by: Taylor Weese
There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about the lower ranks that women tend to fall into thanks to society, and while the music world may seem like a trivial place to focus on these issues, I do believe that it is important to also acknowledge how women are struggling, even there.
As a female music fan, I too have been the victim of assuming the hardest or most enjoyable rock comes from men. Years went by where my experiences as a listener were entirely one sided because I was afraid to dive into the realm of female-laden bands. I had been conditioned to believe that women don’t make the same kind of music as men, until one day I realized, “Wait, aren’t I a woman? Don’t I enjoy to play music too? What would I think if someone told me I wasn’t as good because I wasn’t a man? That’s not right. I’m not okay with that.”
It wasn’t until I realized this notion that I first noticed that there is a phrase used to describe this difference between the sexes…”chick rock.”
I was in the middle of a conversation about Warpaint alongside two male music writers whom I often speak with when one of them passed the group off as “some new, forgettable addition to the world of chick rock.” I paused for a second and had to try to comprehend what I had just heard. Chick rock - okay, so women who play music? Or is this some phrase used to subtly imply that it isn’t real rock music if the band has girls in it?
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But why? What changes if there are two X chromosomes instead of an XY pair?
I believe the term “chick rock” was employed by men who got a little too close to realizing that their macho, ego-based lifestyle in rock ‘n’ roll was not just for them. Maybe they saw a Joan Jett or a Kat Bjelland and realized that you can wear a dress or some heels and still put out music...music that might end up being far better than what the men of the time are producing.
Maybe men realized that and got scared. I don’t think it is too far fetched.
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Some of my favorite contributions to the issue come in short, sweet sentences from some women who have had to face this wall head on:
Jennifer Finch of L7 recalled why the band refused to participate in many big ‘Women In Rock’ articles - a reason, some have said, that L7 never experienced the big 90’s boom that bands like Hole did. “To create genre out of gender is just horrible to me,” Finch said bluntly.
Brody Dalle of the Distillers and Spinnerette famously added, “They say women can't play guitar as well as men. I don't play the guitar with my f***ing vagina, so what difference does it make?”
Think about it.
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The Runaways emerged in an era where even the most famous men of the day wore platforms, skirts, and copious amounts of make-up, yet those five girls had to work endlessly to get even a portion of the respect they deserved. It was absolutely unheard of to end up at the Whiskey and see an all-girl band, yet that’s all that they were seen as. This was not a rock band, this was a “girl band” - not because their music was about stereotypical “girly” things, but only because they were girls...and that meant they weren’t worthy of respect that aural-garbage-bands like Styx received, for example.
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Unfortunately, this discrimination did not end when Live In Japan went Gold in 1977.
It is the reason Washington D.C.’s Positive Force group had to fight so hard in the 80’s in order to have a female-inclusive punk scene.
It is why the Riot Grrrl movement was founded in the 90’s, leading to one of the widest spread causes for women in rock.
It is why Lilith Fair was revived in 2010, when festival line-ups began heading toward what’s big in pop music and the problematic occurrences that lie there.
It is why we need a change now.
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There is hope, though. Nirvana’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction performance was a beacon of light at the end of a male-centered ceremony. After no male artist dared step in the shoes of the late Kurt Cobain for the occasion, surviving members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl realized that no man deserved the spot regardless. With Cobain being such an advocate for the underdog and women’s rights, it was obvious what they had to do. “I spoke to Dave about it and he ran with the idea of having all women lead. We felt that would be a good tribute to Kurt and what Nirvana was about,” Novoselic wrote on his blog. “It was a good balance of females as Joan Jett and Kim Gordon are matriarchs of Punk Rock, while St. Vincent and Lorde represent the powerful up-and-coming women in Rock.”
When Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace announced that she was a trans woman, making a public transition and writing vulnerable songs about her struggles, she found a surprising amount of support. There was some expected backlash, but the band is currently striving thanks to understanding fans and encouraging words from various media outlets.
While these are not the only modern examples for shattering the idea of “chick rock,” it is still difficult to find another clear indication of any structures waivering.
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Screaming Females actively maintain that it is nearly impossible to find an article on their band that doesn’t mention how well frontwoman Marissa Paternoster plays guitar...for a girl.
Spin magazine rated her the 77th spot in their Greatest Guitarists of All Time list, a notable achievement for the little-known band. Yet with that success, the top spot went to not one, but two men together: Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Of course both musicians are esteemed in their own right, but their guitar playing may not necessarily where their true skill lies. Paternoster was one of only nine female guitar players to end up on the list - that is a 91% male dominated list, when we know full well how countless women have earned their spot instead of artists like Skrillex who ended up there instead.
Of course, Spin magazine is not likely the most reliable source for unbiased music news. They are, afterall, one of many sites that took the side of Connor Oberst in his rape accusation event without question...just another example of how male musicians are untouchable godheads while women struggle for just enough attention to find a label to support them.
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While writing blog posts isn’t going to do much to change the perceptions of women in rock or to destroy the use of condescending phrases like “chick rock,” I do hope to open eyes to this imbalance.
And of course, in a world so riddled with ways to be politically correct, it isn’t right for me to tell you, “Never say a man is better than a women at playing his instrument!!!!!!!!” because, you know what, maybe he is better.
But maybe he’s not.
Keep in mind, examples like the one above are exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I don’t want to urge you to put women on a pedestal because they are women. I simply want you to help ensure that women don’t sit at the bottom of a valley while men stand on mountains all for the sake of gender roles in rock music...because that’s where we are right now. And it needs to stop.
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* All mention of gender identifiers is included to mean ‘those who identify as man or woman’ and not any assumed identities based on appearance. It is worth noting that in many cases, neither of those words are chosen as someone’s identifier at all.
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