Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? Neslihan Arol (Berlin) This article analyses the performance GRRRRRL (2016) by the theatre collective Henrike Iglesias based in Berlin and Basel. The production is a relevant example of contemporary feminist performance in the current theatre climate in Germany and is an especially interesting subject for detailed analysis since it tries not only to critique the dominant culture for its injustices against women, but also to offer a better alternative, a utopian place called FORT GRRRRRL. In addition to examining how critique and utopia coexist in this performance, the article investigates the aesthetic strategies used to achieve these aims. Drawing on feminist performance theory and criticism, the analysis also traces the influences of feminist theatre tradition on GRRRRRL. A Collective of Feminist Killjoys Henrike Iglesias was founded in 2012 in Hildesheim by Anna Fries, Laura Naumann, Marielle Schavan and Sophia Schroth and defines “ herself ” 1 as a queer feminist theatre collective. Malu Peeters and Eva G. Alonso have also been members of the collective since 2018. Claiming any kind of feminist label is often still a contentious act throughout the world, including in Germany. 2 The necessity of feminism has been questioned in recent years in Germany, mostly based on claims that the goals of feminism have already been reached. 3 Moreover, the term is loaded with negative connotations despite its increasing visibility in popular culture globally. Regarding the properties of the negative image associated with feminists, the feminist scholar Barbara Tomlinson writes: “ [. . .] a recurring set of formulaic claims that feminist scholars (and feminists in general) are angry, unreasoning, shrill, humorless, ugly, man-hating, perverse, and peculiar ” . 4 Although Tomlinson ’ s argument is situated in contemporary U. S. political and academic discourse, it taps into an international stereotype about feminists. Confronting this stereotype head-on, the members of the feminist collective like to perform as “ feminist killjoys ” . 5 “ Feminist killjoy ” is a term coined by feminist writer and independent scholar Sara Ahmed, whose research blog is linked on the website of Henrike Iglesias. 6 Ahmed calls herself a feminist killjoy and writes: “ Indeed the very act of recognizing injustice in the present is read as a theft of optimism, a killing of joy [. . .] ” . 7 Accordingly, feminist killjoys may also kill joy simply by not taking pleasure in happy objects like marriage and happiness scripts of heterosexual love. As a theatre collective of feminist killjoys, Henrike Iglesias follows the tradition of earlier feminist artists in the field by fighting against the stereotypical representations of women on stage. Anna Fries talks about the topic as follows: I think we are all constantly driven to [. . .] build down stereotypes or deconstruct stereotypes and since we would probably all [. . .] talk about ourselves as feminists because we have the feeling that women are still not represented the way they should be in our society like we try to open a wider range of representation or to also search for different images and to overcome images that we don ’ t like or that we find like imprisoning in a way. 8 Forum Modernes Theater, 32/ 1 (2021), 85 - 98. Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen DOI 10.2357/ FMTh-2021-0009 In accordance with this statement, Henrike Iglesias deals with the stereotypical images of ‘ evil ’ ascribed to women in her third production GRRRRRL. I have chosen this production for detailed analysis because it strives to combine critique and utopia. On the one hand, it tries to deconstruct, subvert and critique the existing stereotypes about ‘ bad women ’ . On the other hand, it seeks to offer “ a view from ‘ elsewhere ’” , 9 a utopian place called FORT GRRRRRL. The notion of utopia is closely linked with the ideal of happiness in the dominant imaginary, as the philosopher Seyla Benhabib writes: “ Utopias portray modes of friendship, solidarity and human happiness ” . 10 As the term also implies, the feminist killjoy “‘ spoils ’ the happiness of others; she is a spoilsport because she refuses to convene, to assemble, or to meet up over happiness ” . 11 How does Henrike Iglesias, a collective of self-proclaimed feminist killjoys, share a utopia with the audience? The feminist historian Susan Magarey states: “ The impulse to create a utopian vision is integrally optimistic [. . .]. ” 12 How do feminist killjoys, who are likely to be seen as thieves of optimism in their recognition and criticism of injustices, embody a utopian vision? How far do critique and utopia go hand in hand in a performance, which employs the figure of the ‘ unruly woman ’ and claims to “ discover the productive power of destruction ” ? 13 This article asks such questions in its evaluation of the performance GRRRRRL, which premiered in April 2016 in ROXY Theatre in Birsfelden, Switzerland and toured in Germany until March 2018. 14 GRRRRRL The title of the performance can be read as a tribute to Riot grrrl, the underground feminist punk movement that emerged in the early 1990 s. Feminist researcher Maria Katharina Wiedlack refers to punk as a form of political anger and states: “ queerfeminist punks [. . .] argue for the usage of aggression, outspoken anti-social behavior, and a liberating verbal (or non-verbal) violation of rules ” . 15 By increasing the number of ‘ r ’ s in the title of her performance, Henrike Iglesias reinforces the aggression and the anger inherent in the term ‘ grrrl ’ , which comes from its reference to the sound of a growling animal. To further support the central role of anger in the performance, its promotional text begins with a quotation from the contemporary feminist activist, author and journalist Laurie Penny: “ If anything can save us in this fraught and dazzling future, it is the rage of women and girls, of queers and freaks and sinners. ” 16 As cited earlier, anger is an essential part of the negative stereotype of feminists. It is also antithetical to the notion of ideal womanhood, which ‘ good girls ’ live by. Therefore, it is no surprise that there is a lineage of feminist artists utilizing aggression and characteristics attributed to ‘ bad girls ’ in their work. 17 Following this tradition and looking for ways to be bad, Henrike Iglesias affirms and claims anger as well as the other criteria for ‘ the unruly woman ’ . The unruly woman is an oft-cited figure of female outrageousness in feminist scholarship and was defined by feminist media scholar Kathleen Rowe Karlyn as “ typically associated with excess of all kinds, but especially those that concern her body, voice, and actions. She is often fat, loud, rebellious, sometimes angry, and often funny ” . 