Skinny Girl Diet: Not Just an Internet Hashtag

Skinny Girl Diet is a London based three-piece political punk band, already causing a storm on the Internet. Made up of sisters Delilah and Ursula, and their cousin Amelia, these girls are on a rampage to make the Internet a more positive place. Heavily influenced by the likes of Bowie, Nirvana and The Slits, the girls were focused on playing music together and the genre “wasn’t a conscious decision in order for [them] to look cool”, it came naturally as a result of “being raised with a lot of exposure to alternative music from the sixties and onwards”. Funnily enough, their genre is one of the main focal points of the band when it comes to fans and press - as the revival of punk through an all female band is something very rare on the music scene.

Upon first look, there may be a misconception behind the name Skinny Girl Diet, however when talking to the girls, they explained that their name is a form of Internet activism in a way. They “deliberately chose the name as a rejection of slim fast culture that encourages young women to starve themselves to achieve an impossible beauty standard.” Not only do the girls want people searching for the tag to be redirected to their band who occupy online space with an empowering message, they also want people searching for their band to be “confronted with the reality of the diet and how disgusting it is.” Skinny Girl Diet were featured in Vogue, which some might see as a contradiction to the whole ideology behind the band name, however, the girls made the point that magazines such as Vogue will always be incredibly popular, and being featured is a way for people to see “three women doing their own thing” Being made visible to young women and encouraging them to do what they want without being frightened is something that the band hold close to their hearts.

Being featured in Vogue, of course, meant that the band would be placed in front of a mainstream audience, however they are a very DIY band. Cautious of this, the girls do have some fear about joining mainstream labels, and said that they will always be quite wary of them. The girls said, “having a larger platform to spread our music on would be great but whether it’s worth signing to a major [record label] for it is something we’re not sure about.” Skinny Girl Diet have completely funded themselves with money they’ve earned as a band, showing that it is possible to do, and quite considerably adding even more to the DIY vibe the band carries.

With someone as controversial as Donald Trump as the current President of the United States, in regards to his comments about women, it seems that having strong, all female bands who believe in music as a platform to have a voice is more important than ever before.

Many people don't understand what body shaming actually is. Skinny Girl Diet think that it’s extremely easy to tell when something is pro body shaming, as it includes anything that “insinuates that there is only one right way to look in terms of body shape.” The girls believe that there is more to be done than just banning body shaming adverts though, such as presenting more diversity across advertising, as women that are currently being presented are very one dimensional.

Punk as a movement came from very working class routes, and through such a fractured time was very popular throughout the country. The question of whether a modern movement would have the same effect is unpredictable. Skinny Girl Diet certainly believe that it’s hard to imagine such a movement in modern day having the same impact as punk, but think that as a society we definitely need something like that again. There is a huge lack of exposure for working class musicians and it has become extremely difficult for bands to financially support themselves without the help from major record labels, and Skinny Girl Diet believe that there needs to be more support given to working class people to be able to create music with the exposure that they rightly deserve. 

There is a pressing question of whether or not politics and music have any real relationship in 2017. Many people believe that we are lacking the bands in which people can unite behind. Skinny Girl Diet follows this thought. The band said, “it seems such a waste that a lot of musicians have a platform but they don’t speak out.” Art and music have the potential to have so much influence in society, but it’s completely wasted because a lot of bands just don’t care. The girls said that the problem with creating a movement is that bands need to have a clear political message, which is something lacking in the music industry right now, quite arguably because there is a lack of working class bands that are well known. They followed with, “no social movement can be achieved without the working class, who are the ones who are feeling the brunt of the shit we’re going through right now.”

Skinny Girl Diet are definitely ones to watch, and it’s refreshing to see a band so different to artists already on the scene keeping their values at heart.

You can follow the band on their Twitter and Facebook.