A phrase that IMHO used to stand for something before the Spice Girls, an all-female band formed by men performing songs written by men, turned it into a marketing slogan. An outgrowth of the Riot Grrl movement, girl power emphasized female empowerment and the active participation of girls in traditionally male arenas. Girls formed garage bands, girls created their own comics, girls published their own zines, girls became involved in political and environmental activism - very much in the DIY spirit of early punk. Nevertheless, it was still very boy-friendly.

A single by Shampoo, a UK girl pop duo who were formerly Manic Street Preachers fanzine writers, released in 1996 and was in the UK top 40 at the same time the Spice Girls released Wannabe.

Then all of a sudden these two little words were everywhere, and it wasn't because of Shampoo.

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