18 Not afraid to be seen as a feminist killjoy, Henrike Iglesias embodies the unruly woman for her feminist critique and utopia throughout the performance. This echoes the work of literature professor Mary Russo, who writes: “ The figure of the female transgressor as public spectacle is still powerfully resonant, and the possibilities of redeploying this representation as a demys- 86 Neslihan Arol tifying or utopian model have not been exhausted. ” 19 Unruly Woman as Public Spectacle: A Feminist Killjoy Aesthetic? At the beginning of GRRRRRL, the audience sits in the dark listening to nearly half a minute of text from Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches) read by a recorded voice, which sounds like a group of overlapping female voices. The Hammer of Witches was first published in 15 th century and is one of the most influential books that endorsed the brutal prosecution of women on suspicion of witchcraft. The text cited from this well-known book is a short compilation, highlighting its hostility towards women. It compares women to men and comes to the conclusion that women are like defective animals, more carnal and less intelligent. Women have inherently little faith in God. They cannot be disciplined. They are liars by nature and deceive men with their voices. As the text progresses, the female voices become gradually deeper until they gain a somewhat monstrous quality. The sound becomes as evil as the content of the text at the end: “ Klein ist jede Bosheit gegen die Bosheit des Weibes. Sinnt das Weib allein, dann sinnt es Böses. ” 20 As the promotional text and the interviews 21 with Henrike Iglesias reveal, GRRRRRL is about exactly those women that The Hammer of Witches condemns. It is about unruly women, who are evil in the eyes of a patriarchal society. By citing this text with a twist, Henrike Iglesias uses subversive quotation - a common strategy among feminist comedians - in order to remind the audience of the long history of demonization of women in patriarchal societies. The seriousness of the voice-over, combined with the absurdity of the text from a contemporary perspective, is probably the reason why it occasionally evokes laughter from the audience. 22 Rowe Karlyn writes: “ Unruly women use laughter to transform passive suffering into an active response to circumstances they find unjust, painful, or simply ridiculous. ” 23 In her performance, Henrike Iglesias adopts this strategy and makes the audience laugh on many occasions. During the subversive quotation, a light starts to fade in and out like a slow heartbeat from upstage right. Three adjacent arched windows become visible due to the light source behind them. The complete construction, a 4 m x 4 m black folding gazebo tent with the above-mentioned windows, becomes recognizable as the performers slowly enter the stage and the rows of lighting elements on the floor, positioned against the upstage wall, illuminate everything from behind. The tent is diagonally positioned upstage right, facing the audience. Apart from this tent, the stage is nearly completely empty throughout the performance. The performers bring most of the props with them as they enter the stage after the quotation has ended. During the performance, they make use of a couple of folding stools, a bucket, an outdoor cool box and plastic canisters. Except for the canisters, all these props are on stage throughout the performance. The cool box and the canisters are embedded with light sources. When their lights are on, they create a great contrast with the black and often dimly lit surroundings. During the setting of the stage, one of the performers stretches a clothesline between the tent and a point downstage right. Afterwards, she hangs several used tampons on the clothesline with help of another performer. The minimal stage design allows these red tampons to attract more attention. Menstrual blood is a taboo image that has long been represented in sanitary pad commercials by a light blue 87 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? liquid. Henrike Iglesias breaks this taboo by sharing the stage with ‘ bloody ’ tampons for the entire duration of the performance. 24 As mentioned earlier, Henrike Iglesias fits the definition of the unruly woman well, so taboo-breaking is naturally a central theme of GRRRRRL. 25 The stage set is filled with elements that suggest a campsite atmosphere. The stage holds almost everything that a long-duration camper needs, but there is no sign of the nature that normally surrounds a campsite. There is even no colour other than black on stage besides the red on the tampons and a light blue cool box. This design and use of dim lighting create a dark atmosphere, further supported by various pieces of mostly instrumental music and sound effects that can be associated with negative adjectives such as uncanny, sombre, disturbing and creepy. Therefore, the stage design does not try to convey an ideal happy image, which is often falsely expected of utopias. Sara Ahmed rejects this expectation by writing: “ [. . .] utopias cannot be reduced to happy futures. ” 26 I argue that Henrike Iglesias applies a feminist killjoy aesthetic in GRRRRRL, which is consistent with a killjoy utopianism that Ahmed describes as “ a willingness to inhabit what seems negative as an insistence that worlds can be otherwise ” . 27 The implications of the feminist killjoy aesthetic on the staging of a utopian place, in this case “ a queer-matriarchal camp ” , 28 are discussed further in the last section of this article. This negative aesthetic complements Henrike Iglesias ’ s search for the bad and her embodiment of the unruly woman with her so-called negative qualities such as anger and excess. The costumes also fit the notion of excess: black, bulky jackets and hoodies, which increase the perceived body sizes of the performers; under the hoodies, they wear very long black wigs, which cover their faces completely and emphasize the rest of their body. They add to the performer ’ s bodily excess and imply an undisciplined femininity, which was scorned in the previously quoted text from The Hammer of Witches. When two of the performers later stuff their faces with potato chips through their wigs, they mock the text ’ s accusations of women being defective animals by assuming animalistic manners. Another element that contributes