Riot Grrl
Seeing as we’ve been talking about sexualisation and representation this week, I thought it was important to discuss the subversion of traditional gender roles used by the Riot Grrls. Riot Grrl was feminist movement that began in the early 90’s and peaked in Washington in the mid 1990’s. By creating hyper-femininity and girlishness, the women in this movement subverted traditional representations of women in rock music to make a feminist statement.Their use of irony and comic use of makeup and clothing as a way of examining traditional media roles brought them significant media attention (Wald 2002: 198-201).
Bands like Bikini Kill wrote ‘whore’ and ‘Slut’ on their bodies, drawing attention to the double standard of sexualisation in the male dominated music scene (Peraino 2001:696). While the music was supported by students and feminists, the music press gave them less attention. Riot Grrl was always referred to as ‘a ‘female version of punk’, which not only avoided coverage of the political motivations for such a movement, but also denied the Riot Grrl’s of any recognition of their originality (Davies 2001:314). This would explain by Riot Grrl bands avoided the traditional media, and photocopied fanzines gained alot of popularity.
But the message of Riot Grrl did not die out. Uber-girlishness has been used by artists like Gwen Stefani to sing what it’s like to be ‘Just a Girl’, and because of No Doubt’s record deal, Stefani’s message was taken to a much wider audience.
Alex
Music Videos
Jennifer Hurley’s article about “how being a music video junkie turned me in to a feminist”, tells of how Hurley was a fan of watching pop and rock music on the television when she was growing up. She tells of the abundance of imagery that exploited women’s bodies as objects and the pouting of the leather clad video vixen.
I find this very true, not only in rock music today but in the music industry in general. Women are used to beautify and sexualise video clips and live performances. The women in these videos are usually wearing little at all and acting provocatively (making it seem as if that is what all women are like in everyday life). This type of sexualisation of women is sending the wrong message to people of all ages and genders. It is also resorting back to the stereo type that women in the music industry are groupies and only have to offer sex appeal to music rather then be considered true musicians.
Note: The males are fully clothed while Gwen is wearing a revealing bikini top
Source:
Hurley. J, (1994) Popular Music, Music Video and the Construction of Gendered Subjectivity, Vol.13, No.3, Cambridge University Press
Lauren
(Mis)representation part two: the fans
Archetypal groupie Bebe Buell with Punk Rocker Stiv Bators
My last post was based on an article by Helen Davies about female musicians and their representation in the music press. I want to continue discussing this article, this time focussing on the representation of female fans.
As pointed out by Davies, the majority of rock music journalists are male, and therefore tend to cater for a male audience (301), and that many writers believe that they have no need to cater for a female audience as they will not ‘serious’ music magazines. I checked this out by visiting the Magazine Publishers of Australia website and looking at Rolling Stone’s female readership. The stats for 2007 show that 34% of Rolling Stone’s readers are female. So if over a third of Rolling Stone’s readership are female, why are women still represented poorly in their publication?
In Davie’s article, she notes that women are rarely seen to be legitimate fans of ‘serious’ rock music. As suggested by Diane Railton (2001) rock music tried to distance itself as far as possible from the image of the female pop fan of the 1960’s. The images of female fans screaming has led to an assumption that women only enjoy serious music because they are ‘boy crazy’. ‘Women who like intelligent music are believed not able to understand it, and their fandom is often explained by sexual attraction to a male musician’ (Davies 2001:313).
In Davies perspective, female fans are presented in one of two ways: as teenyboppers or as groupies.
Teenyboppers
This term was coined in the 1960’s to describe the swarms of teenaged female fans who idolised male musicians. ‘The ‘serious’ music world defines itself against a feminised mainstream’ (Davies 2001;313). The physical response of the so called teenyboppers was as far as possible from the more refined appreciation of rock music that has always been associated with masculinity. Therefore, the image of the teenybopper has been, in a way, applied to all female fans. As Frank Zappa once said, ‘men come to hear the music and women come for the sex thrills’ (Railton, 2001: 323). This was the representation of women in the late 1960s. not much has changed since then. In the rock music press, young female fans of pop music are derided for their taste, and those who appreciate serious music are deemed only to do so because they have a crush on the lead singer.
The image of the groupie is an aspect of rock music that is widely accepted by the ‘serious’ music press. It has also been covered as a strictly female activity in film (Almost Famous, for example). The term ‘groupie’ is often used interchangeably with teenybopper: it is used to represent female fans as a whole, reducing women’s enjoyment of serious rock music, again, to a sexual experience only. Davies briefly discusses an article by a female journalist that describes all female fans as ‘groupies who don’t want to be screwed’ (315) (again, why is the nastiness coming from women?).
