Growing up with an 80s, jean jacket wearing and headbanging parent, the sounds of Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers graced the speakers of  my mom’s silver pontiac and filled our kitchen with the help of our janky radio. I remember my mom singing “ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb” and bopping her head along all too often throughout my childhood. And, don’t even get me started on “I Love Rock N Roll.” I’m pretty sure I was in pigtails, listening to that song on my way to first grade with my mom. I didn’t realize it growing up and amid many a “ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb” alongside my mom, but Joan, her songs and her work in the music industry has set a precedent of empowerment and strength for women everywhere. 

Joan Jett hit the music scene in the 1970s as a guitarist, vocalist and co writer for The Runaways — one of the most famous all-female punk bands during this time period. Punk and rock were almost exclusively reserved for male musicians. Sex, drugs and rock n roll weren’t socially accectabple topics or activities for women to promote through their music. 

“Hey, street boy, what some style?/Your dead end dreams don’t make you smile/I’ll give you something to live for/Have you and grab you until you’re sore.” This sexually open and confident verse from Cherry Bomb may have been considered too ‘masculine,’ something more acceptable for bands such The Stones or Queen to sing. But The Runaways challenged the norms of the industry through their unapologetic sound, lyrics and persona.  

Following The Runaways split in 1978, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts soon formed and released their first album, “Bad Reputation,” which includes tracks such as: Do You Want to Touch Me, Bad Reputation and Doing Alright with the Boys. Jett’s determination to rock in a male dominated industry continued with the Blackhearts, which is evident in this opening line of Bad Reputation: “I don’t give a damn ’bout my reputation/Living in the past, it’s a new generation/A girl can do what she wants to do and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

In a society where slut shaming is often the norm and where sexually confident women are typically viewed as “off putting,” the lyrics of Bad Reputation still resonate today. While not Jett’s lyrics still resonate in the current times, she also paved the path for future women breaking into the punk and rock scene. Particularly bands such as Bikini Kill and L7. But her badass, determination and confidence does not only set an example for musicians, but also for women everywhere.