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Now on Kickstarter: Feminist Playing Cards Featuring 52 Feminist Musicians
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Ah, good catch. I only count 48 musicians on that list, though, so maybe they're still adding a couple more and Bush will make the cut? You should e-mail them and let them know!
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Nothing helps minority musicians more than pictures of a bunch of white musicians. Gold star for effort, check minus for follow through.
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It would've been cool to see people like Letta Mbulu, Dawn Penn, Lata Mangeshkar, or... hey... ANY African-American. Just a thought. People who are not white (or famously married to white people) make music too.
7
I wonder how they chose these artists. I read "Girls Like Us" and Joni Mitchell did not seem like a feminist at all. She was a total guys' girl who was cold to other female artists. I've read the same about Patti Smith. And I don't know much about Exene except that she viciously hated and looked down on the Go-Gos, my personal favorite feminist musicians who've never been afraid to talk frankly about sexism in the industry.
A lot of female artists shy away from doing so. PJ Harvey was a huge disappointment to me because as a teen she was my idol, but she is one of those "I don't like labels" women which just sounds like such a cop out for actually having an opinion. Basically, I wouldn't consider you a feminist musician just because you are a great, groundbreaking female musician.
A lot of female artists shy away from doing so. PJ Harvey was a huge disappointment to me because as a teen she was my idol, but she is one of those "I don't like labels" women which just sounds like such a cop out for actually having an opinion. Basically, I wouldn't consider you a feminist musician just because you are a great, groundbreaking female musician.
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when it comes to feminism and music, i feel like the "i don't like labels" women consider themselves a musician foremost, a lady second, which is what i tend to relate to because, as a musician, i've never felt comfortable in social situations regardless of gender, race, or class... i'm a ball of awkward and only music let's me feel legitimate.
anyway, my point is that i hate seeing these women who help feminism, despite not being outspoken, chastised for not being loud enough, when for a lot of musicians the instruments are our voices because we can't use words good or think thoughts clearly...
and in full disclosure, i'm a white male, and this is a private observation of mine as a more-often-than-not quiet person who plays music and takes an hour to formalize thoughts to speak what's on my mind. and yes, i realize i'm exercising my privilege, but only to say that the feminist movement has abandoned a lot of fucking good female musicians because they were hesitant to be labeled feminist (instead of the more gender neutral "egalitarian", perhaps?) and, that a lot of my most favorite bands in the world include female musicians playing really complex music (you, not "we", speaking as a male, need more of them) but because they don't fit in with the sonically unpleasant, rhythmically simple, riot grrl punk aesthetic, they get brushed off because "they're trying to be like the boys" instead of "trying to be good musicians."
music is the closest art-form to math; that is why it's universal, that is why it can transcend so many bullshit, human-made boundaries.
anyway, my point is that i hate seeing these women who help feminism, despite not being outspoken, chastised for not being loud enough, when for a lot of musicians the instruments are our voices because we can't use words good or think thoughts clearly...
and in full disclosure, i'm a white male, and this is a private observation of mine as a more-often-than-not quiet person who plays music and takes an hour to formalize thoughts to speak what's on my mind. and yes, i realize i'm exercising my privilege, but only to say that the feminist movement has abandoned a lot of fucking good female musicians because they were hesitant to be labeled feminist (instead of the more gender neutral "egalitarian", perhaps?) and, that a lot of my most favorite bands in the world include female musicians playing really complex music (you, not "we", speaking as a male, need more of them) but because they don't fit in with the sonically unpleasant, rhythmically simple, riot grrl punk aesthetic, they get brushed off because "they're trying to be like the boys" instead of "trying to be good musicians."
music is the closest art-form to math; that is why it's universal, that is why it can transcend so many bullshit, human-made boundaries.
9
and in no way am i saying the music industry isn't sexist, as none of my favorite female artists, people who i think top the top forty forty times over, have been signed to a major label, but i've also never given a shit about the industry anyway and only see it as a benefit to a few, therefore nothing to fight over.
10
#8/9, I think most female musicians would like to consider themselves musicians first and women second, but unfortunately, that's not how you're treated, regardless of how good you are. All you have to do is read the comments on any Marni Stern or Kaki King video to see the sexist remarks people make even about the better players. But you can either pretend sexism doesn't exist and dodge the questions when inevitably asked about what it's like to be a female musician, blah blah blah...or be honest about it.
I don't understand your comment about the feminist movement abandoning good female musicians for trying to be like the boys. Who are you referring to? The feminist musicians I know love great female players because they are inspiring.
And I think your riot grrl remarks represent the sort of sexist comments made about girls in punk bands all the time. Would you dismiss the Ramones, Buzzcocks, or Sex Pistols as being sonically unpleasant and simple or would you call them fucking awesome, fun punk bands playing music people want to dance to? But when girls play this style they are criticized for just not being very good at their instruments, which makes it sound as though they'd play better if they only could, which obviously is totally condescending.
I love the Go-Gos so much because they formed a band for the same reasons most guys formed their first bands - to get laid. And even though they dealt with tons of sexism, they didn't let it discourage them from making incredible pop songs, while they also didn't let it impact the subject matter of the songs. And yet they were super outspoken about the shit they had to deal with in interviews, which felt like a big fuck you that feminists like myself could get behind.
I don't understand your comment about the feminist movement abandoning good female musicians for trying to be like the boys. Who are you referring to? The feminist musicians I know love great female players because they are inspiring.
And I think your riot grrl remarks represent the sort of sexist comments made about girls in punk bands all the time. Would you dismiss the Ramones, Buzzcocks, or Sex Pistols as being sonically unpleasant and simple or would you call them fucking awesome, fun punk bands playing music people want to dance to? But when girls play this style they are criticized for just not being very good at their instruments, which makes it sound as though they'd play better if they only could, which obviously is totally condescending.
I love the Go-Gos so much because they formed a band for the same reasons most guys formed their first bands - to get laid. And even though they dealt with tons of sexism, they didn't let it discourage them from making incredible pop songs, while they also didn't let it impact the subject matter of the songs. And yet they were super outspoken about the shit they had to deal with in interviews, which felt like a big fuck you that feminists like myself could get behind.
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