This image of the groupie has also been projected on to girlfriends and wives of rock musicians. A good example of this is Courtney Love. She was repeatedly attacked in the media for being irrational and using husband Kurt Cobain as a vehicle to become more famous. Her open arguments with the former members of Nirvana have also been widely covered by the rock music press (generally not on Love’s side). And then there’s always the classic rock bride, Yoko Ono, who is still blamed for breaking up the Beatles.
Davies cites the male dominance of the rock press as the major cause for the constinued misrepresentation of female rock music fans: ‘The assumption of their stupidity, or at least their lower intelligence than male fans, is naturalised by being rarely, if ever, questioned’ (316). But really, rock fans are presented as idols, so why is it so wrong for female fans to idolise them?
Especially when the music press presents few female musicians that make good role models.
Alex
It’s A Girl!
This assignment asks us to analyse music journalism in reference to women in rock music. The chapter “It’s A Girl!” within the book “Gender in the Music Industry” highlights the media’s effects of stereotyping and discriminating against female rock musicians;
“In order to make an article appear newsworthy reporters often describe female artists as groundbreaking practitioners in a male field. While the article may refer back to a small number if female centred bands who have previously been visible within this field (often cited are the Go-Gos, Blondie and The Pretenders), the implication is that a current group of female musicians has now emerged to offer a fresh challenge to a masculine discourse.”
Additionally, this chapter is informative through the amount of research Marion Leonard, the author of this book has provided. Within the article, “Rebel Yell”, composed by Liz Evans, female-centred indie bands are declraed as a “generation of female musicians [who have] arrived; women and girls who are not content with taking a back seat to their leather-clad, ego-touting borthers. To prove it, they’re picking up guitars and and drumsticks and raising a particularly female kind of hell.”
Women are recoginsed as being members of the rock culture, although it is through music journalism and press that female musicians are somewhat ignored of their lyricism and musicality. The example of 1995’s edition of Everywoman magazine highlights a feature article titled ” Babes in Boyland” which questionned “are women finally carving a place for themselves in the rock world?” Ten years later, an article in the UK daily paper The Independant stated ” Hold on to your fretb oards-the women’s rock revolution is here. Electric guitar, once the preserve of sweaty lads in leather jackets, are now cluttering up female bedrooms too!”
Kim Deal, a member of the 1990’s rock band The PIxies replies to the media’s negative influence upon women in rock through stating “Since The Pixies I’ve been doing interviews since 1986… This is the question I hate: ‘ What about the resurgence of women in rock now?’ I get asked that about every six months, or not even every six months, about every three months I get asked about the resurgence of women in rock.”
The key point within the article is that it is articles like the ones mentioned within this chapter, which regularly “rediscover” women performers, that work against the normalisation of women working within rock.
Reference:
Leonard, M., It’s A Girl: Gender In the Music Industry; Rock, Discourse and Girl Power, Ashgate Publushing Limitedm England, 1988
-Ellie
why blokes rock and chicks don’t (in theory)
Masculine dominated fields are a common aspect of life, one that is slowly being readjusted for the modern way of living, an equilibrium being created between women and men in the workplace. As women begin to dominate the corporate fields, it is still evident of their lack of serious representation in the music industry both in performance and commercial aspects.
In music, gender can be heavily stereotyped, an easy distinction made by even the most uneducated of listeners can discern the difference between a piece focused to the boys or instead the girls. Though, as music continues to evolve in a contemporary culture, lines are slowly being blurred and an androgenous theme arises from creative works. A song that satisfies both gendered markets is golden.
But how does an audience determine what is appropriate to listen to? Is it an ingrained response informed by our cultural knowledge, aspects of our biology or merely a lack of autonomy- consumption of what is given with little challenge?
To explore Pierre Bourdieus’ notions of habitus and field is to begin to grasp an understanding of the social and innate influences on ones ability to judge music and therefore classify it through pre-determined structures. We can argue that gendered music exists purely because it is expected but also, without proper acknowledgement, is created to fit these structures.
Habitus is a cultural structure that exists within humans, and a field is the relationships organised around specific areas of knowledge. An individual’s habitus informs them to react to ideas with a distinct approach, but it is the ideas and matter that is affected and shaped by habitus. Cultural capital is the knowledge that exists and shapes a field and is a primary influence on habitus, ultimately we can contribute the personal ideas of ‘blokes’ and ‘chicks’ music as notions of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1993).
