A revolution we can dance to (essay)

A revolution we can dance to

‘Music with attitude’, ‘fuck you I won’t do what you tell me’: those are its mantras. A cacophony of sound is its essence, raucous and loud.  Its torchbearers are rebels and misfits, those who revel in not fitting in.

It’s rock music. A genre that offers an escape from mainstream conformity, its very form screaming freedom and fearlessness. The best rock music sounds like a revolution and provokes you to create your own rebellion.

It should be the perfect soundtrack for a feminist then; her activism and refusal to subscribe to patriarchal feminine norms being inspired and validated in the liberatory form of rock music.

But feminism is still in the main anathema to rock music. Lyrics, album sleeves, videos and the attitudes of some ‘rock stars’ often represent women derogatorily. The nature and experience of rock music is male-dominated and deemed ‘masculine’, providing an excuse to push women as performers and fans to the periphery.

It if really wants to claim itself as a liberated and alternative genre then, it needs to improve its treatment and representation of women.

Enter feminism. Rock music may not be the perfect soundtrack for a feminist; in fact being a feminist rocker can seem contradictory and be uncomfortable at times. But the coupling of rock and feminism holds huge potential. Potential to take some of that loud, rebellious fervor, and use it to change rock’s misogynist attitudes and herald a broader feminist revolution with it.

But first, let’s assess some aspects of the rock cultural sphere where the treatment of women requires a revolution.

Pretty girls all gather round/To hear your side of things

Lil' Red - Bikini Kill

The mosh pit  This is a male-dominated and therefore male-defined facet of rock culture. You can tell it is by the behaviour that’s exalted there- pushing, shoving, slamming- all deemed central to the enjoyment and experience of rock music.

This exertion of masculinity defines and creates the mosh pit, meaning it can be an alienating space for female fans. It can also be dangerous. Find me a woman who hasn’t been spanked, groped or inappropriately touched while at a rock concert by male hands. Worst of all, women have been raped in mosh pits; the Woodstock ’99 festival just one instance of this occurring.

Could this masculine aura then explain why women rarely go to concerts alone? I go to concerts by myself, peer around, and see numerous lone men, but it’s not often I see another lone woman. Women at concerts are often accompanied by a man or less likely, with friends. Some might say this is because women are just not as into the music. I’m not sure about that. I think it has something to do with having to brace yourself for being the lone woman among a bunch of rowdy men. Going to a concert alone also means travelling alone at night, which itself remains an issue for women.

This is where the feminist ethos comes in. Women should be out alone at night, at rock concerts, in the mosh pit. Once there, they shouldn’t have to co-opt masculine behaviour to show their love for the music; their desire to move and express their enjoyment in ways that don’t involve jabbing the person next to them should be respected. With more women at concerts, the creation of a space free of the fear of being groped and pushed to the side, could be achieved.

‘Rock star’ attitudes But even if enough women were to create a safe space in the crowd, there’s still a chance they would face humiliation and ridicule from the men in the band they’ve come to see.

A significant number of male ‘rock stars’ still treat women as mere sex objects, groupie fodder, not equal to their male fans. At festivals, I have heard meathead metal frontmen refer to women as ‘cunts’ and ‘bitches’ from the stage. There are plenty of men in bands who could give the lad mags a run for their money in the ‘obsession with women’s breasts’ stakes, imploring the women in the crowd to show their ‘boobies’. The fact these men think this is in keeping with their ‘edgy’ and alternative personas is laughable.

Away from the live arena, and alone in her room with the CD on, the female fan may still have to deal with an aural assault of misogyny. Some types of rock music are worse than others in the extent to which the lyric sheets are littered with derisive terms for women. ‘Emo’ music is one current example; both Panic at the Disco and Fall Out Boy have admitted to having misogynist lyrics. This is particularly disconcerting when you think that a lot of young female rock fans have taken to these ‘emo’ bands. However, rather than recognising this as reason to start treating women with respect, an interview I read with Fall Out Boy’s bassist Pete Wentz just expressed his confusion at their female fans singing along to his sexist lyrics, not any commitment to changing his lyrics for the next album.

Abysmal treatment of women could also be seen in the ‘80s ‘cock rock’ genre and the late-90s ‘nu-metal’ phenomenon. The former saw bands like Motley Crue in feminine attire, big hair and exaggerated make-up; but as if to prove they were still men, they took great pride in being derogatory towards women- objectifying them in their lyrics, stage shows and behaviour: “We like to pick up a bunch of girls in one town, take 'em on the tour bus with us to the next town, then fly' em back home and pick up a new load of girls,” (Nikki Sixx).

As for nu-metal (Limp Bizkit, Korn), if women weren’t the ‘porno chicks’ being paraded around in their videos and album sleeves, then they were the ‘bitches’, ‘cunts’ and ‘whores’ in their lyrics.

