go baby go!
im stealing my title and aspects of my concluding statement from a tongue in cheek song by the amazing band Garbage. Shirley Manson, although missing from this blog is truly a saviour for girls in rock and roll- someone to admire and respect, she has fronted an immensly successful band and dealt with her own demons including depression related to what she admitted is a battle with body dysmorphia.
For everything we have mentioned so far in this blog, image ranks highly.
Says Manson:
“I look at today’s charts, at the women who are selling the most records, getting the most column inches, and I’m terrified by how they are all controlled by a male corporate idea of what women and rebels should be. When Christina Aguilera is taken seriously as a rebellious figure, we have a huge problem.”
It has taken 4 weeks to flesh out everything we, as bloggers, could think to discuss about aspects of women in rock. we continue to make the same conclusions, raise the same ideas, and answer the same questions.
I believe that through this blog we have challenged such a segmented area of the music industry. Admittedly, it never hurts to write about something you are passionate about, and as four young women were contributing to this blog, passion was something we didn’t lack. The moment of the epiphany came to me when i sat at the computer and the question came to me
“are we just marginilising women more by having this blog topic?”
and although i think our research, our profiles and our suggestions are intelligent and insightful, a part of me still wonders if raising the issues of “girls in rock and roll” just reiterates stereotypes by merely suggesting we catergorise them as non-normal.
I’ve really enjoyed writing about something as interesting, challenging and provoking as this topic has been and, admittedly, the best part has been the soundtrack. Rediscovering iconic female musicians, and expanding my musical knowledge has been the greatest side effect. I believe I appreciate the strength of women in the music industry so, so much more.
I leave this blog with a keener eye for criticism and a greater love of chicks who rock out.
this is Shirley Manson and this is Cherry Lips (go baby, go!)
which i believe to be fitting for everything we have discussed.
she gave you everything she had
but she was young and dumb
she’d just turned twenty-one
she didn’t care to hang around
so when the shit came down
why she was nowhere to be found
this life can turn a good girl bad
she was the sweetest thing
that you had ever seenyou’re such a delicate boy
in the hysterical realm
of an emotional landside
in physical termswith your cherry lips and golden curls
you could make grown men gasp
when you’d go walking past them
in your hot pants and high heels
they could not believe
that such a body was real
it seemed like rainbows would appear
whenever you come near the clouds would disappear
because you looked just like a girl
your baby blues would flash
and suddenly a spell was castyou hold a candle in your heart
you shine the light in hidden parts
you make the whole world wanna dance
you bought yourself a second chancego baby go go
we’re right behind you
go baby go go
yeah we’re lookin at you
cheers,
-kass.
Things to do with the “F” word
-The ironic and unruly adventures of Liz Phair and Courtney Love
“Rather, such seemingly outrageous, yet also unruly and ironic play with, and on, female sexuality via various verbal and often embodied twists on words like “slut”, “bitch”, “chick” and “whore” have now become staples of third wave feminists. Ironic serious play with the norms that regulate femininity and female sexuality have now been thoroughly disseminated into the mainstream via the looks and likes of grunge, punk, pop such as Liz Phair and Courtney Love.”
Within this article, the idea of irony as a social mechanism of communication between masculinity and femininity. This is portrayed through Liz Phair and Courtney Love who use word by play to not only shock their intended audiences, but also reiterate that women can succeed in a male dominated art form. This is evident in Liz Phair’s song “Blow Job Queen” as the lyrics hold some form of ambiguouty; although the initial meaning may be quite profane, an ironic meaning can be perceived, especially when Phair quotes that she had been “dicked” around for years.
This article highlights that women are becoming empowered by their words through the rock ‘n roll culture. Robyn Diner, the composer of this text, quotes: “the ironic and unruly displays associated with these musicians do not merely wreak havoc on the norms of appropriate femininity, the good girl/bad girl binary and straight female sexuality-they also reek of risk.”
