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Role of women in changing society
Role of women in changing society
Gender Equality In Music Pop Culture
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Traditionally, an image of Honky tonk girls permeate the collective unconscious of the American country music (Wilson, 2000). Honkey tonk are referred to bars that play country music and women in country music are represented as corrupted temptresses who sit in honky tonks with painted lips and tinted hair to seduce men or as innocent virgins who are loving and patient (Wilson, 2000). However, contemporary female country musicians reject this traditional view on women because such simplistic dichotomy fails to recognise diverse identities that are adopted by women in a contemporary world (Wilson, 2000). In other words, country music provides a space for female musicians to challenge normative gender roles that dominant culture embraces and
celebrates (Wilson, 2000). Wilson (2000) analyses how women are portrayed in popular country music videos by examining the theme of the song, the sex of the musician and protagonists. She found that the protagonists are predominantly heterosexual couples and the primary theme is love (Wilson, 2000). Despite having a homogenous love theme they reflect a shift in traditional gender relations. For example, in Shania Twain's music video ‘Man! I Feel Like A Women,’ she expresses that she feels comfortable without having to conform to gender norms (ShaniaTwainVEVO, 2009). She sings, “I’m a lady, men’s shirts-short skirts’ and engages in the male domain of activity by wearing a suit (ShaniaTwainVEVO, 2009; Wilson, 2000) Shania Twain reverses the sex roles and visually appropriates the experiences that are conventionally associated with boys and men (Wilson, 2000). This indicates that female musicians are less likely to conform to gender dichotomies in their music videos (Horn, 2010; Wilson, 2000). Within popular culture, country music exhibits an element of resistance against dominant discourses on women, such as being submissive and dependent on men (Wilson, 2000).
Being that media is a major factor in this dilemma of old country versus modern country. All former country music artists such as Hank Williams Junior and Senior were not portrayed as “Sexiest Man/Woman Alive” and they were not advertised by overly sexualized l...
Lewis, George H. “Lap Dancer or Hillbilly Deluxe? The Cultural Constructions of Modern Country Music”. Journal of Popular Culture, Winter 97, Vol. 31 Issue 3, p163-173, 11p
For many Americans, country isn’t just a type of music. It’s a lifestyle. From sippin’ sweet tea on the porch, drinking beer at a tailgate or driving a pick up down the backroads, country music has made its way into the hearts and minds of many Americans. It is one of the only truly home grown American art forms. Its relatability and wide appeal has made country music one of the most commercially successful and popular genres in the United States. Using the work of scholars Tichi, Pecknold, and Ellison, I will show how country music grew from its rural southern roots into an integral part of American culture.
This paper examines recorded country music from about 1920 to 1990 as a source of popular impressions of aging and old age. A sample of 100 songs, primarily from Billboard's Top 40 charts are content-analyzed and the data categorized into image areas. Overall, as expected, the images of aging in the lyrics of country music, both as a process and as a demographic category, are positive; however, interesting variations appear when gender and specific image category are controlled.
Women in popular music have created a tremendous history in the wake of feminism. They have made their presence visible by identifying themselves as feminists. Being a woman was hard during that stage. Women were not allowed to do many things due to gender inequality such as the right to vote and to own a property. Therefore, from that moment onwards, women decided to stand up and make some changes. During the early stage of feminism, women developed their skills in popular music to create awareness. They associate popular music with feminism. Although there were racial issues between the black and white during that time, both sides continued to establish in different ways, through different genres of music. Black women focused on ‘black genres’ such as blues, jazz, and gospel, whereas white women performed in musical theatres. Female artists such as Lilian Hardin, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Nina Simone were among the notable exceptions of female instrumentalists during feminism. In this essay, I will assess feminism focusing on the second-wave.
Both Kincaid’s short story “Girl” and McPherson’s short story “Why I Like Country Music” employ instances of brusque dialogue to underscore their respective protagonists’ struggles against institutionalized prejudices.
Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse, and Girl Power. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print.
