Kurt Cobain’s comments on rape from the 1990s are still so important today: “Women are totally oppressed”
Kurt Cobain is one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll artists to pick up a guitar – and for good reason. Not only did his band Nirvana change the landscape of contemporary music forever, but Cobain proved himself to be a man of the people, a passionate artist with a desperate desire to fight for societal causes that he believed in. It was his views on topics such as feminism and civil rights that would endear Cobain to swathes of disaffected youth and affirm his position beyond mere rock star to a bonafide icon. Here, we take a look at some comments Cobain that still feel so pertinent today.
During an interview with NME back in 1991, Cobain explained his thoughts on how he believed society should look to eliminate sexual assault and rape. One of the most important factors in eradicating sexual assault, he believed, was educating young men about rape.
The musician spoke about a female friend who had started attending rape self-defence classes. Detailing further, he said: “She looked out the window and saw a football pitch full of boys and thought those are the people that should really be in this class”.
Famously, sexual assault was the subject of Nirvana’s song ‘Rape Me’, a cut taken from In Utero, which was Cobain’s attempt to write an anti-rape anthem. Attempted to offer a peek behind the curtain of his creativity, the musician once explained the meaning behind the track during an interview with Spin: He said: “It’s like she’s saying, ‘Rape me, go ahead, rape me, beat me. You’ll never kill me. I’ll survive this and I’m gonna fucking rape you one of these days and you won’t even know it.'”
The subject comes up again on the Nevermind track ‘Polly’, although the message of the song was lost on many. However, the band clarified the song’s intention in that very same 1991 cover story by NME by Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. He said: “It’s about a young girl who was abducted, the guy drove her around in his van. Tortured her. Raped her. The only chance she had of getting away was to come on to him and persuade him to untie her. That’s what she did, and she got away. Can you imagine how much strength that took?”
A couple of years later, Cobain delved deeper into where his passion for equality for women came from, stating: “I couldn’t find any friends (at school), male friends that I felt compatible with, I ended up hanging out with the girls a lot. I just always felt that they weren’t treated with respect. Especially because women are totally oppressed.”
This was a bold stance to take back in the early 1990s, a time when musicians and politics were not as aligned as they are today. It shows just how ahead of his time Cobain was and how he was not just a trailblazer because of his music but because of his refreshing attitude towards how society should function.