-Ellie
Conclusion
“Given the forces stacked against women becoming rock musicians it is remarkable that any do” (Bayton). From the research performed for this blog i find this statement very true. Women must endure many set backs, continuous discrimination and sexualisation, under representation and much more to live in a rock and roll world.
Our group decided to base our blog on this topic because we perceive that women of the rock and roll industry have been under represented and there has been a gap in the coverage of these amazing musicians and their art form.
From research it became evident that women in rock were greatly under represented due to the male dominance in the industry. Collecting data was difficult because most historical account of the rock and roll industry were based on men and the odd woman could be found rarely.
I think that females were under represented also because originally they were dominantly seen as fans or groupies so people have sub consciously or even consciously written women rockers off as ’silly girls trying to be like the boys’. Women have had to fight for many years to gain the rights and respect that they have today and I don’t think the respect and recognition has translated to the rock and roll world.
Women in the music industry are also being used to create sex appeal and gain a wider audience. This again sends a message out that women are sexual objects and this leads to people not taking them seriously and thus they become under represented as they are not considered ‘real artists’.
That said, a lot has been done to try and fix this under representation with special events and magazine issues celebrating women in rock.
Women of the rock and roll world deserve more recognition for the work they have done. The under representation of this topic is unfair and i truly hope to see the day this gap is non existent.
Lauren
Britney Spears? A female ROCK icon?
I found an online article which shows the significant women of rock music, ranging from the 1950’s up until the modern day female rock musician. Along this timeline, I came across familiar names and bands including Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Deborah Harry and Joan Jet. As the rock culture entered into the new millenium i noticed something quite bizarre. Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson headline 2000’s most reknowned rock female musicians.
Sure, Britney may show some of the negative signs of being a “rock” artist (according to the media); drug abuse, depression, DUI etc, but is she a rock musician?
Has the rock culture become subjected to mainstream music & therefore allowing room for “pop” icons to fall into the rock characterisation?
-Ellie
Special Event?
Special event, special issue….. why is the thought of women in rock considered only in the case of a special event or magazine issue, is it that hard to acknowledge that women ARE apart of the rock industry and they aren’t going anywhere, they have made their mark well and truly since the 60’s that’s over 40 years ago and they are still trying to prove themselves.
Any way why I’m writing this is because I read an artical about a “Women in Rock” festival been held at Yale university, they are holding the event to try and decrease the inequality in the rock scene of the university. ”The festival should help to interrupt the monotony of Yale’s music scene, introducing new and talented women to a larger segment of the student body.”
The article also touches on the reasons for the under-representation and lack of women in rock. For boys they often form bands in high school with friends, girls rarely follow suit. Thus the university scene, “suffers from an extension of this teenage mentality.” Another reason there is an absence of women in rock at Yale is because women think it is apart of our culture to not be involved in this world. It is crazy that women sub consciously think they should not be apart of something that is dominated by males, this problem is the fault of male dominated history.
“The Yale Women in Rock Festival seeks to take a small step toward giving a musical voice to women.” I think it is great that people are trying to give women in rock a voice but its only a chance that unfortunately seems very selective.
Lauren
the death of real rock?
This made me laugh quite a lot. Comparing Natalie Bassing-whatever her silly name is, with Chrissy Amphlett who has just been named Australia’s greatest Rock Chick (and rightly so).
Not only is this grossly misguided (have you heard the Rogue Traders music!?) but offensive to someone as iconic as Amplett.
The book mentioned in the article rates female performers on their “guts, sass, energy and an uncompromising attitude”. The author suggests Bassing-blah has what it takes. Oh, what is the world coming to? 
-kass
rock, paper, scissors.
I’m increasingly frustrated by so many cut and paste “rock chicks” in top 40 today. It seems as if any poppet can add a few heavy guitar chords, attempt some sort of gravelly vocals and shes suddenly a woman in rock (thank you Rolling Stone for reinforcing Britney and Madonna as important female rock heroines…)
Don’t even get me started on the Veronica’s.
