Avril Lavigne

By Kinga Mozes

The signature low-rise jeans, fishnet gloves, and in-your-face middle finger made it easy to dismiss Avril Lavigne as an overly angsty teen in the 2000s. She embraced her caricature on her freshman album, “Let Go,” producing the guitar-heavy classic “Sk8er Boi,” which blurred the lines between pop and rock.

Lavigne was the definition of a rebel, but she had a big heart. She knew what it felt like when your middle school crush didn’t like you back and you were determined to show the world you were over it.

In hindsight, Lavigne’s lasting cultural impact is anything but ordinary. She was a trailblazer—a young woman forging her own path in the male-dominated rock genre. She’s often referenced by artists from Snail Mail to Rico Nasty as being an inspiration. Not only did she inspire us to paint our nails black, but...

It wasn’t just her music, it was her persona. Lavigne was a brooding tomboy at a time when the ultra-feminine Christina Aguilera was in the spotlight. Nothing’s wrong with bleached hair, but Lavigne gave us the chance to throw away society’s expectations of what a lady should be. Her lyrics were raw and full of frustration, the epitome of the growing pains that we all face at some point.

Oddly enough, Avril’s camo pants would fit in with modern fashion, and that’s a sign that you should bust out her dusty CDs in the corner of your room and give them another listen.