What Extent May the Role of Women in Popular Music Be Considered as Stereotypical free essay sample

This runs along with the often-held opinion that if you are an attractive female musician, you are unintelligent: discussing Shakira, Jones (2012) states that â€Å"If you are blonde, pretty and a pop star, especially if you are a pop star who also knows how to belly dance, the chances are you’re stupid. † Women have historically been viewed as the inferior sex and many female artists and songwriters are not doing a great deal to help counter this opinion. One example of this is Taylor Swift, one of the most successful young country singers. Her self penned songs are â€Å" known to re? ect her thoughts and feelings at a point in time. Yet, the underlying message (from the gender studies perspectives) in her songs (and music videos) generally point men superior to women; women as the inferior gender. † (Myidisorgange; 2011) Even in classical music, this inferior stereotype is present. In her book Feminine Endings, McClary outlines the Masculine and Feminine Cadence: â€Å"A cadence or ending is called â€Å"masculine† if the ? nal chord of a phrase or section occurs on a strong beat and â€Å"feminine† is it is postponed to fall on a weak beat. † (McClary; 1991; p9) If women are writing song lyrics which support the inferior stereotype, and classical music de? itions are also supporting the inferior stereotype, there is perhaps little hope for change. This essay will discuss to what extent women in popular music have conformed to the stereotypes outlined above. It will consider : why female musicians are under represented; what women have done to promote their place in music; and what women are doing to conform to the stereotype. It will feature example of female musicians and performers who both conform and do not conform to the stereotypes, and will discuss whether, if we look past the external image, these performers are actually stereotypical â€Å"material girls†. Throughout music history, women have been notoriously under represented in the music world, particularly in the ? eld of popular music. The ? rst section of this essay will discuss: whether the music industry presents equal opportunities for both genders; the way in which each gender is perceived through media and press coverage; why the majority of notable women in the music business are of a young age; and obstacles faced by women in bands. Music education is taught in schools from the early years, and both genders are presented with equal opportunities to develop musical ability and talent. This equality is continued through secondary school and in most cases onto further education. Drawing from my own experiences: my high school jazz band had an almost equal ratio of male to female musicians, the same applied to my Popular Music HNC (10 males and 8 females). If we consider the fact that there appears to be equal opportunities for men and women to study, train and develop as performers at school and university then why is it an industry which is predominantly male driven? Bjorck (2011; p8) gives her views on this: â€Å" he conclusion must be that men’s outnumbering women in such practices re? ects either greater interest or greater capabilities among men compared to women. † Women are most speci? cally under represented when it comes to playing instruments in bands. â€Å" women are in a de? nite minority in all positions, except for that of a vocalist. † (Bjorck; 2011; p10) To add to this point, there are many who believe that the presence of a fe male musician, particularly in a rock band, makes fans confused and unsettled. Avdeeff (2006) explains this by stating that; â€Å"Women ho enter the realm of rock music challenge traditional notions of rock authenticity, which is often de? ned as white, male and heterosexual, and can create unease among its fans and other rock musicians. † This is an issue which women in the music industry have always been presented with and is quite often not helped by the way women are portrayed in the press and media. The most common point of discussion when female musicians and artists appear in the media is their sexuality, this is something which will be discussed later in this essay. The struggle which they have faced in gaining status in the music industry is also often heavily covered by the media, as well as invasions into their private lives: be it comments on their relationships; social lives and partying habits; or image. This is a stark contrast to the way male musicians are portrayed. Bjorck (2006; p11) highlights this contrast by discussing the ‘ heroic language used to describe male musicians in the written media. † There is also the general consensus that women who make a name for themselves in the industry at a young age cannot sustain this career for the rest of their lives. Avdeeff (2006) offers the opinion that; ‘Pop music, unlike rock, is associated more with young females, than with adult women. It is a genre that provides models through which young girls can explore their freedom before â€Å"joining the real world† and participating in traditionally feminine roles, such as marriage and motherhood. † This explains why the majority of active female musicians are of a fairly young age. Clearly the negative connotations surrounding female musicians and the negative press they receive is one reason why they are the under represented gender in the music industry. To expand on the discussion of female musicians, playing in a rock band is not generally seen as an acceptable career path. In her book Feminine Endings, McClary (1991; p150) quotes David Lee Roth when asked the question; â€Å"What if a little girl picked up a guitar and said ‘I wanna be a rock star. ’ Nine times out of ten her parents would never allow her to