Girl Germs #3

In the early 1990s, Washington’s capital, Olympia, was the epicenter of the Riot  

Grrrl movement, which combined feminism, politics, and Punk music. In the hallway of a University of Oregon dorm, students Allison Wolfe (b. 1969) and Molly Neuman (b. 1972) created the first edition of their zine, Girl Germs, in December 1990, which was one of the only Riot Grrrl zines created by young white women to feature Black rappers. Issues of Girl Germs also document the formation of their band Bratmobile. In this 42-page third issue of Girl Germs, Neuman and Wolfe feature letters from friends, family, and fans regarding their first issue, and other articles on feminism, politics, and Punk, such as: “When you meet a lesbian: hints to the heterosexual woman.” 

Molly Neuman (b. 1972) is a drummer, writer, and publisher originally from Washington, D.C., known for her involvement in the Riot Grrrl movement and related zines, as well as her membership in bands such as Bratmobile, the Frumpies, and the PeeChees. She co-owned the Berkeley-based label Lookout! Records, which had produced Green Day’s first two albums, with her ex-husband and former PeeChees singer Chris Appelgren, until it ceased operations in 2012. 

Allison Wolfe (b. 1969) is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and journalist who was a leading voice in the Riot Grrrl movement, having grown up in its epicenter, Olympia, Washington. Wolfe has been a lead singer in LA- and DC-based bands, including Sex Stains, Partyline, and Cold Hearts. Wolfe was raised in Olympia with her twin sister, Cindy, by their mother, Pat Shively, a self-described radical feminist and lesbian who founded the first women’s health clinic In Thurston County, the Eastside Women’s Health Clinic, in 1981.