This article originally appeared on voicemonthly.com.
As minorities in the music industry, the ever-evolving roles of women in the business have influenced the feminist movement for centuries.
One of the first major empowerment practices in the music industry, Women’s Music, started in the 1960s and carried into the 70s. It pushed the envelope of the field by employing only women in the writing, producing, recording, and distribution of their music. The musicians involved in this movement demonstrated not only the fundamental goals of the gender equality movement but pined for rights concerning abortion and birth control laws.
With the recent progression of mass media and in turn, a larger eye on pop culture, the feminist movement has become even more entwined with music than before. Singers such as CHVRCHES, Grimes, Miley Cyrus and Kesha have been on the frontline of equality in the music industry for years. In 2013, Miley Cyrus’ performance at the MTV Video Music Awards sparked a massive debate on the role and exploitation of female sexuality in the music industry. While some called it a cry for attention or desperation to break from her pop princess mold, in retrospect, it was a huge leap for women in the business. Cyrus’s performance was one of the first wide-reaching demonstrations of sexuality in such a blatant way. It was progressive in that it helped expose slut-shaming culture surrounding the music industry and proof that no one was going to tell Miley Cyrus what she could or couldn’t do with her body.
It raised questions that we soon found had no real answers.
Why was Robin Thicke celebrated for a song centered around rape? And how the hell did it manage to get into the top 40? Why is it normal, encouraged even, for men to express their sexuality through their music and performances? But when women do, they’re just “asking to be objectified”?
DJ Vanessa Michaels spoke on how the rift in respect starts with the little things such as labeling someone a “female producer or DJ” when music should be genderless. “Music isn’t a ‘guy thing.’ Music is a people thing; it’s universal.” From there, she says her male counterparts often get paid more than her for playing the same length at the same gig, a constant reminder that men are still valued over women in the music business.
Although the music industry is considered to be one of the most progressive fields, the fact that it is still very much male-dominated should not be overlooked. Let’s talk about misogyny in the music industry. Let’s talk about gender bias and wage gaps and double standards. As cliche as it is, it’s 2016. Never has there been a better time to celebrate female empowerment in any form it’s presented in. Music has the power to influence cultural, spiritual and political movements. It can start a revolution.
By Caroline Blevins