do it. † He then goes on to explain that the lack of female guitarists is not linked to the ability to play the instrument, but because they are discouraged from it and steered towards other outlets. Although this is an extremely misogynistic view on the part of the parents, it is perhaps discouraged due to the dif? culties faced by female musicians. Fournet (2010) states that â€Å"Groce and Cooper (1990) demonstrate the sexual harassment, unequal pay and lack of musical appreciation local female musicians experience † It is therefore no surprise than women are discouraged from entering and are therefore under represented in the music industry. This under representation of women, the way in which their sexuality is used to portray them, and the misogynistic views surrounding women in popular music are all proof that the stereotypes outlined in the introduction is still being conformed to in parts of the industry. The next point of discussion is how women have promoted themselves and made a name for themselves in the music industry by looking at: women making breakthroughs in music awards and music charts; and how women have established themselves as artists and whether they have done this by conforming or not to the stereotypes. In 1987 Whitey Houston released her self-titled second album. This was the ? rst album by a female artist to debut at number 1 on the USA Billboard 200 charts. â€Å"Released when she was 22, Whitney Houston was the best-selling album by a female artist in the 1980s, with more than 9 million copies sold on its way to becoming the best-selling debut ever by a female artist. † (Kaufman; 2012) At this time this was an incredible breakthrough for a female artist and paved the way for women to follow in her footsteps, gaining con? dence from her success. Houston clearly beat several male artists to the top spot of the Billboard 200 chart, which completely shatters the stereotype of women being the inferior gender. Another example of women breaking the gender barriers in the music industry is Rachel Portman who won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for Emma in 1996. â€Å"After becoming the ? rst female composer to win an Academy Award (for the 1996 ? lm Emma), Rachel Portman has suddenly received the recognition in America that she has truly deserved. † (Filmtracks. com) For a female composer to win an award as prestigious as this, and previously only won my men, is a signi? ant development in the crushing of the inferior stereotype. Breaking onto the music scene and selling records is something which women have clearly been able to achieve, otherwise we would have no female pop-stars. However many female artists of today were thrust into the public eye at a very young age and have been over sexualised from the beginni ng of their careers. Levande (2008) lends us the information that â€Å"The music industry is obsessed with advertising the teenage of the female pop-star coupled with a sexually charged picture of her. †. She uses examples of artists such as: Britney Spears, who’s career began on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club; Lindsay Lohan; Joss Stone; and Jessica Simpson, all of whom where teenagers when their music careers began and were very much marketed as sex symbols. You only need to watch Britney’s video for Hit Me Baby One More Time to realise this is the case. (http:// www. youtube. com/watch? v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4) Other artists who did not start out their careers in the same way as the aforementioned young ladies, have altered themselves to conform to the ‘sex symbol’ stereotype. Examples of these women include Miley Cyrus who started life as the fresh faced ‘Hannah Montana’ on the Disney Channel and is now known for her scantily clad videos and the ‘stripper pole incident’ at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. â€Å" teen queen Cyrus in short shorts perched atop a long staff sticking out of an ice cream cart looking suspiciously like a stripper pole. † (Deggans; 2009). Nelly Furtado began her career as a folk/pop singer, however has transitioned into much more of a stereotypically sexualised artist. Levande (2008) writes that â€Å"She ? w like a bird from folk/pop into a more hip-hop-produced album called â€Å"Loose†, with her ? rst singled titled â€Å"Promiscuous†. †. This is proof that women are being moulded to conform to ? t the stereotype of female pop-starts today. One that focuses on image, sexuality, and entertaining men and not on the talents, ambitions and achievements of these ladies. The ? nal po int which this essay is going to discuss is why women are conforming to these stereotypes. There have always been negative connotations surrounding the music industry’s inappropriate use of sex to sell records. Feminists are of the belief that women should not have to be scantily clad and writhing around to sell their records, nor should their records need to contain lyrics which degrade women as a whole gender or make them out to be inferior in any way. However, there are many who are of the opinion that there is nothing damaging about female artists using sex to sell their records and promote themselves. Witherspoon consolidates this point in his discussion of female pop-star Rihanna; â€Å"Regardless of the jaw-dropping moments, Rihanna still manages to pro? t with massive commercial appeal. (Witherspoon; 2011) Clearly in Rihanna’s case, using selling sex to sell records and conforming to the stereotype, has boosted her career. From the beginning of her career Rihanna has used her image and her sex symbol status to advance in the music industry. In 2006 the video for â€Å"SOS† was released and features the artist dancing on a beach in a bikini. The lack of clothing and pr omiscuity has been