Pop star Melanie C has addressed claims that the Spice Girls appropriated the phrase “girl power” from another band. The British pop group is often credited with popularizing this mantra in the mid-Nineties, sparking debate about whether it helped revitalize the feminist movement or was part of a calculated marketing strategy. However, it has been noted on multiple occasions that the Spice Girls did not originate the term “girl power.”
In a recent Q&A with The Guardian, Melanie C, known as Sporty Spice, was asked about the fact that the British punk band Shampoo used the phrase for their debut album, Girl Power, which included the title track with lyrics such as: “I don’t wanna be a boy / I wanna be a girl / I wanna play with knives / I wanna play with guns / I wanna smash the place up just for fun.”
“Well, I’m surprised this question doesn’t come up more often because, obviously, we are all aware that Shampoo had a single called ‘Girl Power’ way back in 1996 [it reached No 25],” Melanie C responded. “I don’t really remember how we ended up going with it. But we loved Shampoo. We were big fans.”
A 2016 Vice article traced the origins of “girl power” further back to the feminist punk scene in Olympia, Washington, known as Riot Grrrl. Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna recalled to the publication that she first used the term “girl power” in the early Nineties when she and drummer Tobi Vail were working on the band’s second fanzine: “Tobi and I were discussing what word just felt totally wrong next to girl,” she said, “and we came up with power.”
Melanie C’s former bandmate, Geri Horner (aka Baby Spice), confirmed to Vice that she first heard “girl power” from Shampoo, rather than Bikini Kill: “I saw them and I thought, ‘Oh my god, that is so good,’ she said.
Asked if she felt she’d ripped Shampoo off, Horner responded: “I think we all get influenced. When you’re a writer, you’re looking around and absorbing life. It’s just passing the baton on.”
When asked if she regretted it, she commented: “It was a punchy term.”
The Spice Girls last reunited onstage in 2019 during a series of stadium shows featuring original members Horner, Melanie C, Mel B, and Emma Bunton. Fellow member Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, did not participate.
Last month, Mel B told Hello! magazine that a 30th anniversary reunion for 2026 would not take place.
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