The idea of Bloke’s music and Chick’s music is heavily weighted on both the production and consumption aspects of a creative piece. To define these terms of bloke and chick is to question popular culture definitions and standards and to assume the legitimacy of stereotypes as an actual characteristic of the general populace (and for the purpose of investigation, specifically that of Australia).
Essentially, these stereotypes can be related to the idea of gender roles and the socialisation that impresses these ideas, agencies such as the family unit, schooling and peer interaction. Talcott Parson’s view that a male’s role was instrumental (or active) and the female role was expressive (emotive) is important to recognise, sitting within the structures of a ‘typical nuclear family’ that existed through the 1950’s.
Within this conservative period, women were ill advised to pursue ambitions though the explosion that was to be rock and roll was in its developing stages.
In Australia, men dominated the rock scene both as members of bands and audience. Johnny O’Keefe referenced women in the music industry as either “mindless fan or unpaid support crew” (Homan, 2003 p. 46). In a section titled “No Place For Women”, Homan discusses the lack of options available to women in the period of rock, citing the emergent Australian pub-rock scene as that of a boys club.
As pub-rock increased in popularity, so too did the number of women in the audience. Most embattled vast prejudice including the lack of female amenities, let alone the intolerance of their attempt to perform or relate as an active audience participant (Homan, 2003).
The negative view of women in this industry extended as far as record owners, “women in the band are trouble, you’ll break up after a year” (Homan, 2003, p.87) stated Michael Gudinsky, then owner of Mushroom Records.
However, we see a decreasing trend, with recent research suggesting that 78% of potential gender differences are close to zero or insignificantly small. The study, which measured differences in women and men’s personality traits showed only few significant variations and that social stereotypes in gender was the biggest contributor to beliefs (Hyde, 2005).
In the 1970’s with the help of Women’s Liberation and varying ideas of feminism, the development of ‘chick’s’ music (and in this specific example, here we are alluding to women as performers in a deliberate opposition to the male dominated industry) marked the beginning of what we can now see as rival to standard ‘bloke’s’ rock.
Ultimately, women were encouraged to ‘pick up guitars’ by developing a “sympathetic space” where they could encourage each other to both perform and explore music (Bayton, 1993).
The music dealt lyrically with ideas that were previously unheard of in contemporary pop culture creations, gendered problems and notions (Bayton, 1993).
As women, creating their own brand of ‘chicks’ music began to achieve a higher standard of musicianship, the desire to turn professional increased. Several women’s only record labels were created and distribution, albeit limited was therefore established.
It is important to note, however, that this is only one definition of ‘chicks’ music and therefore one strand of gender and both its interpretation and affect on the music industry.
We establish that the idea of chick’s music is something specifically created for the sex, but what if it could also be something that is used by women to question their sexuality and succeed in the industry by challenging ideas of appropriateness.
Youth music specifically has a great affect on younger girls and in effect is a definitive stimulant on their knowledge construction.
“Youth music cultures continue to offer girls important sources of emotional sanctuary and acts as vital outlets for the expression of rage and pleasure, frustration and hope.”
(Wald, 2002, p.209).
Many contemporary women in pop music challenge the dominant standards and blur the lines of their sexuality. There is a common theme of reversion to ‘girlhood’ with a biting sarcasm, ironically using the female stage at its most innocent to promote and succeed.
Unlike the bloke market that seems to target an older male audience (as contemporary males seem to adopt newer social ideals and expectations) the chick market maintains an active audience in its teen fan base. A willingness to passively accept structures is the basis for the ideal target of the youth market (Fornas, 1995).
Inevitably, it can be determined that in production, the music and style of performers can be increasingly structured and exploited as a marketing tool. Gwen Stefani’s externally pure image does little to convey the businesswoman she is, using herself as a brand to, essentially, make money (Wald, 2003).
The goal of success is at the central motivator within the music industry Hennion argues (Hennion, 1983). Music is created and presented with the ultimate goal of excessive consumption, following a specialised format as to adhere to the boundaries of stylistic convention. Merely the idea of having ‘blokes music’ and ‘chicks music’ as relevant and accepted forms of entertainment adheres to this theory.
To suggest that gender relies purely on socially constructed ideas of what it is to be a male or female is to be short sighted and lack the acknowledgement of differentiation between the sexes biologically.
Kinsley Browne argues that the differences between genders are more than just social constructions but rely greatly on the variances of biology and its affect on cognitive abilities (Browne, 2002).
If we adapt this idea and filter in research Weinberger has done on the link between hormones and music, we can raise new ideas of how music may differently affect the sexes, thus establishing a physiological theory to the question.
