Our lord and savior, Kathleen Hanna, is showing up in a new way (just when we needed her most!). Hanna recently launched her new Substack, “Future Windows,” and it’s already getting major buzz. Hanna’s new project centers feminist futurism. She describes the title, “Future Windows” in the introduction page of her Substack, “One of my favorite singers, Christina Billotte, coined the phrase ‘future windows’ and it quickly circulated amongst our group of friends. ‘I didn’t see this in my future window’ I said to my bandmate Kathi as we watched The Linda Lindas open for our band Bikini Kill in 2019. We met the band after seeing them cover one of our songs online. Mila, the drummer, jumped over an amp, grabbed the mic, and sang a gorgeous version of X-Ray Spex’s ‘Germ Free Adolescents.’ She was nine years old, wearing suspenders and an Annie T-shirt. To say we were inspired would be an understatement.” Hanna goes on to state, “And now, as I read about people being deported for speaking out against the genocide in Palestine—or for just existing—I’m seeing the world through a future window I never wanted to look through.”
Hanna certainly sold us on her new project (not that she had to) in a trailer posted to her Instagram where she asks, “Are you interested in punk rock, activism, art, photography, overturning the government, poetry, anarchist DIY spaces, money laundering, self-care, Cyborg theory, intersectional feminism, situational marxism?” Well, of course we are! The Bikini Kill and Le Tigre frontwoman’s first major collaboration was with comedian W. Kamau Bell, where the two discussed the ongoing trend of labeling talented and unique artists (often women) who gain popularity in the mainstream music industry quickly as “industry plants” with little to no evidence, current examples being Chappell Roan and Doechii. In a time so uncertain, voices like Hanna’s are exactly what we need to call upon the revolution grrrl style of the past, and envision the revolution grrrl style of the future. Subscribers can engage with Hanna’s work on her Substack in several ways. By visiting mskathleenhanna.substack.com, readers can choose between a free subscription—which grants access to public posts—or a paid subscription, which unlocks features like chat access, archived content, exclusive essays, and, at the $250/year level, a personal thank-you note from Hanna herself. Fans who crave even more wisdom from the punk legend will also be happy to know that Hanna’s 2024 memoir, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk, will be available in paperback starting June 24, 2025. In a time filled with political uncertainty, now is the time for revolutionary inspiration, and as always, Kathleen Hanna is the perfect person to provide that light.
Image Courtesy Of Jason Frank Rothenberg
