High schooler Madeline Conrique and the other members of the Women’s Health and Issues Club at Arcadia High in Arcadia, California spent the weeks leading up to their prom (held this past weekend) fighting for the event to be misogyny-free. Their target? Opprobrious song lyrics degrading to women:
“Some of the songs call women `bitches’ and `hos,’ or refer to them as objects and treat them like animals,” Conrique said. “We find that offensive.”
To this end, the girls successfully garnered 130 signatures on a petition circulated around school. Of course, not all students were in favour of their efforts–sadly, other girls were among the petition’s staunchest opponents:
“The girls, surprisingly, were turned off,” Conrique said. “They were telling us that we were ruining their prom and that they liked to dance to those songs.”
Unfortunate, to say the least.
Nonetheless, Conrique and the others were successful in having some twenty offensive songs pulled from the prom playlist. Even before this it was obvious they were already winners–how great must it be to attend a high school with a sustained Women’s Health and Issues Club?
To honour their success, we give you the now-classic Queen Latifah ditty U.N.I.T.Y., a challenge to those who refer to women using derogatory language (please click on the unfortunate–sorry–gun graphic to rock out).
Tagged as:
activism,
feminism,
Girls,
music
Susan Boyle is now a worldwide sensation. I’m sure I don’t have to explain: millions of people have watched her video, some over and over and over again while alternately laughing and weeping. A half-dozen fansites have sprung up, including this one with 13,000 members.
But I’m going to confess a secret: the whole thing leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
My eyes didn’t well with tears when I first watched the video, and I haven’t had the urge to watch it again. I’ve frankly become annoyed as more people ask me if I haven’t found the story moving or inspiring.
Rather I find it a bit puzzling, all this excitement about the discovery that a “frumpy” or “dowdy” (i.e. average?) woman could have a beautiful singing voice. Did everyone really previously believe that singing ability was related to attractiveness?
Nonetheless, I don’t begrudge Ms Boyle her newfound fame. She’s a great singer. I hope she wrings all the joy she can out of her future, which will likely include winning Britain’s Got Talent, singing for the Queen, recording an album, visiting Oprah, etc.
My problem is I’m just not buying the pitch that this is a triumph for “women of a certain age,” a victory for the non-Botoxed fortysomething woman, a sign of the end of our culture’s love affair with youth culture — all of which I’ve read in other articles and blogs celebrating Boyle’s tv popularity.
This appears to be a case of the duckling embraced by the swans — when Boyle began to sing, apparently, everyone glanced into the water and noticed the reflection of her true lovely self.
But what’s the moral of that story? “Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan’s egg.”
I think I was dreaming a different dream — one in which the ugly ducks were also valued.
Tagged as:
celebrity,
music,
victory,
women
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?
Tagged as:
Canada,
career,
celebrity,
menfolk,
music,
television,
women
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