Weinberger shows the relationship specifically concerning stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol specifically) and music (Weinberger, 1997). If music is proven to arouse the bodies nervous system, how far removed can the possibility be that it also affects testosterone and estrogen in ‘blokes’ and ‘chicks’. There are variables in the findings of this research and although factoring in differences situation and types of music, the link is still evident.
Also in the findings was the notion of ‘self- dosing’ whereby consumers seek out music (often passively) that produces specific responses in their nervous system.
Weinberger says-
“Healthy individuals already self select music but often without an understanding about how or why certain music affects them in a particular way.”
(Weinberger, 1997)
This can be seen when a consumer reaches for a specific genre in a certain mood, unconsciously appealing to his or her own bodies rush of adrenaline.
The evidence is present that both biological and socially constructed differences exist in gender, so in relation to music different ideas and expectations will affect the way music is consumed and appreciated. Pre-existing categories like that of ‘chicks’ and ‘blokes’ music exist both for the creators of the music but also for that of the consumer.
The idea that the words themselves, ‘chicks’ and ‘blokes’ exists, within classifications or stereotypes of gender in different people in the same way that genres exist within the classification of differing styles of music.
references:
Bibliography:
Bayton, M (1993) Feminist Musical Practice: Problems and Contradictions in “Rock and Popular Music: Politics, Policies, Institutions” Routledge, London.
Bourdieu, P. (1993) “Field of Cultural Production”, Columbia University Press, New York.
Browne, K. 2002, Biology at work: Rethinking sexual equality. Rutgers University Press, New Jersey.
Clatterbaugh, K. (1997) “Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity: Men, Women and Politics in Modern Society, Westview Press, Colorado.
Hennion, A. (1983) “The Production of Success” in Frith, S. & Goodwin, A. On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written Word, Routledge, New York
Homan, S. (2003) “The Mayor’s A Square” Southwood Press, Marrickville.
Hyde, J. (2005) “The Gender Similarities Hypothesis” retrieved 25 September 2007 at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/amp606581.pdf
Fornas, J. & Bolin, G. (1995) “Youth Culture in Late Modernity”, Sage, London.
MacClary, S. (1991) “Feminine Endings: Music, Gender and Sexuality.” retrieved 16 September 2007 at http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7waGip0qN6sC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=gender+music&ots=UL0Hkr2qT3&sig=QTrhs2Vh2O8XM6lQykNFkb6DwGw#PPP1,M1
Swiss, T. (1998 ) “Mapping the Beat: Popular Music and Contemporary Theory”, Blackwell, Malden.
Wald, G. (2002) Just a Girl? Rock music, feminism and the cultural construction of female youth in “Rock Over the Edge: Transformations in Popular Music Culture” Duke University Press, Durhom NC.
Weinberger, Dr. N., 1997 The musical hormone in “Music and Science Information Computer Archive” MuSICA RESEARCH NOTES, Volume IV, Issue 2 retrieved 15 September 2007 at http://larkinthemorning.com/article.asp?AI=49&bhcd2=1190861411
Sweet Nothings
What feelings arise within you when you read this statement:
“Rock ‘n Roll is for men. Real Rock ‘n Roll is a man’s job.. I don’t want to see no chick’s tit banging against a bass.”
This quote is the opening statement within the text “Sweet Nothings” composed by Brenda Johnson-Brau in her chapter of Presentation of Women Musicians in Pop Journalism. Initially, I had the same reaction as I did when I found that online blog community I discussed in a previous blog (No Good Women Guitarists)- disgusted. As I read on I discovered that it was Patti Smith who spoke these words. Johnson-Brau idelaises that from this quote of Smith’s, women in rock music have had trouble gaining, or holding onto respect. This article correlates with this week’s theme of sexualisation and discrimnation that women have and are experiencing within the rock ‘n roll culture. Within this particular article, sexualisation and discrimination against women in rock music is portrayed through the idea that steroetypically, rock music is a gender biased art form, leaning towards masculinity. Johnson-Brau conceptualises that due to rock being a male dominated sub culture, the success of female musicians, which is evident and continuous across time, is denied-particularly by the media’s influence;
“The history of rock ‘n roll shows us that the presence of women has been continuous and constant, yet the pop press routinely eliminates or underplas the contributions of women musicians. Thier presence on the charts or in the clubs is deemed unusual because rock ‘n roll has come to be routinely defined as a naturally male dominated art form. When female artists success makes their presence undeniable, thier achievements are undermined by reference to thier sexual attractiveness and home life or to their (tawdry or passive) means of ganing success. The representations of women musicians continues to focus on their gender.”