to the performers ’ bodily excess are the high platform shoes, which not only increase the performers ’ height, but also help them to be louder. At four instances in the performance, all the performers jump up and down at the same time, making noise and marking the transitions between the scenes. In a short scene, they maximize the use of their shoes for excess, marching in them while screaming. The costumes change throughout the performance, with the exception of the shoes. In a solo scene close to the end of the performance, Sophia Schroth wears a creamcolored jacket made of some kind of foam with toothpicks on it. In this design, Schroth looks much bigger than normal. Her size is the main topic of discussion in the scene. She addresses the audience and talks about her parents, who find her fat. As she says that she takes up too much space and tries to compensate this with her character, her anger reaches its apex. She yells with rage: “ Ich bin immer nett. Ich bin nie sauer oder böse auf jemanden. In unangenehmen Situationen fange ich lieber an zu lachen. ” 29 At the end of her monologue, Schroth starts to laugh. As her laughter intensifies, the other performers join in and laugh with her. The scene ends with their loud laughter. This is arguably the scene in which the figure of the unruly woman is most evident in its representation of excessive body size, excessive voice, excessive anger and excessive laughter. Through her unruly presence, anger and laughter, Sophia Schroth stands up against 88 Neslihan Arol the societal norm, which would prefer her to be a thin, nice girl. Her performance reflects the killjoy aesthetic and resonates with Rowe Karlyn ’ s statement: “ Like Medusa, the unruly woman laughs [. . .] she is not a nice girl. She is willing to offend and be offensive ” . 30 GRRRRRL as a Femmage on Stage In the programme of the performance, it is stated that “ GRRRRRL ist eine Femmage an das Unangepasste, das Hässliche, das Laute. Eine Femmage an die böse Frau ” . 31 Henrike Iglesias uses the word ‘ Femmage ’ instead of ‘ Hommage ’ most probably because the root of the French word ‘ Homme ’ means ‘ man ’ . However, the word ‘ femmage ’ already exists and was coined by Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer in 1978. A combination of the words ‘ feminist ’ and ‘ collage ’ , 32 ‘ femmage ’ is an activity “ practiced by women using traditional women ’ s techniques to achieve their art [. . .] ” . 33 Although Schapiro and Meyer ’ s definition does not refer to theatre and focuses more on art forms that collage various materials such as printed matter, paint and fabric, GRRRRRL lends itself to be read as a different type of femmage, in other words a feminist collage on stage. The performance is collage-like, consisting of a series of episodic scenes. Although there is some broad thematic unity between some consecutive scenes, as in the three scenes about motherhood, there is certainly no linear narrative. This fractured narrative structure draws attention to the constructed nature of representation and does not allow its audience to lose itself in the illusion of the narrative by assuming a passive role, which can be the case with realist plays. It is an aesthetic strategy of materialist feminist theatre tradition, which was identified as a branch of second wave feminist practices. 34 The episodic structure is one of the strategies influenced by Brechtian epic theatre, which aimed to keep audiences engaged in order to get political messages across. Another Brechtian-influenced aesthetic strategy of the materialist feminist project to keep the audience engaged is the “ lookingat-being-looked-at-ness ” employed by the performers. Elin Diamond identifies this term in her much-cited article on the intertextual reading of feminist theory and Brechtian theory. 35 As the term implies, the performer looks back at the audience looking at her. Inheriting this strategy from feminist pioneer artists, 36 Henrike Iglesias resists fetishization by directly addressing her audience and returning the gaze in nearly every scene of GRRRRRL. One of the scenes especially stands out with its open negotiation of the gaze. In this solo scene, Laura Naumann comes close to the front row of the audience and looks at its members without saying anything. Sometimes, she looks as if she is looking in a mirror and at other times, it is as if she is flirting with the audience. As an audience member in the front row, I remember feeling uneasy at that moment of uncertainty. I was asking myself: How can I return the gaze of the performer in the most productive way? Should I smile, stare, look away or flirt back? Probably not all spectators go through this questioning. As a performer myself, I might be oversensitive about audience-performer interaction, but it is quite certain that this scene asks the members of the audience to take responsibility for their gazes. Theatre audiences all too often enjoy the powerful position of sitting in the dark and being unseen onlookers. The materialist feminist critic and scholar Jill Dolan writes: “ Brecht ’ s formulation of the alienation effect ’ s application to acting technique is perhaps most pertinent to materialist feminist practice. The Brechtian actor resides in a state of showingness. ” 37 The performers Anna Fries, Laura Naumann, Marielle Schavan and Sophia Schroth 89 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? act mostly as if they are themselves on stage. In an interview, Marielle Schavan confirms this by saying: “ Wir sind als wir selbst auf der Bühne. ” 38 So the performers mainly adopt their own stage personas and call each other by their real names. Their performance is consistent with second wave feminism ’ s motto “ The personal is political ” , 39 since most of the scenes seem to be based on their personal experiences. The state of showingness can be observed both in their performance of themselves and in their representation of other characters, such as Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj. For instance, in a solo scene, as Marielle Schavan explains her relationship with sex and masturbation through a chronological story, starting with her discovery of masturbation at the age of three, she seems to be quoting her own story. During the whole scene, she repeats a set of movements, which looks like a choreography from a ballet class for small children. The dissonance between the movements and the content creates a distance between the performer and her own story, supporting its quality of showingness. The fact that the enacted characters