The year 2020 will go down in history as the era of female pop sensation. With stunning back-to-back electric dance bops, Dua Lipa took us to the future, the past, and the club. Selena Gomez sang her life and heart out in “Rare,” evolving into a fully developed woman and songwriter after surviving a decade-long abusive relationship. After the quarantine 15, Megan Thee Stallion reminded us to appreciate our bodies and that there’s always some “Good News” to be found. Last year, we were blessed with albums from Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Halsey, Kehlani, Blackpink, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Rina Sawayama (BENEE), Lennon Stella (BENEE) and Alicia Keys among many other artists.
That list gives the impression that women are almost entirely dominating the music business. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. If you look closely, you’ll notice that many of these albums have several things in common. One: At least one song is explicitly or implicitly about sexism. Two: The vast majority of songwriters and producers are males. Three: Because the majority of men don’t consider pop to be a genre, their audience is almost exclusively women and queer people. Despite our times being characterized by new and innovative female talent, misogyny is still the underbelly of popular music and culture, with women in pop consistently having to emphasize this.
Miley Cyrus discusses female empowerment in “Golden G Sreing,” one of the songs on her album “Plastic Hearts.”: “There are layers to this body | Primal sex and primal shame | They told me I should cover it so I went the other way | I was trying to own my power | Still I’m trying to work it out” She admonishes us to comprehend that she is not a sex object, but a person fighting against sexism who has been pushed about by males in the business. “Mad Woman” is the dedicated track on Taylor Swift’s “Folklore.”: “No one likes a mad woman | You made her like that | …You poke that bear till her claws come out | And you find something to wrap your noose around.” If a woman is “angry,” it’s because of some male using the gender power dynamic to his advantage. “Plastic Woman” is another one-of-a-kind approach by Lady Gaga on her latest album “Chromatica,” where she refers to herself as a plastic doll through vivid imagery: “I’ve got blonde hair and cherry lips | I’m state of art, I’m microchipped |…Am I your type?” Halsey’s “killing boys” and Dua Lipa’s “Boys Will Be Boys,” for example, are notable examples of women directly refuting men in their albums. However, “that one song” fighting patriarchy frequently takes the form of a tribute to the artists themselves, as well as a celebration of femininity and their sexuality. Ariana Grande’s “Just Like Magic,” Rina Sawayama’s “Comme des Garcons,” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Body” are all songs about femininity and body image, confidence, and self-reliance.
Despite the fact that female artists are continuously expressing these messages about misogyny, it isn’t reaching men’s ears. According to Spotify’s statistics, male subscribers listened to 94.2 percent male artists, according to a survey of five million users. Only 22% of popular artists are women, 13% of pop songwriters are women, and 3% of pop producers are women, according to a research study. It’s time we acknowledged that women and nonbinary individuals are still not receiving an equal voice in the music industry, and we must do more. This is a male-dominated industry, and the majority of the time, things aren’t very appealing on the business side; I’ve never heard of a female or nonbinary manager before. People who are not men or women are excluded from the room where the music is composed and created, as well as the area where promotion strategy is discussed and implemented after it’s released. That’s inexcusable.
Women and nonbinary musicians are most plentiful in the pop and indie pop scenes, as you can see. Many other genres, such as rap, rock, and country music, are still primarily male-dominated. You may also recall from the preceding information that straight guys don’t listen to pop music, female or nonbinary artists, or other music. Why don’t men listen to pop music? What is it about this type of music that causes it to be overlooked? It’s a tough question. I believe the answer lies in deep-seated misogyny, disguised as “a dislike for popular culture” (and, conveniently, female rappers and rockers). The story goes that from a very young age, boys are encouraged to play instruments while girls are not.However, owing to a culture of toxic masculinity, women are more attentive to their emotions than males. The ability to read music may be seen as a talent in many areas, but it is most often associated with songwriting and powerful vocal expression. In the end, music equated complicated instrumentation with male identity, while strong lyricism and songwriting corresponded with female identity.
It’s the most popular form of sexism in music: arguments and logic vs. passion and emotion. As a result, pop is considered feminine, rock is regarded masculine, and so on. Of course, the complexity of your music doesn’t define its quality. Pop wouldn’t be one of the most well-known and influential music genres of all time if it wasn’t. People don’t always want to hear 12 chords and random riffs; they may desire instead simple melodies that stick in their heads, ones that are relatable and they can sing along to. Melodies and lyrics that elicit an emotional response. In pop music, the melody takes precedence over the instrumentation. It’s not a case of “inferior.” It’s simply a form of musical expression with its own distinct style. Because of this chauvinistic framework, male fans are hard to come by for artists such as Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, and Harry Styles; their music is considered feminine and therefore inferior due to its pop structure. Of course, this isn’t the whole story. Many males disregard female rappers or rockers because they are women.
Misogyny is an inescapable truth in the music industry. Because of its assumed femininity, pop music is not valued as a genre at the meta level. Women are excluded from areas of power where music and decisions about it are made. Female musicians are turned into ludicrous stock characters who bicker incessantly with one another, go crazy, or engage in other insane behavior at the entertainment level. And on an individual basis, all women confront sexism on a daily basis. In almost every album, female artists are screaming it from the rooftops, yet many men still won’t listen. While it’s an exciting time for gender minorities in music (consider that list of albums from 2020), there is still a long way to go in terms of representation. If you’re a heterosexual guy reading this, consider why you might be ignoring bands that aren’t males. Please consider boosting the female and LGBTQ artists, songwriters, and producers around you if you’re a straight guy in the music business. It’s no surprise that for every exceptional album by a female artist, there’s at least one track that has to deal with sexism, and while I adore a feminist song as much as the next girl, I truly wish there wasn’t a need for “The Golden G String” or “The Plastic Doll.”
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