I feel that this quote exemplifies a view of how and why women are discriminated against within the rock ‘n roll culture, but I also think that these ideas are not supported very well. Within this text, I could barely find any ethnography or case studies to justify the theories conceptualised within this chapter. I do believe that Johnson-Brau highlights a very valid argument as to the reasons surrounding sexualisation and discrimination towards women within rock music, but further evidence of primary research would have really had me convinced.
-Ellie
BLONDIE
This album cover for band Blondie shows lead singer Debbie Harry licking a record. Do you think this picture helped sell a couple more records? I think a lot of women in the rock and rock industry were used to attract an audience. Was the use of sexual connotations in songs, live performance and photo shoots a way to gain peoples attention and draw a larger more diverse audience. Why dont we see a male member of Blondie on the cover licking a record? Because they don’t have the sex appeal like women do.
Lauren
(Mis)representation (part 1: The Musicians)
We decided to do this blog because as a group, we felt like women were under and misrepresented in the rock music industry (given that women make up around 50% of the population and all). So far we’ve focused on musicians and how they construct their own identity within rock. But to what extent do artists control their own image? I think it’s about time now that we start to discuss the music press.
The music media play a vital role in dictating what people do or do not listen to. Let’s face it, unless you actively seek other sources of music (live gigs, myspace and other websites) the majority of people are dependent on radio and magazines as a way of discovering new music. For a musician, a bad write up in a ‘serious’ music publication is unfortunate. Not being written about at all is far worse.
Spurred by the search of Rolling Stone’s website I wrote about in my last blog, I began looking for academic research on the representation of women in music. And I found a source which I definitely wish I had discovered earlier: ‘All Rock and Roll is Homosocial’ by Helen Davies (2001) looks at the representation of female performers and fans within rock ideology.
Through intensive analysis of the British rock press, including NME and monthly publications Q and Vox (publications that consider themselves to be about ‘serious’ music), Davies observes many reasons why it is so difficult for female musicians to gain credibility.
As explained by Davies the majority of music journalists in the UK are men, therefore they are more likely to write for the audience they identify with. ‘The music press assumes that all its readers are male as well, so that the situation is often one of male journalists writing for male readers, a fact reflected in the mode of address of much music writing’ (302).
A week or so ago Lauren wrote a blog about how women are so grossly under represented when it comes to music histories. This is one reason Davies gives as to why female musicians are always seen as a novelty. ‘Each new group of successful female performers is heralded as the first’ (302).
When women are mentioned in the music press, they are often represented primarily as a woman (looks like we made a rookie mistake with the title of the blog girls, oops!). Davies states that distinctions between women and men at award ceremonies also lead to women being represented as ‘female versions of a male star’ (303). By presenting artists as women first and musicians second, the press revert back to the old ideology, where women are in the rock world for their bodies only. This leads to an emphasis on an artist sexual attractiveness rather than musical abilities, in interviews as well as photographic representation.
Homogeneity is also a big problem that female musicians must overcome to gain credibility. This is a big one. I’m always shocked in the music press and even academic articles where artists like Madonna and Britnbey Spears are referred to as rock musicians. They are clearly pop. The distinction is not made when it comes to female artists.’Their femaleness is deemed to give them something in common’ (303) therefore the music press lump all female artists together, no matter how ‘serious’ their musical contribution is.
Davies cites four ways in which female rock musicians can gain credibility in the so called ‘man’s world’ of rock. These are:
1.If women can be shown in an intellectual light, rather than constant references to their sexuality.
2. To gain credibility by associating with a man (this one sounds a little self-defeating to me but anyway). A good example of this is Kylie Minogue. By collaborating with serious artist Nick Cave Kylie bought herself some credibility as a musician.
3. By becoming masculinised: The profile Lauren did on Suzi Quattro is a good example of a female musician whp became successful through projecting a more masculine image. But does this actually help to raise women’s profiles in rock really, when all they’re doing is copying men?
4.Granted credibility with time: Davies uses Madonna as an example of a woman who has been accepted as legitimate artist (though hardly a rock artist, I might add) who has been accepted over time because she is no longer considered a threat. Her feminine behaviour is viewed as acceptable.
(Davies 2001:308-09).
Reading this article really made me think of ‘serious’ music journalism in a new light. I remember thinking it was odd that Britney Spears once appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone (the day I vowed never to buy it again), but now it all makes sense. She was not only put on the cover for the same reason she would have been put on TV Hits: because she is attractive, but also because she is safe. It really makes me wonder why it’s called ‘serious’ music journalism at all.
I’ll be back later with part 2: the fans.
By Alex
The Girls of Rock and Roll 