are all real-life superstars already ensures their state of showingness. Characters like Britney Spears cannot be performed realistically unless a degree of impersonation is involved. Anna Fries uses only jewelled glasses for her enactment of Lady Gaga, whereas Marielle Schavan and Laura Naumann do not even use any props to perform Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj, respectively. Apart from these aesthetic strategies, such as showingness and a collage-like structure, GRRRRRL also follows in the footsteps of the feminist theatre and performance tradition in its choice of content with its emphasis on themes such as female masturbation, sexuality and motherhood. In order to provide alternative female images and criticize the unjust social control over women and their sexuality, Henrike Iglesias makes use of the figure of the unruly woman as a spectacle, as mentioned earlier. Women being unruly by subverting dominant cultural rules on female bodies, breaking sexual taboos and embracing the abject is at the heart of feminist performance tradition. Henrike Iglesias builds on this tradition and manages to create empowering moments for audience members who may identify with them. GRRRRRL deals with sexual taboo topics mostly through the personal stories of the performers. Openly talking about sexual experiences remains a taboo for women around the world. When, in a short scene, the performers discuss female masturbation casually, as if they were in a private space, they controversially introduce a subject matter that may be considered taboo by theatregoers. This scene foretells the utopian camp Henrike Iglesias aims to establish in the course of the performance. Without any emphasis or exaggeration, the performers state in which public places they masturbate. Henrike Iglesias breaks another taboo by addressing the flaws of intimate body parts. In a short scene, the performers talk to each other about their nipples in a very casual way, just like in the previously discussed scene about masturbation. Each performer mentions a particular aspect of her nipples, such as nipple hair, which does not fit the ideal female body. They gather in a close circle and look at their own and each other ’ s nipples in such a way that the audience members cannot see what they are looking at. The video of the premiere shows that the scene triggers laughter. The laughing audience members presumably laugh in recognition and are perhaps reminded of their own flaws, which are causes of shame and therefore kept secret. Such instances of recognition in theatre might empower some audience members. An online article on GRRRRRL quotes one such audience member, who identifies her experience as 90 Neslihan Arol „ Verschwesterung “ ( “ sisternization ” ) during the after-show talk in May 2017 in Düsseldorf: “ So ungefähr alle elf Minuten, sagt sie, habe sie sich in dem Stück wiedererkannt und ihre Nachbarinnen sicherlich auch, nur eben vielleicht in anderen Momenten “ . 40 “ Verschwesterung ” is represented in this scene of intimacy, which can also be viewed as foretelling of utopia. The performers end the scene by leaving the stage together as a group, two of them putting their arms around each other in solidarity. For the discussion of taboo-breaking content in GRRRRRL, one instance stands out the most. Whether or not it really happened, is one of the first questions that audience members ask during aftershow talks. 41 Towards the last quarter of the performance, Marielle Schavan comes onto the stage and urinates while standing into a bucket that has been upstage left since the beginning of the performance. As an audience member, I remember that I could see the stream of urine pouring into the bucket, but the backlight and the fog managed to hide the performer ’ s privacy to a certain extent. Urinating in public while standing is a common activity of men, as long as they can partially conceal themselves. Schavan borrows this activity and, by claiming the abject, adopts the figure of the unruly woman who “ is unable or unwilling to confine herself to her proper place ” . 42 The activity also seems to mark an important change in the scenery towards utopia, as if Schavan is indicating that women can urinate there however they want. After Schavan has finished urinating, she places some flowers around the stage and reveals the FORT GRRRRRL sign, which is the first clear indication marking the stage as somewhere else. As explained in the beginning of this section, Henrike Iglesias subverts the term ‘ hommage ’ and calls GRRRRRL a ‘ femmage ’ . The word femmage has a meaning of its own and deals with a particular artistic tradition. Based on its scope, femmage refers to criteria, which do not correlate with theatre. Nevertheless, GRRRRRL, with its collagelike structure and its adherence to feminist theatre tradition ’ s techniques, content, taboo-breaking unruliness and materialist feminist aesthetic strategies, fits the main idea of femmage. It can therefore be regarded as a femmage on stage. The analysis in this section focuses mainly on GRRRRRL ’ s connection to second wave feminist predecessors. There are two other main aspects of the performance that are based on contemporary feminist politics, namely the emphasis on popular culture and the performance ’ s attempt at inclusion. The Popular is Political? As briefly mentioned above, GRRRRRL hosts international celebrities of popular culture. Pop culture has been an important terrain of interest for feminist discourse since the emergence of third wave feminism in the 1990s. As sociologist Jane Pilcher and feminist literary scholar Imelda Whelehan write: “ The Riot Grrrl movement which began around 1991, has close links with the emergence of third wave feminism and illustrates their claim that popular culture can be the site of activism, and that media such as music can be used to communicate political messages. ” 43 In line with this statement, GRRRRRL brings popular figures from the music industry on stage to serve political ends. A Lady Gaga interview is performed in the first scene after the performers set the stage. The much-viewed video of this interview is available on YouTube. 