In this article, we will take a look at an issue already discussed on Blasphemuse!, but through a more in-depth lens. We are going to delve into the gender disparities in rock music from my perspective in Athens, OH., as well as input from other members within the rock community in a broader sense. Let's stir up some controversy. Please note that anytime the terms "women", "female", or anything that seems to be in a specific gender binary are mentioned, know that they're not meant to assume one's gender and are being used as all-encompassing terms for anyone who is openly femme-presenting (it just saves space when writing + flows better).
Here I sit, trying to find a way to conjure up some way to phrase my issue with a physical music scene that stretches out to the rock community as a whole without hurting any feelings. However, the more I sit here and wonder about the wording, the more I realize that there is no way for me to call out the issues in true authenticity and vigor without getting on a couple of bad sides.
My time in Athens, OH as a college student has been really eye-opening, more in positive ways than anything else. The first time I ever visited this beautiful town was when I had to attend my school's orientation so it was all a shot in the dark. One of the key things that folks back home kept telling me was "Z, you will find your home wherever you go, but it's good that your new home also happens to have one of the most lively local music scenes in the nation. You'll fit right in". And that I did, at least for the first couple of months. My Thursdays to Saturdays were filled with live music, concerts of all sorts, and heap-loads of jumping around and screaming lyrics. I had a whole community around me and I felt at home.
That was until I started getting busy with work. My school work made my nights out go from every day to once every other week. I saw it as a curse, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise. On the few nights I would go out, there was a venue that was free to get into and one that cost a cover charge. The free venue was an open-mic type thing and the cover charge one had actual bookings for different bands. From my time out of the music scene, I noticed something about the shows that didn't have line-ups based on a sign up sheet (more specifically the ones that cost money). There were barely any women performing. Like at all. I saw maybe two women in separate bands who were playing an instrument and one female lead out of the 15? 20? other all-masculine presenting bands.
Why was that the case? Was there an issue with booking? It's not like we have a shortage of female musicians who have serious skill, I see them all the time at the open-mics! The discrepancies gnawed at my mind for months, but I stayed quiet. It's 2023, we're obviously past the whole gender thing in rock, right? RIOT GRRRL happened, bands like Paramore and The Smashing Pumpkins have or had women in some serious parts within their bands! However, you REALLY have to think hard about those bands and when you do, you've only counted a couple fingers on a single hand. Not to mention, those integrated bands or fully female bands span through various subgenres. If someone were to tell you to name the most famous band within a given genre off the very top of your head, chances are, the artists you listed are fully or majority masculine.
Nevertheless, I would still go to the shows because I'm a thorough enough enjoyer of music to understand that it wasn't like the bands THEMSELVES were doing anything wrong. They're just up there doing their thing and they're damn good at it too! Though there was something very wrong with the shows that I went to, regardless of what venue I was at: the crowd. It was either some weird friend group in the crowd yelling at a female instrumentalist how "hot" and "sexy" she is for the ENTIRETY of her set or whisperings and laughs during an acoustic set where a woman is performing, a set that's intended for the audience to sit down and be quiet (y'know, basic audience etiquette?).
The complete and utter disregard to femme-presenting performers is what truly makes me particularly upset with Athens because I know there is a capacity to do better. The means for it are definitely there! There are three issues that are very apparent that need to be addressed in order to hone what rock is about, why it was essentially created: a space for the underdog to speak for the people. The 3 issues in question are: an ignorant audience, an unwavering system in booking, and preemptive bias polluting a community's mindset.
Issue #1 - The Danger of an Ignorant Audience
Who's actually going to see a girl perform? Women are just eye candy! Though this exact train of thought is not said out loud, the actions and behaviors of audience members within a given show or even just on social media say it all. Going back to the show where the words "sexy" and "hot" were shouted at the female instrumentalist is just one of many instances where a woman was essentially taunted for being in the band, even if her friends were the ones making the comments. They were coming from a majority of male audience members which added an entirely new level of "wait, what the fuck?"
