world_music
  4. ↑ Meltzer, Marisa (2010). Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music. New York: Faber and Faber. p. 48. ISBN 9780865479791. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Way, Mish. "My Kinderwhore Education". i-D.com. Vice. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  6. ↑ Stegemeyer, Anne; Price Alford, Holly; (2014). Who's who in fashion (6th ed.). New York: Fairchild Books. ISBN 9781609019693. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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