44 A male interviewer asks Lady Gaga if she is worried that the sexual references in her videos might undermine her music. Lady Gaga criticizes the interviewer for his question 91 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? and tells him that if she were a male star, she would not be asked about sexual content and would instead be referred to as a rock star. This scene is enacted by Anna Fries, who sits on a stool under a spotlight in a similar position to Lady Gaga in the video. Although Lady Gaga ’ s name is not mentioned, the shiny jewelled glasses and the references in the text give her away. The interviewer ’ s voice is played as a voice-over and is probably recorded by one of the performers since it sounds like an altered voice and the original female voice can also be heard faintly in the background. The scene serves as a representation of a sexual, strong woman, who stands up for herself and is aware of social inequality when it comes to the treatment of female artists in comparison to male artists. Henrike Iglesias does not use the portion of the interview, where Lady Gaga is asked, “ Are you also a feminist? ” 45 Lady Gaga replies: “ I am not a feminist. I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture. Beer, bars and muscle cars. ” From this answer, it seems that Lady Gaga equates feminism with not liking men. This is consistent with the stereotype about feminists being man-haters, which was already mentioned above. Although Lady Gaga ’ s stance against feminism at the time does not change the value of her act for feminism, it still creates a conflict from a feminist perspective. Probably for this reason, the shorter version of the video without the last question has often been circulated online in the discussion of how Lady Gaga shuts down sexism. In terms of content, the scene with Nicki Minaj is very similar to the one with Lady Gaga. The video of Minaj ’ s statements also went viral and is available on YouTube. 46 Nicki Minaj complains about being called a bitch just because she stands up for herself. Comparing herself to a male artist, she says that when a male artist has demands, he is called a boss instead, which does not have the negative connotations that the bitch label has. In the video, Nicki Minaj is accompanied by someone who is most likely a friend or a colleague of hers. He confirms her statements with short encouraging words. As with the Lady Gaga video, this clip is also enacted on stage in a state of showingness, this time by Laura Naumann and Sophia Schroth. Through the example of Nicki Minaj, the scene criticizes ‘ bitch ’ as a label readily assigned to women who demand respect and stand their own ground. The label often works to silence women and motivates them towards passivity in the face of injustices. 47 Just like the scene about Lady Gaga, this scene celebrates Nicki Minaj as a strong woman, who fights for herself. The increasing attention paid to popular culture by contemporary feminist performances and academic works is a pleasing development. Bringing the contents of viral videos of strong international female stars onto the stage, Henrike Iglesias can potentially speak to a wider audience including internet users. But the question that feminist theatre scholar Kim Solga articulates in her evaluation of a performance with pop icon references also applies to GRRRRRL: “ Does this freedom of ‘ the hot and famous ’ represent any kind of real power for girls and women not similarly privileged? ” 48 The answer to this question is not readily available. Nevertheless, Henrike Iglesias provides a counter figure with Britney Spears, whose privilege does not help her. In this way, the magnitude of social pressure on mothers is emphasized. A shortened version of the interview with Britney Spears by former television news anchor Matt Lauer is enacted in a scene by Marielle Schavan and Sophia Schroth, respectively. 49 The scene shows the pop icon as a vulnerable figure trying to answer questions about motherhood with dignity. She is accused of being a bad mother due to some instances with her baby such as trip- 92 Neslihan Arol ping over while her baby was in her arms. Schavan adds a layer to her performance of Britney Spears by incorporating a couple of screams into the text. These screams can be read as a representation of Spears ’ s genuine feelings about the accusations, which she could express if she did not have to wear a social mask. Through the popular figure of Britney Spears, Henrike Iglesias questions the relentless public gaze on mothers and society ’ s demands of perfection for this idealized role. Although Britney Spears is a privileged pop icon, she cannot disrupt the voyeuristic gaze and has to endure public interrogation. Henrike Iglesias adds a dimension to the above question especially by offering an alternative image of the privileged with Britney Spears. However, another question about privilege remains unanswered. What is Henrike Iglesias ’ s approach to her own privilege? GRRRRRL invites this question upon itself with a certain scene that needs further discussion in terms of the concept of inclusion. As an important concept of contemporary feminist politics, it suggests a transcendence of the white feminist exclusion associated with second wave feminism, which was heavily criticised especially by black feminism and postcolonial feminism. Intersectionality On Henrike Iglesias ’ website, under the title Promise, one of the statements is: “ I promise to say the word INTERSECTIONALITY every morning for a month and to stay aware of what it means. ” 50 This sentence is on the list of promises that Henrike Iglesias prepared to be randomly selected during their contribution to 1968 - Eine Besetzung der Kammerspiele (2018). After the random selection of a promise by the collective, anyone from the audience could come forward to read it aloud in front of a live camera. In this way, the collective intended to provide productive impulses regarding how each person can contribute to feminism in their daily life. 51 Written in capital letters, intersectionality appears to be an important concept for the collective in terms of feminist awareness. After the critique of second wave feminist exclusion, contemporary feminist politics mainly embraces intersectionality, a term first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. 52 This theory suggests the creation of identities and political needs through the intersection of various social, biological and cultural categories such as gender, age, race, sex and class. Yet, starting with a particular scene of her performance GRRRRRL, Henrike Iglesias seems to address all women without considering different experiences and categories of oppression to which the women addressed might be subject. Towards the very end of the performance, the performers are all illuminated on the centre stage. They all stand a step apart from each other in a semicircle facing the audience. The scene starts in silence and each performer takes a turn saying a sentence starting with “ Du kommst auf die Welt [. . .] ” . 