The sort of attitude of the visual pleasantries that come from femme performers then transcends into the behavior of the "dudes" in the crowd and *some* bands that I've noticed not only in Athens, but anywhere else where there is a prevalent rock scene. I personally like to call this trope the name-five-songs-by-some-super-niche-band-from-the-70s-and-they-can't-be-their-most-popular-ones.-also,-practically-throw-yourself-at-me-and-tell-me-how-sexy-I-am-when-I-play-2-chords-on-guitar,-then-I-will-talk-to-you trope. Unless you're attractive to societal standards with ~slight~ edge and let either the bands or the other guys in the crowd know how much you desire their penis, you're not going to be taken seriously as someone who's just there to be one with the music. It's not very manic pixie dream girl of you to do it, duh!
I've experienced it first-hand in various settings. I've seen it happen to my friends who were talking shop and the second they express they're not interested in anything romantic, they're ignored or suddenly "not that knowledgable" about a band. Hell, I've heard stories about some girls with incredible skill not making it into a band because their gender identity or because of the way that they choose to present themselves as feminine. It's too much of a distraction!
When this attitude is mixed with an overload of misogynistic behavior at shows and wherever the rock community is active, it creates way more than a hostile environment, but also a shitload of preemptive bias and horrible responses to those biases.
To put it in simpler terms: you're not keeping the community "safe" from posers or being "too hardcore" for snowflakes, you're just being a bigot.
Issue #2 - Is Booking To Blame? *Devil's Advocate*
So, why are female-fronted/majority bands rarely ever booked? Is there an issue with booking itself? Or when the lineup is mostly women, how come it's for a special event that has to do with acknowledging women in the industry, an act in which it feels begrudgingly accepted? (I use "accepted" very loosely here). The answer is: it's not going to make any money if an openly feminist or female band is the majority of the lineup.
I discussed this phenomenon with a friend from back home who plays in a band himself. From his perspective as a male within the rock counterculture, he touched on the "grossness" or "cringe" that comes from the sense of forced girl power and its inauthenticity. Think the plethora of pink, sparkly notebooks and t-shirts with "Girl Power!" written in cursive that you can find at your local Walmart or Target stores (I like to call this Spice Girl-ification). His father, who owns a performance venue and who - in my friend's own words - is "pretty sexist" towards female performers, still would have women come and perform on one condition: that they be "badass".
Now, badass is NOT a negative adjective by any means. Hell, I get a rush when someone says my vibe or outfits are badass. However, where this need to distinguish a female performer as badass comes from a place of gendering an act. The female identity is associated with one that is light and delicate, closer to nature while the male identity is the opposite, closer to the notion of culture. And what is music? Music is culture. When "badass" is used in any sense for anyone, it's meant to describe a look or style that is darker and rougher around the edges, thus inadvertently negating the delicate or feminine nature identity of something or someone.
This goes hand-in-hand with booking. Unless a band that is openly female practically goes overkill with the "badass" and rough look, they're not getting any shows under their belt. This seems unfair, right? Why can't booking just place a bunch of female bands in their lineup?
I ended up getting into a somewhat heated debate with someone about this, but they uncovered valid points and where I believe the devil's advocacy comes in: if a venue does this, they're going to lose money which is harmful to their business and it will just go right back to that fear of inauthenticity. If there's already so much backlash of the occasional girl in a band at shows, imagine how much negativity and even danger can come from this consistently happening. If the thought were to gradually change a scene's bias over time to not discredit femme artists, too much money would be lost and the payback would not be enough to recover from. And again, it's going to feel forced down a scene's throat. We've had it with the faux feminism and sparkly nonsense that's causing legitimate femme bands to choke on the micro-plastics of it all.
But, what if there is a way to combat this that is totally feasible and can maybe even garner a venue more revenue while also giving credit and inclusivity where it's due?
Keep your eyes peeled for the attainable solution after the third issue.
Issue #3 - Polluting-Preemptive Bias + It's Unusual Outcome?
Why is it that no one is going to shows with lead or majority femme rockers? Why is ignorance constantly spreading? How does the whole Spice Girl-ification play into this?
