Today, Vancouver plays hostess to the Juno Awards, celebrating Canadian music. Congrats to Divine Brown, Kathleen Edwards, Alannis, Deborah Cox, Sarah Slean, KD Lang, and the other gals up for prizes. Good stuff!
Women still remain among the minority when it comes to Juno nominations. Though they do own three categories entirely ("Vocal Jazz Album of the Year," "New Artist of the Year," and "R&B/Soul Recording of the Year"), few women (either on their own or as members of groups) get a nod elsewhere--consider their sparse presence for "Songwriter of the Year," "Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year," "Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year," and "New Group of the Year." Several of the top categories, like "Album of the Year," "Rock Album of the Year," "Rap Recording of the Year," and "Group of the Year" have no women representin.' What's up with that?
It may have been Courtney Love who, in an early nineties interview, lamented girls' preference for dating boys in bands over picking up an instrument and starting their own. A 2008 British study suggests the gendering of musical instruments may be at least partly to blame for their absence on stage: for this reason, mid-nineties female bass player blip aside, drums and guitars remain squarely in male territory. Harp, piccolo, flute, and vocals, currently and historically, represent the more feminine routes to musical participation, according to this study. And whatever they do play, for women, professionalization can be tough; the music industry boys' club continues to work to bar the door with varying types of "no girls allowed" signs.
The intention of this is not to rag on the Junos--frankly, in a country where the arts are so embattled it's nice to see a televised presence like this. Kudos to the organizers and broadcasters for highlighting the varied talent Canada has produced. In the broader context of the Canadian music scene, however, one still has to wonder--what has to happen to generate more national exposure, fame, opportunities, and, frankly, money for women making music?
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Good post. It makes me want to find some coverage of the Junos to watch. As for the big question on how to support women musicians in Canada, I can only talk about my small contribution. I like to go see shows in little dive bars with performances by women. I saw one this past Saturday where a teenage band (with a female drummer and a female singer) played heavy-metal cover tunes. It rocked! They even started with a song by Bif Naked. I will continue to seek out and support bands like these.
Very fun! Shows like that are nice to hear about–and sound like a great way to support women musicians. I wonder what needs to happen to get more girls and women out playing like this, and, beyond that, moving from these smaller gigs to settings where they can make some real money and support themselves as artists. Will there ever be gender parity in the music biz?
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