A Brief History of Feminism & Music: 1960s-Now

For my research essay I chose to explore the topic of feminism in music, addressing the specific question of how feminism has manifested in music since the late 1960s. Although feminist influences have been prevalent within music since, perhaps, the early days of blues onwards, I am not attempting to cover the entire evolution. My research will zero in on three distinct eras—approximately twenty years apart each for the purpose of comparison—when music and feminism entwined in a significant way. These topics include the Second Wave of feminism of the late 1960s, the Riot Grrrls of the early 1990s, and a brief look at the trending feminism in music today. The respective genres I will be observing are rock, punk and mainstream pop. Aside from my guiding question, there are several other issues I will be bearing in mind on over the course of this paper:

1. How have different musical genres varied in their openness towards female artists?

2. What is the cause/effect relationship between feminism in music and North American (pop) culture at large?

3. How have mainstream audiences reacted towards feminism within the music industry?

4. Lastly, how have the strong female artists of these eras (whether outspokenly feminist or not) affected music as we know it today?

As a lover of music and an advocate of gender equality, I chose to study this topic to expand my knowledge in both areas. The place of women in music has always been an important one, though too often shadowed and forgotten by the overbearing presence of men in the industry. The ultimate goal of this essay is to enlighten myself and the reader on the role feminism has played in breaking through the masculine shell of the music industry.

Part 1: Feminism in Pop Music of Late 1960s (and the Lack Thereof)

The 1960s were a decade of social reform and cultural change, when many of the defining events of the 20th century took place. From the mid-1950s onwards, the African-American Civil Rights movement and its leaders were fighting to end racial segregation. Anti-Vietnam protests filled with flower power, brutality and controversy took place all across the United States. The Second Wave of Feminism had women fighting for their rights, as well, putting forth taboo issues pertaining to reproductive rights, sexuality, to the role of women both at home and in the workplace. These events unfolded spectacularly to the anthems of Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones; The Doors, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and so on. It was an exclusive torch of musical fame circulating endlessly among musicians who shared at least one common thing: testosterone. Where are the prominent female artists at this time? Shadowed, by the loud, aggressive, sexually confident genre of mainstream music that would come to be known as none other but “Cock Rock.”

Cock Rock, in its beginnings, was exclusive to primarily white, heterosexual, ultra-confident male rockers. The essence of the genre could very well be encapsulated in young Robert Plant's exposed chest and cascading blond locks onstage. The subject matter of the music and more importantly, the lifestyle accorded to it heavily endorsed sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, none of which were considered remotely feminine. The genre had no room for women to begin with and over time came to exclude them as all but sexual objects to sing about. Onstage antics included thrusting of the hips, stroking of the microphone, and hypersexualized guitar solos. Offstage life was filled with womanizing, partying and heavy drugs. Any woman who tried to force her way into this otherwise acceptable lifestyle would be called out as promiscuous, delinquent, without shame. There was a huge double standard present between male and female musicians, one that restricted women in rock to being backup singers, wives, girlfriends and groupies. Decades later, in a completely separate context, writer Rachel Shuckert would perfectly sum up this ever-present double standard in an essay about the hatred directed at Courtney Love following Kurt Cobain's suicide:

“It took a special kind of guts to be a fuck-up as a woman, I thought. To say to hell with being a nice girl, the responsible one, the one who makes sure the man takes care of himself and eats properly and doesn't take too many drugs. To be just as nihilistic and self-destructive as a man, knowing all along that you'll get crucified for it, because somehow, the world will make everything your fault. He'll be a martyr, and you'll be a succubus. He'll be a genius, and you'll be a groupie. He'll be a hero, and you'll be an ugly fat crack whore who deserves to die."

Janis Joplin, born January 19th, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, was very much an exception for her time. She rose to fame as the lead singer of psychedelic rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company and found great success as a solo artist as well. Joplin broke the shell of masculinity in rock, and became the first significant female artist to be embraced by mainstream rock audiences. She was tough, rough and not a public feminist, which likely justified her being accepted as “one of the boys.” After years living a life filled with sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, Joplin died of a heroin overdose in 1970. Many consider her death a response the hideous amount of pressure placed on her to fit in as a woman in rock. Rock critic Lillian Roxon stated that Janis Joplin “perfectly expressed the feelings and yearnings of the electric generation: to be all woman, yet equal with men, to be free, yet a slave to real love, to reject every outdated convention yet get back to the basics of life.” She is known to have inspired and paved the way for hugely successful female rock artists including Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, Chrissie Hynde and many others.

While Joplin did not write songs that were inherently feminist, she did have several that expressed feminist views. “Women is Losers” very playfully expresses the power imbalance between women and men to an upbeat, bluesy tempo. “Women is losers, oh, And then women is losers/ Well, I know you must-a heard it all, I said now/Men always seem to end up on top anyway.”

In the late 1960s there emerged a musical movement called Womyn's Music (also commonly spelt Wimmins Music) that was founded by groups of musicians who feminists, lesbians, blacks, peace activists and so on—women who did not and would not fit into mainstream music culture. Olivia Records was founded by lesbian folk singer Meg Christian as the first all-female label. While this movement gave women the liberty to express themselves musically it also in many ways was very restrictive. No women who were involved with Womyn's Music went on to find mainstream success.