It's all about preemptive biases, or to put it a little simpler, (un)intentionally judging a book by its cover. However, in the realm of rock music, this hounding of women who are there to perform or simply enjoy music makes even less sense than what it is at face-value. I mean think about the market that's leading bands to success! Whether it be buying merchandise, promoting bands via social media, or streaming music (outside of purchasing physical copies from record stores), girls are driving that need for bands to spread their word. Now, I know a lot of it has to do with consumerism (which I have my own two cents on) and also whatever is trending at the moment (not saying this is good or bad), but a lot of what fangirls do define and create scenes.
While on that thought, I challenge you to think of artists with predominantly female fan-bases that are discredited because of their fans' gender representation. Classic bands like Zeppelin, The Beatles, and The Doors have been put through the wringer because of it! And yet, they're put up on a pedestal in music now, that is until a young girl shows interest in their music. In which case, she's just trying to be quirky and unique, "not like other girls", and DEFINITELY thinks she's born in the wrong generation. So obviously, when women such as Suzi Quatro, Nita Strauss or even an icon such as Patti Smith go up to spread their message and showcase their incredible craft, they're either a) copying *insert male artist with popularity here* or b) trying to be different in all of the wrong ways.
This leads to a horrible preemptive bias that women are simply subpar in music and are not there to say anything of value. I've seen girls on Instagram absolutely SHRED on guitar or go ham on drums getting ridiculed for absolutely ANYTHING, then sexualized. Yet, seeing a guy with the same skill level do the same exact thing that the girls do, the comment section is filled with praises for the guy keeping rock alive.
The outcome of this is the need to represent women on stage and in crowds that ends up splitting to different ends of the spectrum: cringey Spice Girl-ification that is entirely consumerist-driven "girl power" or over-sexualization of female artists to get some sort of attention when they perform. The first end has already been touched on and is self evident why it's driving people away from femme shows (it's all misrepresentation), but the second end goes beyond self-expression.
We see dudes on stage take off their shirts when they're rockin' out, it makes sense why a woman would wear something more breathable too! However, going out in a skin-tight latex bodysuit in stilettos and fishnets to bend over on stage and fake-moan throughout sets just so the audience can MAYBE think a little deeper about the lyrics to a pretty meaningful song is a slap in the face to self expression and just straight up buying into the very thing that objectifies femme individuals in rock. It causes more harm than good, even if it's ironic, because at the end of the day, crowd mentality can't think for itself. It can't understand satire or shock value, so what is being put out is going to be taken IMMEDIATELY at face value and spread.
See how that's bad?
Where Do We Go From Here?
So, what can we do to wash out all the ick of sexism in the rock scene?
While there is an attainable solution to the second issue, the first and last issues talked about go into a more personal level as what we can do as individuals.
To get the second issue's solution out of the way: when booking artists for shows, go out of the way to book artists or bands that have a more diverse background AS WELL AS being relatively well-liked or popular at certain shows. While promoting shows, do not mention the gender representation of bands at all, put more femme artists in between popular masc artists during sets so people going to see other bands can expand their pallet a little, and don't go overkill with the gender-coding of girl power! This will not only ensure that people can open their minds a little more, but it's not going to shoved down your throat with the need for equal gender representation.
As for the other two issues, this involves calling out sexist or misogynistic behavior when you see it. While part of the solution from the second issue can aid in weeding out sexist biases and ignorant behavior, some problems need you as an individual (regardless of what you identify as) to speak up and make sure you are heard. Yeah, yeah do the right thing we've all heard about it, but no one is actually doing it. A group of dudes yelling at a femme instrumentalist that she's sexy for the entirety of her time on stage? Tell them to shut the fuck up! Guys trying to interrogate a woman's knowledge about rock? Give them the same treatment and maybe exaggerate the way they're doing it (just so they see how fucking ridiculous they sound). Obviously there are more things you can do, but these are just to get your gears going.
None of the problems I've touched on are anything new, which makes it even more irritating that they're still around. We can do something, we as humans have the capacity to act on our own free will to make a positive impact! Gone are the days of passively ignoring sexist remarks because "it won't make you better" than the other person; speak up and put the real posers in their place!
Do I think this is going to be done overnight? Absolutely not! But with the mindset of "oh, things are so polarized now, it's useless to counter it" is just going to make everything worse. If we don't try to cause change now, then when will we?
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