Bikini Kill

Founded in Olympia, Washington by Kathleen Hanna, Billy Karren, Tobi Vail, and Kathi Wilcox, Bikini Kill temporarily relocated to D.C. in the summer of 1991. During their brief time in D.C., Bikini Kill helped found the feminist punk movement Riot Grrrl, publishing zines and using the band's electric performances to spread their “girls to the front” ethos. After spending a year in D.C. writing, performing, and organizing, Bikini Kill returned to the west coast in 1992 before disbanding in 1997. The group reunited in 2019 and continues to perform.

Drawn from the Sharon Cheslow Punk Flyers collection, the John Davis collection on punk, and the D.C. Punk and Indie Fanzine collection at Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland.

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