Rock Chicks

The world out there on the stages is a man's world. Or is that just what we're supposed to believe? What if the king of rock & roll was really a queen? If you listen closely, you'll recognize Memphis Minnie's guitar on Chuck Berry and Eric Clapton, Sister Rosetta's unbridled spirit on Jerry Lee Lewis, Big Mama Thornton's growling vocals on Elvis. But the fact that women were already rocking the stages in the 1950s has been successfully suppressed from the collective memory. High time to pull out the roots and tell the real story. The women we meet on our journey have dedicated their lives to rock music and they are as inspiring as they are different. "You have to be like a man. But I can, I'm a woman with balls," is the credo of Linda Gail Lewis, while Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's calls herself a "rare bird." Suzi Quatro asserts that she is not at all concerned Rosie Flores emphasizes her feminine qualities when playing the guitar, and Honeychild Coleman, as an African-American punk rocker, has to play against prejudices on several levels. Alternative rock legend Kristin Hersh of the Throwing Muses finally turned her back on major record labels because, "What would my kids think if I looked into every camera like I wanted to fuck them - like they're asking you to?" ROCK CHICKS - I AM NOT FEMALE TO YOU is a film about music as an inner need, about the struggle for one's own dreams and the courage to arrive fully at oneself.