53 After some time, sombre music begins to play and slowly gets louder as the scene progresses. The sentences are about injustices and violence against women around the world. The performers mention a wide range of atrocities, such as female genital mutilation and stoning. In contrast to most of the other scenes, the performers articulate several issues of which they have no personal experience. They talk about the problems of other women in various parts of the world. As white European women, they have the privilege and resources to address these issues on stage. Most of the women personally facing these problems do not have this level of privilege. What does this mean for the performers? What does Henrike Iglesias 93 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? say about the lack of those women on stage? As mentioned above, Henrike Iglesias seems to speak to a universal female subject as she repeatedly begins her sentences with: “ Du kommst auf die Welt [. . .]. ” Is Henrike Iglesias attempting a form of “ strategic essentialism ” 54 to create solidarity? Or is it simply white feminism? Unfortunately, Henrike Iglesias does not reflect on these questions on stage. Without any self-reflection, the collective ’ s efforts to address a wide range of problems fall short and this attempt taints the utopian ideal of an inclusive camp. 55 FORT GRRRRRL for a Utopian Spectator? FORT GRRRRRL is a queer-matriarchal camp, as Henrike Iglesias calls it. The name of this utopian place is first revealed by an illuminated sign, around 50 minutes into the performance. The performers first talk about FORT GRRRRRL in the last five minutes. Although the clear identification of this utopia happens quite late in the performance, there are several traces during the performance, as clarified above. Most importantly, there are powerful, unruly women on stage, who are not afraid of killing joy. They refuse to be ashamed of their sexuality, their menstrual blood or their urine. Yet, the above-explained feminist killjoy aesthetic, coupled with the dominant understanding about utopias loaded with ideals of happiness and optimism, require a ‘ utopian ’ spectator with special attention to realize the build up towards utopia. Accordingly, José Esteban Muñoz, a scholar in the field of performance studies and queer politics, suggests: “ Sometimes the utopian spectator needs to squint to see the anticipatory illumination promised by utopia, yet at other times, its visuality and (non)presence cannot be denied. ” 56 As elucidated earlier, Henrike Iglesias makes use of the subversive quotation technique for their critique. This technique is seen throughout the performance, even after the introduction of the utopian camp ’ s sign. For instance, in the scene directly after the sign is revealed, the performers sit around on stage and talk to each other in a casual way. They speak the language of sexism and they tell each other things like: “ Lächle doch mal Laura ” 57 or “ Du kannst dich überhaupt nicht wundern, dass du keinen Mann findest so viel wie du arbeitest [. . .]. “ 58 Some audience members laugh at this, probably due to the incongruity of hearing such sexist statements from the mouths of feminist performers. An online article about the performance refers to this scene as a representation of internalized misogyny. 59 The fact that sexist language can still exist, even after the FORT GRRRRRL sign is revealed, renders the sign more or less redundant. Thus, the sign does not constitute a turning point that marks the stage as a utopian place with no sexism. This causes a tension between critique and utopia, when the utopia is considered together with its dictionary meaning, which is also how it is generally defined in the dominant imaginary: “ imagined perfect place or state of things ” . 60 Created by a collective of feminist killjoys as a queer utopia, FORT GRRRRRL should be viewed in terms of Muñoz ’ s understanding of utopia as “ an idealist mode of critique ” 61 and Sara Ahmed ’ s recognition of the utopian form as a testimony to the possibility of an alternative, which “ involves hope in the very mode of its negative critique ” . 62 With this reading of killjoy utopia, where there is always a place for the negative and consequently its critique, the tension of critique and utopia dissolves. However, the tension between the unquestioned essentialist tendencies of the performance and its vision of an inclusive utopia unfortunately remains intact. 94 Neslihan Arol Notes 1 In the English version of the promotional text of the performance GRRRRRL, the third person feminine singular pronoun is used to refer to Henrike Iglesias. Since Henrike Iglesias sounds like a real female name, this article also uses the third person feminine singular pronoun. For the promotional text in English, see Münchner Kammerspiele: “ GRRRRRL. ” https: / / www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de/ en/ staging/ grrrrrl [accessed on 5. 02. 2019]. 2 “ To be recognized as a feminist is to be assigned to a difficult category and a category of difficulty ” . Sara Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness, Durham 2010, p.66. 3 For instance, a German national daily newspaper Die Welt, which mainly addresses middle-class conservative readers, published a series of essays about feminism in 2015. This series claimed to offer radical positions to make the discussion of feminism less “ boring. ” An essay in this series questioned feminism ’ s ongoing necessity and attracted considerable attention with its angry tone. The writer of the essay, Ronja Larissa von Rönne, who is also a blogger and a journalist, later distanced herself from this work and rejected the main silver Axel Springer Prize awarded for the essay. The gold, silver and bronze Axel Springer Prizes are awarded annually to young journalists. For the article by Ronja Larissa von Rönne, see: “ Warum mich der Feminismus anekelt. ” https: / / www.welt.de/ kultur/ article13926979 7/ Warum-mich-der-Feminismus-anekelt. html [accessed on 05. 02. 2019]. 4 Barbara Tomlinson, Feminism and Affect at the Scene of Argument: Beyond the Trope of the Angry Feminist, Philadelphia 2010, p. 1. 5 “ Sie treten gern als Feminist Killjoys, DJ Henrike Iglesias und als Internetuserinnen auf ” . English translation: “ They like to perform as feminist killjoys, DJ Henrike Iglesias and internet users ” . Henrike Iglesias: “ About Henrike. ” https: / / henrikeiglesias.com/ abouthenrike/ [accessed on 05. 02. 