When we celebrate the underground music scene of the ‘90s and early 2000s as its “glory days” it’s crucial to ask: glorious for whom? 

For women in the scene, the reality was far from ideal. Harassment and systemic sexism were rampant, often unchecked and normalised.  

One such example was documented by Joe Kidd in Blasting Concept, his influential column in The Sun newspaper during the mid-‘90s. 

In a 1995 column, Joe recounted a pivotal event in Southeast Asia’s punk scene at a Kuala Lumpur gig that drew a crowd of 2,000. It was the Psycho A-Go-Go gig.

Among the performing acts was Singapore’s first all-female punk band, Psycho Sonique. It was also their first ever show in Malaysia.

From the moment they kicked in their first chords, they were met with “constant leering, spitting, and catcalls” alongside “blubbering lovelorn laments.”  

That night, Joe wrote, the girls introduced the scene to a new word: sexism.

A year earlier, Petaling Jaya-based all-female band Intoxicated faced similar hostility. 

The band, made up of schoolgirls, were greeted with the word “bohsia” during their performance. Still, Intoxicated marched on and finally won over the crowd with their “innocent charm.”

But let’s be honest: what a messed up time to live in when female musicians had to put in extra effort to prove their worth just so they’d be treated as equals.

Again, I ask: glorious for whom?

Both incidents, as Joe reflected, “pried open a can of worms in the scene.”

“We suddenly realised that these boys had always viewed girls as nothing more than accessories.”

“Females were seen as the weaker sex, expected to stay in the background and console bruised egos,” he wrote.

Undeterred, both bands pushed forward. Intoxicated released their six-track EP, Catastrophe! in 1998, tackling themes of growing up, the pains of diet culture and mourning the loss of a pet cat, Aki.

Meanwhile, Psycho Sonique continued the fight in their homeland via music and arts.

In a 2019 interview, Psycho Sonique’s founder Ginette Chittick said their music was always about challenging the power structures in a scene that was — and remains — heavily male-dominated.

“Psycho Sonique, along with the bands that followed and the girls playing today, have all contributed to normalising the presence of women in punk and underground music,” Ginette shared with FEMALE magazine.

Ginette recalled how their earliest performances attracted curious boys intrigued by the novelty of an all-female punk band.

“At many gigs, we were catcalled or jeered with comments like, ‘Get off the stage. You girls can’t play,’” Ginette said. 

Ginette said prejudice extended beyond the stage, too.

“A tabloid journalist once asked, ‘What do your boyfriends think of you playing in a band?”

“We fired back, ‘If you don’t ask male musicians that question, why should it be any different for us?’”  

Despite this, Psycho Sonique gained a devoted following, especially in Malaysia. 

“Singapore and Malaysia were like brother scenes,” Ginette said. “Zines from both countries often interviewed one another, and bands gained popularity across the region.”  

These trailblazing bands are among those who paved the way for future female Southeast Asian musicians and fans to thrive. 

In recent years, we have more and more female musicians emerging, shaping the scene’s narratives and performing at female-led shows such as GRRRLS! To The Front, which highlights some of the best female-led acts from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

Of course, the scene today is far from free of harassment and discrimination. We still have a long way to go. But it’s important to recognise the thankless work these bands have paved for us, not just for female musicians but for the scene as a whole.

It’s also crucial for us to rethink how we frame the narratives of the good ol’ days. In the past two decades or so, conversations about moving the scene forward often feel like a never-ending quest, teetering on the edge of a finger-pointing game. The big question that older generations have been demanding for answers is always: “Why can’t today’s scene replicate our glory days?”

But when reflecting at those glory days, it’s not enough to champion what went right. We need to talk about what went wrong, too.

It’s time for us to confront the narratives that conveniently overlook the exclusion and discrimination women and marginalised communities endured. In order to move forward as a scene, there’s no skipping this part.