Waveless: MTV and the “Quiet” Feminism of the 1980s

Abstract

The rise to prominence of MTV in the 1980s enabled the creation of a space in which feminist voices could be aired to a national audience. Such artists as Madonna, Blondie, Joan Jett, the Go-Gos, and Cyndi Lauper, among others, built off the intellectual positionality and energies of Second Wave Feminism in their efforts to ensure that the voice of the unconventional woman could be heard. Moreover, this chapter argues that the sex-positivity and diversity present among these select artists presaged and precipitated the rise of Third Wave Feminism at the end of the decade, in turn helping to give voice to Riot Grrrl and the artists associated with the Lilith Fair.