Alien She

I think this song is about one woman struggling with two sides of her personality. One side wants to be pretty and "girly" and the other wants to be "feminist, dyke, whore." I love how the song ends though, which I think kind of suggests that you can be pretty and a little girly, while still being a feminist or a dyke, or whatever you want to be. You don't have to conform to the standards society sets for you, you can just be a combination of many different things.

well sweety i'm no dyke and i adore bikini kill and le tigre.

and kathleen hanna is hella hot, but she doesn't like men so why would it matter if she's hot to you or not. even if she was up to your standards, you'd never be up to hers.

I have a pretty clear interpretation of this song, I don't know if it is the singer's intent but I think what is important about an interpretation is that it is consistant not that it comes from the author/singer.

Siamese twins have two minds but share a body. It's because of that I think when the singer says "She is me" and "I am her" she is literally talking about two sides of herself, not just someone who is similar or important to her. This is reinforced by her listing multiple body parts, and also means "connected at the cunt" is probably not talking about a sex act performed between two individuals. The "connected at the cunt" is highlighting that how society sees an individual is largely tied to their sexual value and presentation, if that individual happens to be a woman. She's saying both sides of her are going to be critiqued by others in a very gendered way.

Next at least one of her sides is saying they want to kill the other, and I think this is her "feminist, dyke, whore" side because I believe this song is a back and forth between those two sides. She says she is afraid it will kill her because deep down she knows that this "lipstick" side of her is just as core to who she is as an individual. Society tells her she has to pick a side and that those sides are opposed to each other, and that's why the sides are antogonistic towards each other.

With all movements for representation or equality there is a potential preasure to present yourself as one of the good ones. Some feminists might see someone conforming to traditional gender rolls and not complaining as a traitor because they might reinforce those rolls. This is why there is a social preasure to disavow her lipstick side.

Now the girly side comes out and starts name calling. She chooses the words she does because society tells women they should know their place, be straight, and be chaste. A woman that conforms more with traditional beauty standards is going to recieve more preasure to conform to every other womanly expectation because they aren't seen as lost yet. This is why there is a social preasure to disavow the less conforming side of her. It's internalized misogyny basically.

The last important thing about this verse is the "I'm so pretty". I think the line is parody, it's a critique of how society sees women who doll themselves up as ditsy and self absorbed.

From there on it is basically a back and forth that doesn't contribute new information until the outro. In the outro she says she wants to know which side is really her, I think this puts to rest any ideas that one side is a lesser part of her that she actually wants to exorcise. Everyone is molded by the society they live in so both parts of her are both her own and not her own.

If I had to guess the singer is a third-wave/intersectional feminist and this song is a critique of how society treats women and also gender in general as if conformity/nonconformity is some kind of binary, when every individual is nuanced and expresses themselves differently. In fact any time we categorize people based on some aspects of their presentation we have our assumptions and place our expectations on them. Maybe the girl who dresses preppy is a metalhead, maybe the guy wearing a suit is a janitor. The author is still a gay or bisexual feminist who is sexually active, even when she is presenting very femme. And similarly when the author doesn't present this way it shouldn't be seen as a lack of ability or a hatred of other women.

The whole thing could also just be self exploration and not a critique too. The question in the outro could be one of genuine curiosity and her struggles with social preasure might be stronger. But this interpretation would be highlighting the same problems with society, just with less awareness. Also punks are usually critical of hierachy and the idea of having to conform to other's expections, which I think makes the first interpretation more likely.

I think this song is about women constantly having to struggle with what society wants them to be. It's like having a split-personality - one part is the 'bad' part of the woman (Feminist, Dyke, Whore) and the other is the stereotypically girly-girl (She wants me to go to the mall... To put the pretty, pretty red lipstick on).

I love the last part :

"And all I really wanted to know Who was me and who is she I guess I'll never know"

It's as if the two parts of her have become so blurred together that she doesn't even know who she should be anymore. Both parts are part of her, but she struggles to survive with such contrasting characters.

I couldn't agree more zeroglitter. 'i want to kill her, but i'm afraid it might kill me.' could be suggesting even 'riotgrrls' have got this inbuilt 'girly girlness', none of us can truly be apart from, or escape from certain stereotypes which may be deemed less than desirable

i have a really weird obsession with this song right now. i can't get enough of it, does anyone know what bikni kill album this is on? i only have 'the singles', i downloaded this track

it's on pussy whipped (i believe that it's the second song)

littlehugs, you're retarded.

though i do agree with ndchicklette, i do have to point out one thing.

kathleen hanna does indeed like men.

she's dating a beastie boy.

kathleen hanna is a goddess. littlehugs is a dumbass. maybe you could learn something from your, "dykey," mother.

littlehugs...you are an ass (and you're probably not hot either). This song is effing amazing. Bikini Kill in general is amazing. Good times man good times.

hey littlehugs.

since you've spent so much of your precious time crticizing kathleen hanna, i spent some of my time looking at all of your comments.

i see you like nirvana, or at least think kurt was a reasonable guy.

well i bet it would surprise you if you knew that kathleen and kurt would hang out together back in the day. yup, she actually came up with the inspiration for smells like teen spirit.

oh and no, i don't burn my "braws" or my bras.

i'm actually quite the opposite of the hippie stereotype you put on bikini kill fans.

have a nice day.