a common occurrence throughout Rihanna’s career with some more recent examples including: the theme of BDSM which is heavily present in her â€Å"SM† video; the controversy surrounding Rihanna dancing topless in a ? ld during the video shoot for â€Å"We Found Love†; and her song â€Å"Rude Boy† which contains the lyrics â€Å"come here rude boy, boy, can you get it up. † Despite being overly sexual in the way in which she presents herself, Rihanna’s sex symbol image has not hindered her from chart topping success, gaining advertising campaigns with the likes of Emporio Armani, and most recently clinching a lead role in the blockbuster movie Battleship. This is an example of a women who very clearly conforms to the material girl stereotype, and is furthering her career by using it. When you think of female empowerment and independent women in the music industry, Beyonce is the name which springs to mind. Having been talked about as the most successful female artist of all time. â€Å"Beyonce is undoubtedly one of the biggest pop stars of all time. As the front woman of the trio Destinys Child, she stood out even then with her immense talent and grace. Four solo albums later, Beyonce is the epitome of superstar. † (Ruhinda; 2012). However Beyonce is no stranger to using sex to sell her records. The video for â€Å"Single Ladies†, which features the singer in a skimpy leotard, was opping charts as the most searched video on the internet shortly after its release in 2009 and now has over 200 million hits on youtube. (http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=4m1EFMoRFvY ) Her now famous ‘booty shake’ which ? rst hit the scene in her video for â€Å"Crazy In Love† is one of the artist’s most famous associations. Although Beyonce mos t de? nitely conforms to the stereotype and uses sex to sell her records, it has not taken away from her â€Å"girl-power† message, her multitude of female followers or her unbeatable success. To counter the two examples of artists made above, Adele is someone who has not sexualised her image in order to sell her records. The singer nearly always appears dressed head to toe in black, in an extremely class and elegant fashion. This has forced the listener to focus on Adele’s songwriting skills and music rather than on the way she looks. In her article, Topping explains that Richard Russell, founder of the record label which Adele currently belongs to, is of the opinion that she possesses â€Å" the potential to change the way women are seen in the industry by focusing on her music rather than her sexuality. (Topping; 2011). The fact that Adele has managed to be so unbelievably successful without conforming to a speci? c image and stereotype is something which has made the music industry take a step back and look at their female artists. Following in her footsteps and taking a leaf out of her more conservative image which forces listeners to focus on the music have b een the likes of Birdie and Gabrielle Aplin. There is clearly a following of women who are not conforming to the stereotype, and still gaining huge success in their music. To summarise the points made in this essay, although the majority of high pro? e women in the music industry clearly are conforming to the stereotypes of being a sex symbol, and several to the stereotype of women as the inferior gender, is has not hindered the success of these women and in most cases is not affecting the way in which the public perceives them. Women are clearly under-represented in music due to the media’s representation of female musicians and the fact that many women are discouraged from entering the industry due to the amount of sexuality expected of them and the harassment which they can experience. However, this has not stopped women from using this ‘sex symbol’ image to promote themselves in the music industry and to further their careers. There have been women, such as Whitney Houston, Rachel Portman and Adele, who have countered the inferior gender stereotype and have achieved greatness when competing against men and in the case of Adele, using no sex to sell records. I believe the main point which has been made in this essay is that although selling with sex can be seen as a negative aspect of the music industry, female artists are happy to do so, and it has not hindered, and if anything it has furthered their careers. I also do not believe that behind the external image of these women, are women who are unintelligent or â€Å"stupid† (Jones; 2012) To conclude this essay, I would like to quote Madonna, the original â€Å"Material Girl†: â€Å"People have this idea, she says, that if you’re sexual and beautiful and provocative, then there’s nothing else you could possibly offer. People have always had that image about women. And while it might have seemed like I was behaving in a stereotypical way, at the same time, I was also masterminding it. I was in control of everything I was doing, and I think that when people realised that, it confused them. It’s not like I was saying, ‘Don’t pay attention to the clothes – to the lingerie – I’m wearing. ’ Actually, the fact that I was wearing those clothes was meant to drive home the point that you can be sexy and strong at the same time. In a way, it was necessary to wear the clothes. (Gilmore; 1987) This is undeniable proof that the ladies of the music world, although appearing to be â€Å"Material Girls†, are in face intelligent, empowered young ladies who are in control of their careers and are thoroughly enjoying what they are doing. Bibliography AllMusic (2012) Whitney Houston Music Biography, Credits and Discography : AllMusic. [online] Available at: http://www. allmusic. com/artist/whitney-houston-mn0000820434 [Accessed: 5 Jan 2013]. Avdeeff, M. 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