University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 8-2005 Gender Trouble Girl: The Disruptive Work of Kim Gordon Thomas S. Caw Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Recommended Citation Caw, Thomas S., "Gender Trouble Girl: The Disruptive Work of Kim Gordon" (2005). Theses and Dissertations. 2031. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2031 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 1 GENDER TROUBLE GIRL: THE DISRUPTIVE WORK OF KIM GORDON by Thomas S. Caw A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2005 2 GENDER TROUBLE GIRL: THE DISRUPTIVE WORK OF KIM GORDON by Thomas S. Caw A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August 2005 Major Professor Date Graduate School Approval Date 3 ABSTRACT GENDER TROUBLE GIRL: THE DISRUPTIVE WORK OF KIM GORDON by Thomas S. Caw The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2005 Under the Supervision of Dr. Gillian Rodger Kim Gordon has been referred to as the “Godmother of Grunge,” the “Godmother of alternative rock,” “rock’s reigning experimental diva,” the original “Riot Mom,” and other similar sobriquets when mentioned as an important influence on younger women musicians such as Courtney Love or the bands in the Riot Grrrl movement, but her work has been given only superficial treatment in both the popular and academic literature.