Part 2: Riot Grrrls and the Third Wave

When we think early 90's in terms of music, we're all thinking the same thing: grunge. After the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, the spotlight in the music industry was focused on Seattle and the new, hard, and well, grungy music that was brewing there. The movement produced many important bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, and commercially ended following Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. Very few people know that before the birth of grunge, another musical/cultural movement was brewing in the Pacific Northwest, in Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon—the Riot Grrrl Movement, a feminist movement often described as the start of the 3rd wave of Feminism, or post-Feminism (as most feminists refuse to call it). Riot Grrrl was started as somewhat of a response to the punk movements of the late 70s and 80s, which were dominated by men (very much like cock rock) and where women had little room to express themselves. The name Riot Grrrl was not officially coined by any one of its members, but developed over time with the movement. The “riot” part was inspired by recent racial riots that had taken place in Washington, D.C. (the Riot Grrrls did not stage any riots) and the use of “girl” instead of “woman” or a variant is attributed to a focus on childhood, when girls are innocent and have high levels of self-esteem. The “grrr” was, of course, a telling sign that these women were fierce and not to be messed with.

Previously to the Riot Grrrl movement, women had been involved with punk music but not with the liberty and the opportunities that men had. A few notable women of the punk movements are Joan Jett and the Runaways, Patti Smith, and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. These female artists greatly influenced the birth of the Riot Grrrls, bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney (the band of Carrie Bronstein of Portlandia), Bratmobile, etc. Often alternative-rock/grunge bands like Hole and L7 are mistaken as having been part of Riot Grrrl, though they were not present at its conception and the messages of their lyrics are much less political. The band Bikini Kill is widely called the pioneers of the Riot Grrrl movement, though they do not consider themselves as such.

The Riot Grrrl Movement was founded by young feminist women who wanted to make political statements and create their place within the punk music scene. Riot Grrrl blended the political-mindedness of feminism and the fearlessness of punk. Publications, demonstrations and protests took place in response to events such as the Christian Coalition's attack on legal abortion. This particular event was countered by L7's Rock for Choice event. The music of the movement attacked subject matter such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy and female empowerment. The Riot Grrrl bands used concerts as an opportunity to create safe havens for women, because in the past, punk concerts were extremely rough and many women were assaulted sexually or otherwise in the chaos of the mosh pits. The women took back the meanings of derogatory terms such as “slut” and “whore” and embraced them. A big part of the movement was taking control of your sexuality.

The Riot Grrrl movement severed pretty quickly as a result of the explosion of Grunge, which took the attention off of Olympia and moved it onto Seattle. Mainstream media interpreted the messages of the Riot Grrrls, not fully understanding the causes they were fighting for. Most of the stories generated about the Riot Grrrls were very misinformed and antagonistic. Journalist Kim France wrote about the Riot Grrrls in 1993: “They do things like scrawl “rape” across their torsos before gigs, produce fanzines with names like Girl Germs, and hate the media's guts. They're called the Riot Grrrls and they're coming for your daughters!” The messages of the Riot Grrrls were also subverted by the rise in popularity of all-girl groups like the Spice Girls, whose pro-girl messages were very simplistic. The “Riot Grrrl Is” publication stated, “Because I believe with my whole heartbodymind that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can and will change the world for real.” Compare that to the Spice Girls' vaguely childish Girl Power! mantra.

In spite of the fact that the Riot Grrrl movement ended fairly abruptly, it did succeed in passing many feminist and pro-equality messages onto the Grunge movement, which spoke to a broader audience and whose legacy lasted much longer. Grunge is notable as being a genre very inclusive of women, with big-name girl-fronted bands like Hole and L7 and male icons like Kurt Cobain, who was a public feminist and influenced colossal amounts of young people. Riot Grrrl was not a long lasting phenomenon, but it greatly influenced the feminist musicians and acts (Sinead O'Connor, Alanis Morrissette, Lilith Fair music festival, etc) that would follow throughout the 1990s.

Part 3: A Very, Very Brief Look at Feminism in Music Today

Though the 1990s came and went, the feminist attitudes that prevailed in mainstream music back then are reappearing in today's pop music. "I feel like I'm one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything," said Miley Cyrus, who is hailed as a feminist icon for her beyond-risqué performances, unapologetically obscene fashion choices and outspoken attitude. Taylor Swift, another popular artist, used to reject the term publicly and now has revealed that after learning about what feminism really means, she has, in fact, been a feminist all along! Wow!

The problem with feminism today, especially in mainstream music culture, seems to be that although the same theoretical definition is shared (women=men), there are far too many variations as to what that means on a practical level. Does it mean that women should be able to do whatever they want, own their body and #FreeTheNipple? Or, does it mean that women should have enough self-respect to see harm in making themselves sexual objects? Does being a feminist mean supporting "sisterhood" endlessly and blindly, or does it mean looking at all things objectively and critically, including the behaviour of other feminists?

The straightforward and sisterhood-oriented beliefs of '60s feminists and Riot Grrrls has been confused, twisted and arguably, trivialized. It has become rare that two feminists embrace the same values besides their claimed will for equality between men and women. Self-empowering behaviour has turned into what often appears to be victim games. Music today, given its accesibility, could have the power to educate millions of young girls about the meaning of feminism in an effective, intelligible way, if only artists could pick their causes and stick to them. It seems at this time we are attempting to fight everything, including each other, without realizing our self-contradictory behaviour. The ultimate spokesperson for feminism is someone immensely influential, well-respected, non-aggressive, clear in (and loyal to) their beliefs. Dare I say, maybe even male. Where is Cobain when you need him?

I wrote this research essay in December 2014 as the final project for my Intro to Arts & Culture class.

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