However, it’s not all bad. ‘Grunge’ music, in the main, was a feminist-friendly form. Bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were capable of going a whole album without deriding women and their videos were devoid of the glam-rock objectification that went before them. Women as rock musicians were also more visible at this time; whether in female-led bands such as Hole and Babes in Toyland or in otherwise all-male bands e.g. Kim Deal (The Pixies), Donna Dresch (Screaming Trees) and D’arcy (Smashing Pumpkins).

Magazines  But despite the in-roads made by female artists, rock music magazines in particular still treat them as inferior to their male counterparts. Despite more women being employed at the rock music press, representations of women haven’t improved simultaneously.

The most obvious manifestation of this is that whenever a female artist is written about, her sex is mentioned. It’s then said- patronisingly- that she has ‘attitude’ or she ‘rocks’; this isn’t necessary to note in reference to male artists.

To further denote their ‘femaleness’, they are often photographed as sex objects. Kerrang! recently had an article on Angela Gossow, vocalist of metal band Arch Enemy. She was pictured naked, save a few strategically placed flower petals. Although this woman can command a stage just as well as any metal frontman, her status as sex object is what ultimately needs to be asserted.

Some may deem it progress when Beth Ditto of The Gossip poses naked on the cover of the NME; but while it’s undoubtedly important for Beth’s feminist outlook to be brought into the rock mainstream, her appearance is still salient in any mention of her; that’s not the case for male punk rock stars.

The female role Female performers and fans of rock not only face marginalisation and objectification, but also double standards when it comes to their behaviour.

Male rock stars who take drugs, get drunk and act in a debauched manner are ‘rock gods’. But a female artist who does the same is mentally unstable and just downright crazy e.g. Courtney Love was reviled for taking heroin while pregnant. This is despite the fact that she was taking it in the early stages of pregnancy; as soon as she discovered she was pregnant she got clean. However, it’s not said as loudly that Courtney’s husband, Kurt Cobain was still so dependent on the drug, he kept passing out while his daughter was being born! Courtney was reviled because she did not fit the ‘responsible mother’ stereotype; no such equivalent expectations exist for male rock stars. Even in rock music, a supposedly ‘alternative’ genre, people are still appraised on their ability to conform to gender role norms.

As for the female fan, it’s still assumed that her passion for an all-male band is rooted in an attraction she must have for a member of that band, as opposed to the music itself. This assumption is then used to dismiss women as not being ‘serious’ rock music fans. While the same assumption applies to a man who likes an all-female band, it’s not used to ridicule him. After all it’s ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ for men to treat female rock musicians as sex objects, right?  

So, rock music is still a male domain, and women’s status in this cultural sphere could be a hundred times higher. To change this, we should infuse the spirits of rock ‘n’ roll and feminism; but merging the two could also prove potent in driving wider feminist protest.

Could you invent a world for me?/I need to hear a symphony 

One Beat - Sleater-Kinney

Doing this holds so much potential. Firstly, rock music can provide women with new, liberating means of expression. The traditional notion is that rock music is ‘masculine’. All those powerful voices, heavy guitars and pounding drum rolls- it’s just not what women are supposed to like. So whether it’s with a guitar in our hands or a space in the mosh pit, when we play or move to the loud, the challenging, the heavy, the dark, we are breaking out of the traditional, stifling model of femininity which tells us we should be quiet, passive, simple and serene.

This feminist energy can bring new meanings and power to rock music. When women perform or dance to loud, heavy rock music, our expression can take on a different connotation, a different energy to men’s, adding to its revolutionary impact. While the raucous nature of most rock music is often used by male fans as an excuse to exert a nonsensical aggression, for women it can be liberating. This is especially the case when the performer is female. Immersing yourself in the roars of Babes in Toyland’s Kat Bjelland, for example, can be more empowering than listening to the howls of that numbskull in Slipknot.

But it doesn’t have to stop there. Rock music doesn’t only sound rebellious, but some of its lyrical content also calls for protest, self-determination and a celebration of non-conformity. These are also feminist values.  Therefore, rock music can provide inspiration for feminist protest.

An example of what feminism and rock can achieve when put together, can be found in the Riot Grrrl movement. Bands like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney harnessed the feminist ethos and tied it to punk rock, making for some truly inspiring music. Music that affirmed, not down-played, our identity as women and potential for protest.

Rock music then can be a site for women to express their inner strength and rebellion. We can harness the power and volume of rock music, wrest it of its macho aggressiveness, and transform it into something truly liberating and revolutionary.

Above all, it can spur us on, make us stick two fingers up to the patriarchy and give us the energy to go out and smash it up. In turn- to paraphrase Emma Goldman- making the feminist revolution one we can dance to.

By Michelle Wright

Spring 2008

Essay originally published in Issue 4 of Subtext (feminism, politics & culture) magazine