You don’t fool us with your eyeliner, tattoos and ridiculously stylish, jagged hair cut. That guitar playing looks mighty uncomfortable (and sort of staged, dear).
So why so insistent on the attempts of a rock chick look? You’re pop, pure and simple. (I mean, come on! One of you is dating an Australian Idol).
I suppose it begs the question to be asked behind the reasoning, the determination, the pure ambition to be seen as a girl of rock when you’re straddling the top 40 pop category.
Perhaps personal integrity? Maybe some sort of credibility when you whimsically name drop those inspiring women of the past as your heroes? Or maybe it’s just a great, bit marketing tool aimed at making more money and putting a bit of a different spin on what the traditions of being a girl in the music industry are (sing, look pretty and don’t do too much else.)
I hope I’m not being too scathing. I’m not going to lie, the sounds you release are catchy, sure. You make me hum along. But this cut and paste method of stylising your music to have some sort of rock edge doesn’t make you a rock artist.
And before I get beaten up by anyone, I’d like to site this article from Rolling Stone “Rock & Roll: Rock Chick
Svengali” which discusses how a grammy award winning producer has basically orchestrated Ashlee Simpson’s rock chick label by writing her songs with a rock style.
Surprise, Ashlee is a member of the cut and paste rock chick crowd too. What would Patti Smith think?
-kass.
the sex revolts
All research returns me to this insightful book.
I want to share a passage that i think is implicit in understanding about women in the music industry.
This is from chapter one of part three “Double Allegiances: the herstory of rock”.
“Jack Kerouac’s On the Road wasn’t just the Bible of the beats, but a founding text for the first wave of rock rebels. Women;s position in the beat movement is captured in the title of a memoir by Joyce Johnson, briefly married to Kerouac: Minor Characters. In it, Johnson is herself an aspiring writer who longs to participate in Kerouac’s wanderings. When she asked him why she couldn’t join him on the road, Kerouac would always ’stop me by saying that what I really wanted were babies. That’s what all women wanted and what I wanted too, even though I said I didn’t’.”
(Reynolds & Press, 1995, page 230)
I find it profound that the title of her memoirs was Minor Characters.
As we continue to research women throughout the history of music and more specifically rock, we find them playing what appears to be a minor role in the over-all achievements of musicians. They are bit-part actors, or very occasionally, the token performer, who comes out, makes some initial scene, but always ends up being compared to the “stars”, the mainstays, aka the men of rock.
-kass.
No Doubt
First of all were did No Doubt go and when are they coming back, I’ve loved them since the days when I used to listen to tapes and ring up the radio and request a song 20 times so you could tape it because there was no such thing as down loading music.
I was reading through the lyrics of their song “I’m Just a Girl”, it shows how women are fed up with been stereotyped as dumb, non opinionated and a “typical prototype”. How are women in rock supposed to be treated the same and taken seriously if women in everyday life can not even have these simple things? It takes on a sarcastic tone through out the song as well “Im just a girl, lucky me”, establishing how redicuious the songwriter thinks the sterotypical version of a women is, especially a modern society. I think its a way to grab peoples attention to how women have changed in society and also the rock and roll world.
Lauren
Rock ‘n Roll Timeline
As i was doing some further research for my “1990’s era” profile, I found a historical timeline of significant events of rock ‘n roll, ranging from the fifties up until the late nineties. Not only does this timeline highlight debut albums and hit songs, but also lists the deaths of various artists of the rock caliber. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain died from either having a drug overdose or suicide, which can negatively reflect the rock music culture; “Sex,drugs & rock ‘n roll”; the negative connotations behind these three words idealises that rock ‘n roll musicians are associated with living life recklessly.
Although this idea can be perceived negatively, in a positive light, rock music characterises a genre which is free of restraint and open to interpretation.
-Ellie
