Women vs. Sexism
Written by Helen Freitas, Carly Dohner, Jaz Brown
An Unfortunate History
Sexism against women in the music industry is nothing new, and it is not particular to any specific genre. Films like The Girls in the Band even explore this theme the early 1900’s jazz scene, where women were blatantly seen as inferior and were only respected as signers or pianists-- but this disparity in treatment between was alive well before then. According to the New York Times, “in an analysis of the top 600 songs from 2012 to 2017—defined by Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart for each of those six years—the study found that of 1,239 performing artists, 22.4 percent of them were women.”
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| Girls in the Band is a documentary directed by Judy Chaikin ©Independent Pictures |
This is one way gender inequality in music is perpetuated, but it is also normalized in many other ways. Genres including, but not limited to, rap, hip-hop and pop contain countless songs that frequently refer to men, women and sex using increasingly derogatory terms. Sexism is also maintained in the industry through the abusive treatment of female artists by powerful figures.
Several artists are coming forward and telling their own stories about how they have been violated and taken advantage of by their record labels. In 2017, the #MeToo movement began after popular artists like Kesha, Lady Gaga, Camilla Cabello, Cyndi Lauper and Andra Day spoke about how several music producers are sexual predators who are getting away with their crimes.
In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, her former mentor at her label. Gottwald allegedly abused Kesha in multiple ways: she stated that he sexually assaulted her and physically, emotionally and mentally abused her. Following Kesha’s decision to file charges, other artists like Lady Gaga (who has referred to the music industry as a “boys club”) stepped forward and shared a similar story involving a record producer when she was only 19 years old.
Later, In 2017, Jessie Reyez—a recording artist who has written songs with Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa and Sam Smith-- came forward and addressed how music producer Noel “Detail” Fisher belittled her for not having sex with him, then suggested it was the only way she would become famous. Once she came forward, more women shared similar experiences with Noel Fisher. More female artists have stepped forward and talked about how many women in the industry are taught that in order to be successful they have to have sex, similar to many actresses related to the Harvey Weinstein case.
Positive Changes
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| Ke$ha is an artist who has come forward about her struggles with her producer ©MTV |
Despite all of the darkness hidden within the industry that is now coming to light, there’s also been a positive shift in the message being sent through music. People are not afraid to speak out as much anymore, and as the voice of younger generations grows louder, there has been an even stronger push for equality for everyone. Today, female artists are able to be more powerful than ever and are continuously entering the industry and topping the charts.
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