Babes In Toyland
Kinderwhore; you may have heard of it. It’s a style of dress that was popularized in the 90s by female rock-stars such as Courtney Love & Kat Bjelland. Contrary to popular belief, the kinderwhore style is so much more than just collared babydoll dresses and mary-jane style shoes.
While the look is child-like and very feminine, it is seen as a way for women to take back the innocence they once had. It shatters unrealistic beauty standards by over exaggerating the femininity of what a woman should be and look like. It’s a huge middle finger to the corporate white men that think women should dress or act a certain way. The overlined red lips, tattered nighties, overly bleached hair and shaggy bangs, it all fit like a glove for the women in the underground trying to be heard but felt like no one was listening. Kinderwhore expressed everything they felt but couldn’t say in the form of personal style.
All while dressing in their cute kinderwhore attire, these women would walk on stage and empower themselves and others by picking up their guitar and screaming the most powerful words to their audience, highlighting how kinderwhore is so much more than just a style of dress. It’s a statement. It’s a loud, bold, plea for women to stop acting the way a man tells them to. Kinderwhore made the women who dressed in it stick out, bringing more attention to what they had to say
Kat Bjelland, early 90s
Kat Bjelland vs Courtney Love: Who Created The Look?
Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland) and Courtney Love (Hole) feuded in the early 90s as to who wore the kinderwhore look first. Bjelland & Love’s fans still argue to this day over who first created the iconic style despite the fact that feud has been long settled. It is well documented that Kat Bjelland is actually the one who wore it first. Bjelland was seen wearing that style in the late years of the 80s. Love has only been photographed wearing it since the year 1989, proving that Kat Bjelland had more of a hand in the style's creation. Love has notoriously been seen borrowing dresses from Bjelland since the very early 90s, yet still implies that she is to be credited for kinderwhore.
Love & Bjelland had been in a band together in the mid 80s called Sugar Babydoll. It did not last long, and Love claims she was one of the early members of Babes in Toyland, which members of that band deny. Love seemed to envy Bjelland, from borrowing her dresses, to even playing Bjelland’s Rickenbacker guitar at Hole shows in the early 90s. When asked about Love, Bjelland responded “I like to make music. She likes to be famous.”
The two have buried the hatchet since then. Kat took care of Courtney when her husband Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994. According to Bjelland’s family members, Kat is suffering from stage 4 liver failure, and Love took to instagram in a comment stating that Bjelland has been moved to a care home and is getting the care she needs. I wish the best for her and am confident that she will continue to inspire many.
Courtney Love, Kat Bjelland, Kurt Cobain, and Unknown Person
