Women In Music

In class this week we discussed women in music in the 1950's and 1960's and how they were making music that stayed conservative yet pushed the feminist movement further. Because women were just breaking in to the music industry, it was hard for them to put out music that was straight forward and fully stood up for what they believed in. People wanted music that was easy to listen to and a lot of the music had lyrics that composed of the woman confessing their love to a man.

During the 50's and 60's women started shifting away from the idea that they are meant to be housewives, and they started working more and fighting for their rights. In the documentaries we watched in class, it showed just how significant the feminist movement was during this time. Something that is very different from that time to today is the outfits and lyrics of songs. Women back then would wear long dresses and have most of their bodies covered while today women can be practically naked and still have an audience. I also noticed how the lyrics were more conservative, and you don't see women during this time involving themselves with hip hop or other genres that are male-dominated. Lyrics that were sung back then would not fit in with what is sung today, and women can pretty much say whatever they want and don't care about negative backlash.

I find it interesting to learn about women in music because over just the past fifty years so much change has already been made. I like how women and men are almost equal in music now and there are all genders represented in all genres. I think it's crazy that when my mom was a kid she would listen to this type of music that was so conservative. It is probably apart of the reason why she hates most of the music that is put out today because it is so not-conservative.

Gilmore Girls

Charli Carey
ENGL 199-005
Prof Santos
Where Who Leads?
        This week, we talked about many of the different women artists from the fifties and sixties. One that was mentioned but wasn’t talked about too much was Carole King. Most people nowadays know her from the “Gilmore Girls” theme song, or perhaps the more recent Broadway Musical about her. But, is it the “Gilmore Girls” theme song that interested me the most about Carole King. The song “Where You Lead” was originally released on her 1971 album “Tapestry.”
        As we saw in class, the time period leading up to when this song was originally released, was a time where women were quiet members of any family. Many of the videos showcased this perfectly. We saw that the man was pretty much the one who was always right, and that their wives were expected to agree with and stand by them. When Carole King originally came out with this song, the lyrics were a staple of the society at that time. “Where you lead, I will follow, anywhere that you tell me to,” talks about a women who will lovingly follow wherever her man may take her. It directly related to the time.
        When this song became the theme for “Gilmore Girls” it took on a completely different meaning. Louise Goffin, Carole King’s daughter who sang the song with her, told buzzfeed that her mom had not been singing the song anymore because the lyrics were no longer relevant. However, when they re-recorded it, it became a song about the caring relationship between a mother and a daughter. Louise Goffin continues to tell buzzfeed that the re-recording of this song was completely a family matter, which made it even more special. The song then became not only more relevant to the theming of “Gilmore Girls” but also more relevant to the time period of the 2000s and now. Instead of being the symbol of a women following her man, it was the symbol of a mother loving her daughter. And this reached thousands of different women across the united states. It was not just a love between a mother and a child. It could be between “female friendship, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and so many other platonic yet meaningful women-centric relationships” (buzzfeed).
        This song was extremely relevant in the year 2000 when “Gilmore Girls” was first released. However, it can still be relevant now. With the more recent revival of this show, and the fact that it is found on popular streaming services like netflix, means that its message is still reaching the younger generations. I know that I had never heard of “Gilmore Girls” until around 8 years after is had wrapped when I was fifteen. But the theme of the show and its theme song still sticks with me and many of my friends as a positive message towards todays viewpoint of women.

Works Cited
Yandoli, Krystie Lee. The Full Story Behind How The "Gilmore Girls" Theme Song Came To Be. Web. 30 Oct. 2018.
       

Ladies drop the kitchen mop

For me it is very hard to imagine a time in American history where women were so discriminated against. This past week in class we spend time looking at female musicians in the 50s and 60s and just how women were really treated during this time. We saw several video clips portraying these issues and we were even able to watch an entire video called "Education on women".  The name sounds just as ridiculous as the video. It was a 6 minute long film discussing how to treat women in the work space and the key to having patience with the gender as a whole. Lucille Ball was an extremely well known actress during this time for her role in the TV sitcom I love Lucy. In this sitcom Lucille Ball took the role of a house wife, who was always tending to her husband and sons needs. We watched a specific episode where Lucy exclaims she is sick and tired of doing the dishes cleaning the house and cooking the meals over and over again. She tells the story of how she has cooked her family over a thousand meals and is getting tired of her dull role. She like many other women of the time were starting to feel tired of the typical gender role for a woman and was wishing for a chance to expand her skills and set out for something more in life.