Popular music in the United States throughout the decades have always consisted of different genres of music and during the late 70’s and early 80’s, many of the popular bands consisted of only male artists and members. In an era dominated by male artists, Fleetwood Mac featured their lead female singer Stevie Nicks, who went on to transcend the gender expectations of the time and pursue a solo career in the midst of heavy adversity. Fleetwood Mac’s lead singer, Stevie Nicks, is a prime example of the evolution female artists have endured as they struggled to gain equal footing in this male dominated industry. This essay will examine the different factors contributing to Stevie Nicks’s popularity, along with her breaking these normative masculine roles and the way she combined different genres and personal
According to The Nashville Sound, markers that include “rural origins, stylized sets, seemingly spontaneous performance, accessible performers, and heartfelt songs can characterize country music’s authenticity” (13). The foundations of what country music has originated from are incorporated within these markers and are used to separate the real from the fake. Early country music was a means of coping with a life of work and worries; it also brought communities of the impoverished together in fellowship. The establishment of these markers glimpses into the culture and realities of many country music artists before their fame. Take for instance a family sitting huddled together on a porch on a cool summer evening listening to a family member play the banjo while another sings along. Everyone is enjoying and living in that moment and all worries are far from mind. Country music made people feel at ease and comfortable, it brought people back to their memories of the good old days. This is the way country music sh...
Misogyny is defined as the hate or dislike for women or girls. The act can be presented in many ways such as violence against women, sexual objectification of women, and sexual discrimination. Misogyny is often a principal foundation for the persecution of females in male-dominated societies. Misogyny is certainly alive in America and in entertainment all around the world. Women are represented negatively in many songs and videos, because men believe it is okay to use words like “b*tch” and “h*” to refer to a female; and in other words treat them as objects. This problem is not only prevalent in rap music, it is also present in genres such as metal, hard rock, and even country music. Subsequently, the Rap/Hip-Hop genre catches most of the back lash. Why? Well, people tend to overlook the fact that Rap/Hip-Hop is composed of more lyrical content. The Hip-Hop genre also reaches a much wider audience. Misogyny is even prevalent in the daily lives of many people, in our justice systems and even the movies we watch. There may be a rigid dichotomy between each sector, but the effect on youth is the same.
Mahon, Maureen. "Listening for Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s Voice: The Sound of Race and Gender Transgressions in Rock and Roll." Women and Music: A Journal of Gender and Culture 15, no. 1 (2011): 1-17.
In other music communities like rock or pop, women were mainly perceived as talented singers especially in the seventies. However, the punk rock community perceived women as talented in any instrumental area the women preferred. Both men and women were recognized in the community. (Fairly 2008, 511). Additionally, for the community members, punk rock was an outlet for political discourse like gender issues (O’Meara 2003, 301). Because punk rock defies sexist stereotypes and allows the community members to express frustrations stemming from those stereotypes imposed on them by other types communities, punk rock functions as a community that respects both genders today. However, musicians’ perception that punk rock fosters gender equality a new phenomenon. In the 1970’s, the early years of punk rock, women were overshadowed by men in the community. If men made the same contribution to the community as famous female punk rock bands, like The Slits, did, men would have gotten more recognition, becoming “household names” (Reddington 2007, 16). Additionally, all the work and accomplishments women made in the punk rock community were on the men’s terms
How do we choose the music that we listen to? We could be affected by the music itself, the lyrics could touch us on a personal level, or we may have a predisposition to a certain genre of music due to the geographic area we live in. Our background and upbringing can even play a role in our musical choices. However we come to that ultimate decision, how many of us actually pay close attention to the language used in the songs that we like? Could it be that some of our favorite artists or compositions actually contain language that can be considered sexist or harmful?
As one moves past the initial onslaught of rhythmic beats that calypso has to offer, it is difficult to miss the way in which it reverberates with negative and demoralizing images of women to their male counterparts. Whether it is within the lyrics of Sparrow’s “Drunk and Disorderly” or Square One’s “My Ding-a Ling”, an ample number of verses are often dedicated to making lewd comments about the female body and the suggestive body language described through thinly veiled rhymes and puns, can be offensive depending on the listener. The half naked models being displayed on the various album covers of calypso, soca and rap mix tapes further reinforces these negative connotations. This bandwagon has been jumped upon by many, including the rap genre in the last two decades, wanting to capitalize on a marketing strategy that generally purports to flag consumer attention, playing on their sense of eroticism. The sections titled “Music, Sex, Sexism” and “Woman Rising” within Peter Manuel’s text: Caribbean Currents, dive into the many issues surrounding gender within music as well as female portrayal specifically in calypso. Observations can be made simply by reading through the textual comparisons. Many aspects of this subject area allude to the fact that the issue of gender portrayal in music can be construed differently depending on who the critical listener happens to be. With the increased awareness and heightened sensitivity to the way in which females are portrayed in popular media, it is important to reflect on the impact these lyrics have on male-female relationships within the communities who most often enjoy this music genre.
The lyrics of music play an important part of interpreting the meaning of the song. The roles which women have been allowed by the society to embody have changed drastically. Women may question their roles because of what they see portrayed by popular culture or media. Change in female’s identity can be seen in how women are viewed or how they portray themselves in popular culture specifically through music. In general, music continues to...