Girls in the band
> Women fight against gender gap in local music
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Julie Shields, singer for Overland Park band the Capsules, performs at the Bottleneck Tuesday, Nov. 18.
Jj Duncan/Rockkansas.Com
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Frank Zappa once declared that the entire music industry is run by a 14-year-old girl.
However, given the glaring gender inequalities perceived by many musicians and fans, this might not be the case. Some might say that there's an unfair amount of men dominating the Kansas music scene as well as the national music scene. This tipping of the scales towards boys in bands has irked many of music's female musicians and fans.
Having dealt with discrimination in the local music scene because of her gender, Megan Kasten, vocalist for Kansas City-based punk band Hot Fruit, concludes that there are definite pitfalls to being a female musician. Having to labor doubly hard as their male counterparts to garner attention from fans is just one of the pitfalls faced by female artists.
"Being female in the music industry, there's this perception that you're not good and you have to basically prove yourself as opposed to a guy," Kasten said. "Unfortunately, women have to prove themselves twice as hard as guys do."
But why should women have to channel extra energies into their art just to achieve the same level of accolades enjoyed by the men in rock? Some female artists in the Kansas music scene would contend the issue is one of credibility. At times, local music fans see females, particularly attractive ones, as gimmicks to bring in more fans. This can even be seen on a larger level in cases such as that of Garbage who has had to fight the perception that Shirley Manson is just a puppet for the three guys in the band.
Laurel Woodhouse, the primary singer and songwriter in the Lawrence-based band, Sweet Sassy Molassy, is one musician who sometimes worries about perceived credibility.
Her current project includes herself and four other male musicians. Having performed previously in other bands with men as well as a solo artist, Laurel laments that women are not always seen as being "real" musicians.
"I just wish that women in bands were always seen as legitimate musicians and not just as a novelty," Woodhouse said.
Bob Cutler, formerly of the Topeka hardcore band, Slackjaw, said he sees the injustice in how women are perceived in music according to their appearances. Having promoted, performed and toured with a wide variety of bands, including San Francisco quartet, Tribe 8, Cutler said he has gained a keen sense of the gender politics at play in the music scene. He argues that the importance placed upon the physical attractiveness of artists often supercedes whatever talent an artist may have.
"It bothers me to think about how many 'unattractive' girls out there just never bother developing their talents or putting their great lyrics or works out there only because they have every reason to believe that no one will be interested in it because they are 'unattractive,'" Cutler said.
In addition to being frequently excluded from the music community, women are often further marginalized because of the way they look or, depending on standards of beauty, the way they don't look. Many women in bands run the risk of being reduced to nothing more than a fashion accessory for the band's image.
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Solo performer Neko Case, also of the New Pornographers, was voted "Playboy.com's Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock," earlier this year. Case said she would consider posing for the magazine, but the music has to come first.
Submitted
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Jessica Criser, organizer of Washburn University's feminist group, Hot Pink G.A.R.B.A.G.E., says the importance of a female artist's appearance depends upon how deeply entrenched in the mainstream they are. She says that the pressure is much greater for high profile female artists to present themselves as "attractive" than it is for their counterparts in independent music.
"I think it probably depends upon the presentation that the artist is trying to make," she said. "If you're going to be a pop star, you probably need to be comfortable with being dressed up and being made to be beautiful, because that's important to your music. I think in terms of women in independent music, it's probably not as important, because that's not the statement that they're trying to make."
However, even independent music has not been immune to judgments based on sex appeal. In a Playboy poll held earlier this year, Neko Case, solo artist and member of the New Pornographers, was voted "Playboy.com's Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock."
In an interview with the magazine, when asked if she would pose nude, Case said she would consider it, but only after some careful thought.
"If I posed, every article written about me from then on would start with 'former Playboy pinup girl' before my name," she said. "I don't want that. The music's gotta come first."
Natalie Yeh, local music fan and KJHK 90.7-FM Lawrence DJ, has noticed that at concerts, male audiences will place a higher premium on a woman performer's appearance than on her musical ability.
"I've noticed if there's a band and there's a cute girl in the band a lot of guys will look at her a lot during the performance and she's a lot more part of the band visually in addition to being a part of the band musically," Yeh said.
If gender-based discrimination does exist in the local music scene, it tends to be much more prevalent in genres such as rock and other traditionally male dominated genres. And because rock can seem, in the eyes of many, to be an arena exclusively for men, women often feel intimidated when attempting to join in.
"In my experience, it is very intimidating to ask boys to play a more feminine style of music," Woodhouse said. "And when you finally get a band together, it's hard for club owners to take a young woman seriously until you can prove yourself."
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