On the Julie Ruin's "Goodnight Goodbye," from 2013's "Run Fast," riot grrrl originator Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre) displayed a newfound ambivalence toward both her own past and the new kids who've taken up the torch she helped light way back when. It's not a purely hypothetical attitude, as demonstrated in a Q&A following "The Punk Singer," the 2013 documentary about her. "I just thought that was really funny, that it was the first question: 'I just think it's really [expletive] up and not punk that you're married,'" says Hanna. "And I was like, 'I think it's really [expletive] up that I'm at this Q&A right now hearing a 17-year-old berate me.' "

That should quell any thoughts that the singer and activist, who comes to the Wilbur Theatre on Thursday for a speaking engagement, has settled into a less brash and headstrong second (or third, or fourth) act. "I threw some Molotov cocktails through the wrong window, and I regret it," Hanna admits. But her second thoughts seem to be more about her aim than her ammo.

Q. As someone who was on the ground floor of third-wave feminism, what's your reaction to the way both the ideas and the word "feminism" are currently being bandied about?


A. I'm just really psyched that people are questioning stuff. Like even a year ago, when people were like, "Oh, [Robin Thicke's] 'Blurred Lines,' that song is kind of rapey." And it wasn't like that two years ago or three years ago. I mean, there's tons of sexist and racist and homophobic songs on the radio — I always thought it was really funny that people picked on that one, because you could pick on any of them. But I feel like there's a national conversation and an international conversation happening, at least in terms of women in music. You know, to have Beyoncé come out on stage with the word "feminist" or "feminism" written behind her in huge lights, that's fantastic, to have huge pop stars questioning the fact that they're still having to deal with sexism.


Q. But isn't there a rising movement of women actively resisting the term feminism?

A. Yeah, totally. There always is. And I don't care what somebody calls themselves. I care much more how people act. There's tons of people who are total feminists who just don't want to call themselves that for whatever reason, whether it's the racist legacy of certain branches of feminism or the anti-lesbian version of feminism that many people have read about that happened in NOW (National Organization for Women) under Betty Friedan. And I totally understand musicians not wanting to be called that, because then nobody ever asks you about your guitar playing or your singing or anything. They just ask you about politics or about that particular thing.

But at the same time, when I was doing interviews for the [Julie Ruin] record a year and a half ago or two years ago, people kept telling me all these pop stars saying these terrible things about "I'm not a feminist, because I love men." And I was like, Jesus Christ, are we still dealing with that stereotype? Feminism is something that helps everybody, including men, because then men don't have the burden of having this role shoved down their throat that maybe doesn't fit their personality. Maybe they don't want to be the strong silent type who has to support everybody. Maybe they want to [expletive] cry. I just think that feminism opens up gender roles and helps everybody.


Q. You've been perched just on the fringes of pop culture for quite some time — having given Kurt Cobain the phrase "smells like teen spirit," dancing in a Sonic Youth video, marrying a Beastie Boy [Adam Horovitz], and being at ground zero for the riot grrrl movement — yet you yourself remain somewhat stubbornly on the margins. Is that where you're happy, or have you ever been tempted to try and push harder for the center?"

A. I'm actually just trying to figure that out right now. I read an article in a magazine called More — which I believe is for older women, with Meredith Vieira on the cover — about branding yourself, and I was like, aw, man, that's my worst nightmare. But I was kind of interested, so I read it, and I was like, if you don't brand yourself or create your own narrative and put it out there, somebody else is going to create the narrative. And the narrative's going to be, yes, the riot grrrl thing, which I'm very proud of, and the bands I've been in, which I'm very proud of. But a lot of it's also going to be Kurt Cobain and Adam Horovitz. I don't want that to be my legacy, because I'm a feminist artist. Having written ["Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit"] on someone's wall really was one of the least interesting things that's ever happened to me personally.


So I really have been thinking a lot about that very idea. And because the biopic came out about me, I'm like, maybe it is time that I stepped out from the shadows a little bit and tried to reach a wider audience. I think I have pretty good ideas and I make pretty good music, and because of the movie, I think I have that opportunity. So look out for me everywhere.

Interview was condensed and edited. Marc Hirsh can be reached at officialmarc@gmail.com.