2019]. 6 Henrike Iglesias: “ Friends. ” https: / / henrikeiglesias.com/ friends/ [accessed on 10. 02. 2019]. 7 Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness, p.162. 8 At 0: 04: 49 of the video by Goethe-Institut Montreal: “ MixOFF Berlin/ Montreal. ” https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=KZSGH EV_iEU [accessed on 05. 02. 2019]. 9 Teresa de Lauretis, Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction, Bloomington 1987, p. 25. 10 Seyla Benhabib, Critique, Norm, and Utopia: A Study of the Foundations of Critical Theory, New York 1986, p. 13. 11 Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness, p. 65. 12 Susan Magarey, Dangerous Ideas, South Australia 2014, p. 123. 13 Münchner Kammerspiele: GRRRRRL, https: / / www.muenchner-kammerspiele.de/ en/ staging/ grrrrrl [accessed on 05. 02. 2019]. 14 The author of this article watched the performance on 16th September 2016 in Sophiensæle, Berlin and bases her discussion on this experience as well as on the video of the premiere. Both performances took place in similar black box type theatres. Sincere thanks to Henrike Iglesias for generously sharing the video. 15 Maria Katharina Wiedlack, “‘ I don ’ t give a shit where I spit my phlegm ’ (Tribe8). Rejection and Anger in Queer-Feminist Punk Rock ” , in: Transposition 3 (2013), pp. 1 - 19, quoted here: p.4. 16 Laurie Penny, Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution, New York 2014, p.4. 17 For more information on the history, see Lucy R. Lippard, “ In the Flesh: Looking Back and Talking Back: From the 1970 s to the 1990 s, the bad girls are still coming forward. Lucy R Lippard looks at two decades of feminist art ” , in: Women ’ s Art Magazine 54 (1993), pp. 4 - 9. 18 Kathleen Rowe Karlyn, “ Unruly Women ” , in: Bettina Papenburg (Ed.), Gender: Laughter, Farmington Hills 2017, p. 33. 19 Mary Russo, The Female Grotesque: Risk, Excess and Modernity, New York 1994, p. 61. 20 English translation: “ All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman. When a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil ” . For 95 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? the translation, see Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, The Malleus Maleficarum, Montague Summers (Tr.), New York 2007, p. 43. 21 „ Es geht in GRRRRRL um böse Frauen. Es ist eine Hommage an das Unangepasste, an das Hässliche, das Laute, an all das, was auf irgendeine Art die Regeln sprengt, die unsere patriarchale Gesellschaft sich für Frauen ausgedacht hat “ . English Translation: “ GRRRRRL is about bad women. It is a tribute to the unadapted, to the ugly, the loud, to all that in some way breaks the rules that our patriarchal society has come up with for women ” . Ann-Kathrin Canjé: „ Im Gespräch mit Henrike Iglesias. “ http: / / www. litaffin.de/ im-gespraech-mit-henrike-iglesias/ [accessed on 10. 02. 2019]. 22 One such part of the text is: “ Ein schönes und zuchtloses Weib ist wie ein goldener Reif in der Nase der Sau ” . English translation: “ As a jewel of gold in a swine ’ s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion ” . The translation is taken from Kramer and Sprenger, The Malleus, p. 44. 23 Rowe Karlyn, “ Unruly Women ” , p. 20. 24 The taboo of menstruation has been addressed by several feminist artists. For some pioneer works on the subject, see Judy Chicago ’ s Red Flag (1971) and Menstruation Bathroom (1972) as well as Menstruation (1973) by VALIE EXPORT. Psychoanalyst and feminist Julia Kristeva ’ s abject theory has been a guideline in feminist scholarship examining such works of art. Especially the radical/ cultural feminist theatre tradition dealt with the topic of menstruation. Sue-Ellen Case gives some early examples of this tradition, such as Lydia E. Pinkham ’ s Menstrual Show (1979) by Actors ’ Sorority Theatre and The Period Piece (1980) by Mischief Mime Company. See Sue-Ellen Case, Feminism and Theatre, New York 2014, p.71. Casey Jenkins ’ Casting Off My Womb (2013) is a more recent performance art piece on menstruation, which attracted considerable attention. 25 The context is certainly important to determine to what extent something can be regarded as subversion of a taboo. All the factors that play into such a contextual analysis are beyond the scope of this article. But it is worth mentioning that Sophiensæle, where I watched this performance, often collaborates with feminist artists. Therefore, the audience of this performance venue might potentially be more familiar with the content that GRRRRRL offers and may perceive it accordingly as less subversive. 26 Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness, p. 163. 27 Sara Ahmed: “ No! Refusal, Resignation and Complaint, Lecture presented by Sara Ahmed at Colonial Repercussions conference, Berlin, June 23 2018. ” https: / / feministkilljoys.com/ [accessed on 29. 09. 2019]. 28 Kultur Stadtleben: “ Henrike Iglesias: Die Eintreibung des Bösen. ” https: / / berlin030. de/ die-eintreibung-des-boesen-henrike-iglesias/ [accessed on 08. 02. 2019]. 29 English Translation: “ I am always nice. I ’ m never angry or mean to anyone. In unpleasant situations, I prefer to start laughing ” . 30 Kathleen Rowe, The Unruly Woman: Gender and the Genres of Laughter, Austin 1995, p. 10. 31 Henrike Iglesias: GRRRRRL, https: / / henrikeiglesias.com/ projekte/ [accessed on 14. 02. 2019]. English translation: “ GRRRRRL is a femmage to the unadapted, to the ugly, the loud. A femmage to the evil woman ” . The English translation of this description is a bit different on the abovecited website of Münchner Kammerspiele. The word “ femmage ” is not used and left as “ homage ” in that translation. This is possibly due to the spelling of the word in English with one “ m ” , which does not directly lend itself to a feminist wordplay as in German. 32 Temma Balducci, “ Femmage ” , in: Joan Marter (Ed.), The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Vol. 1, New York 2011, p. 210. 33 Miriam Schapiro and Melissa Meyer, “ Waste Not Want Not: An Inquiry into what Women Saved and Assembled - FEMMAGE. ” in: Heresies I, 4 (1977 - 78): p. 66 - 69, quoted here: p. 67. 34 Jill Dolan ’ s inspiring book with the title Feminist Spectator as Critic is taken as a point of reference for this section, which investigates the relationship of GRRRRRL 96 Neslihan Arol with the legacy of feminist theatre practitioners in history. Dolan writes: “ commentators categorized the concerns and practices of this second wave as ‘ liberal ’ , ‘ cultural ’ , and ‘ materialist ’ , which helped to demystify the notion of a unitary feminism with a coercive, authoritative interpretive perspective ” . See Jill Dolan, The Feminist Spectator as Critic, 2 nd Edition, Ann Arbor 2012, p. xv. 35 Elin Diamond, “ Brechtian Theory/ Feminist Theory ” , in: Carol Martin (Ed.) A Sourcebook of Feminist Theatre and Performance: On and Beyond the Stage, London 1996, pp. 120 - 135, quoted here: p. 129. 36 Split Britches from New York ’ s legendary lesbian theatre space WOW Café is a pioneering example of utilizing this strategy. 37 Dolan, Feminist Spectator as Critic, p. 114. 38 English translation: “ We are as ourselves on stage ” . Kultur Stadtleben: “ Henrike Iglesias: Die Eintreibung des Bösen. ” https: / / berlin030.de/ die-eintreibung-des-boesen-henrike-iglesias/ [accessed on 08. 02. 2019]. 39 This well-known motto first appeared as the title of an essay published in 1970. Carol Hanisch: “ Notes from the Second Year: Women ’ s Liberation. ” http: / / www.carolhanisch. org/ CHwritings/ PIP.html [accessed on 14. 02. 2019]. 40 English translation: “ About every eleven minutes, she says, she recognized herself in the play and her neighbours, surely too, but perhaps in other moments ” . Eva Busch, “ Theaterrezension zur Performance ‘ GRRRRRL ’ . ” http: / / feminismus-im-pott.de/ 2017/ 06/ grrrrrl-theaterrezension-zur-performance-von-henrike-iglesias/ [accessed on 14. 02. 2019]. 41 Eva Busch, “ Theaterrezension zur Performance ‘ GRRRRRL ’ . ” http: / / feminismus-impott.de/ 2017/ 06/ grrrrrl-theaterrezensionzur-performance-von-henrike-iglesias/ [accessed on 14. 02. 2019]. 42 Rowe Karlyn, Unruly Women, p. 28. 43 Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan, 50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies, London 2004, p. 170. 44 Lady Gaga: Lady Gaga loves the gays, but not this reporter. https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=VE4L7SI-SwA [accessed on 14. 02. 2019]. 45 This portion starts at 2: 22 minutes into the video. 46 Nicki Minaj: “ Nicki Minaj - Bossing Up. ” https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=PzGZa mtlRP0 [accessed on 15. 02. 2019]. 47 In certain contexts, this label has also been reclaimed by women for empowerment. For instance, Omotayo O. Banjo and her colleagues write: “ Hip hop feminism seeks to empower and liberate young Black women from constraints on their sexual expressiveness by participating in the creation process, appropriating a traditional masculine space and reclaiming traditionally derogatory labels for women (i. e., bitch). ” See Omotayo O. Banjo, G. Whembolua, S. Howard-Baptiste, N. Frederick II, and J. D. Lindsey, “ As Seen on TV? : Hip Hop Images and Health Consequences in the Black Community ” , in: Earl Wright II and Edward V. Wallace (Eds.),The Ashgate Research Companion to Black Sociology, London 2016, pp. 223 - 238, quoted here: p. 226. 48 Kim Solga, Theatre & Feminism, London 2016, p. 70. 49 The following video is enacted from the beginning until 0: 05: 33 with some cuts. Britney Spears: Dateline Special Interview with Britney Spears|Part 04. https: / / www.youtube. com/ watch? v=3ObsLRMlSWY [accessed on 15. 02. 2019]. 50 Henrike Iglesias: “ Versprechen. ” https: / / henrikeiglesias.com/ versprechen/ [accessed on 29. 09. 2019]. 51 Many thanks to the collective for providing me with the context and their aim concerning this list of promises in email correspondence (12. 06. 2020). 52 Kimberlé Crenshaw, “ Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics ” , in: The University of Chicago Legal Forum8 (1989), pp. 139 - 167, quoted here: p. 140. 53 English translation: “ You come into this world . . . ” 97 Henrike Iglesias ’ s GRRRRRL as Femmage on Stage: A Killjoy Utopia? 54 The concept of strategic essentialism was introduced by the postcolonial feminist philosopher Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. For more information, see Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Post-colonial Critic: Interviews, Strategies, Dialogues, New York 1990, pp. 1 - 16. 55 Henrike Iglesias replied to my critique with an e-mail (12. 06. 2020). I cite their answer here without making any changes: „ Wir können den Punkt absolut nachvollziehen und haben darüber auch schon viel gesprochen. Da wir GRRRRRL aktuell nicht mehr zeigen, haben wir bisher keine Änderungen in der entsprechenden Szene, aber auch in anderen Szenen aus der Performance, vorgenommen, was wir definitiv tun würden, sollte es jemals zu einer Wiederaufnahme der Performance kommen. Du hast absolut Recht mit deiner Analyse, dass wir, vor allem in der Endszene von GRRRRRL, es versäumt haben, unsere eigenen privilegierten Positionen als weiße, europäische Cis- Frauen zu reflektieren und produktiv zu thematisieren. Seit wir GRRRRRL 2016 erarbeitet haben, haben wir uns und somit auch unser feministisches Verständnis stark verändert und weiterentwickelt. Wir haben für GRRRRRL neben vielen positiven Reaktionen auch viel Kritik, vor allem aus feministischen Kreisen bekommen, die uns dazu bewegt hat unsere eigene Position zu hinterfragen und zu reflektieren, worüber wir sehr dankbar sind. English translation: “ We can absolutely understand the point and have already spoken a lot about it. Since we are currently no longer showing GRRRRRL, we have not yet made any changes in the related scene, but we would definitely make changes in that scene and also in other scenes from the performance, if it were ever restaged. You are absolutely right in your analysis that, especially in the final scene of GRRRRRL, we have failed to reflect on and productively address our own privileged positions as white, European cis women. Since we developed GRRRRRL in 2016, we and our feminist understanding have changed a lot and developed further. In addition to many positive reactions, we have received a lot of criticism for GRRRRRL, especially from feminist circles, which has prompted us to question and reflect on our own position, which we are very grateful for. ” 56 José Esteban Muñoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity, New York 2009, p. 109. 57 English translation: Smile Laura! 58 English translation: You can ’ t be surprised that you can ’ t find a man since you work so much. 59 Sophie Alibnaini: Hex hex im Matriarchat - „ Grrrrrl “ in den Sophiensälen. https: / / unruheimoberrang.wordpress.com/ 2016/ 09/ 26/ hex-hex-im-matriarchat-grrrrrl-in-den-sophiensaelen/ [accessed on 15. 06. 2020]. 60 Utopia. The Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Oxford 1993, Della Thompson (Ed.), p. 1014. 61 Muñoz, Cruising Utopia, p. 100. 62 Ahmed, The Promise of Happiness, p. 163. 98 Neslihan Arol