We took a look at the famous movie Grease and discussed the two "types" of girls that were thought to be in the 50s and 60s. It was basically thought that you could either be a "good" girl, or a "bad" girl, with no in-between. Sandra Dee was seen to be the stereotypical good girl of the time. She had bright blonde hair, blue eyes, was gentle, and always followed the rules. The bad girl example was Rizzo, who liked to smoke, drink, and sleep around with different men. Rizzo and the pink ladies sing, mocking Sandra Dee: "I don't drink or swear I don't rat my hair I get ill from one cigarette
Keep your filthy paws off my silky drawers Would you pull that crap with Annette". It is now way more commonly known and accepted that women can be more than one type of girl, and having qualities from both sides doesn't make you good or bad. 

Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton, Helen ready and Jone Mitchell are just a few names to mention who took their musical talents as a platform to sing about being a woman and the challenges they faced during the time period. The songs they sung gave hope, and confidence to many women nationwide, inspiring them to become who and what they want. My favorite song we discussed by one of these famous female artists was "Little Green" by Jone Mitchell. It is a very emotional song discussing her decision to give up her daughter for adoption. This showed the strength she had and encouraged other women of the time to be like her.

Women's Struggles Are Everyone's Struggles

There are a plethora of problems and topics for discussion when exploring the matter of women in society. I say society because while this class is focused on music, the struggles of women in the music industry are directly correspondent to the struggles of women in our larger culture. Similarly, though there are many areas to address on this matter, I will strain in this week’s post to analyze some of the less pressing, on the basis that I will likely stray from my intended purpose.

What I mean by this is that woman’s issues are all encompassing. The problems faced by women are not solely female, but rather, they are conflicts placed upon all manner of people, in a society with its focus set upon one and only one gender i.e. a society intended upon male dominance. Masculinity, with its small, but nonetheless iron grip, inspires us all not to be ourselves, but instead to fill a one-size-fits-all mold. Our fixation on the attainment of the masculine image trains each of us that those who do not follow these standards are to be looked down upon.

Of course this leads to disrespect of the female gender, but it also bleeds into hatred of individuals who do not identify as straight. Gay men are considered less because they are attracted to men, typically the attraction of a straight female. In turn, they are viewed as more feminine. On the other hand, lesbians are viewed as more masculine despite being female because they are attracted to other women, the typical straight male attraction, which also garners hate. This disdain further permeates the struggles of the transgender and gender nonconforming community by applying the same principles.

This is in no way a discredit to the plight of females throughout the course of history, but a sincere form of endearment to them and an illumination of something we very much overlook. This is the fact that conflicts against women from a societal standpoint are the result of a greater overall sickness that affects everyone living in said society. The insistence upon two and only two genders with strictly enforced roles for each, encloses individuals in a cage that is fulfilling for some, and suffocating for many others.

Women have struggled and continue to struggle in our society and in turn, the music industry because we remain interlocked within a binary that places the success of men over our own. Though times are certainly changing more and more, we still see ourselves, however unintentionally, placing different ideals onto our daughters than we do onto our sons. We color them differently, buy them different clothes and toys, we call boys “soldiers” and girls “princesses,” we teach one to be ambitious and “tough,” and the other we tell to be “pretty.” The idea that women are not meant for the same things as men is the heart of the female struggle, and the root of every gender related issue.

Works Cited

Nestle, Joan, et al., editors. GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond The Sexual Binary. Alyson Books, 2002.

Ladies of the 50's and 60's

       In class we have started to take a look into the beginning of women in music. Its interesting to get a look into it because women have gone through a lot of changes in their rights in society over the years. Whether it be the right to vote, to have a job, or even make it in the music industry.

       Its cool to see the ladies who first made and appearance in the music industry and how different it was for them back then. When women first started in music it was very conservative. They would wear dresses that fully covered there body, minimum dancing, and soft voices with few lyrics. Not only were women getting a start with music but they were making it big time too. An example of this is represented by The Ronettes. Not only were they women in the music industry, they were also women of color. They were one of the most popular groups of their time and released 9 songs on to the billboards with 5 of them making it to top 45. The Ronettes released their song "Be My Baby" in July of 1963. This song was a smash hit for them and ended up at number two on the billboard making this song what seems to be the start of their career. It was crucial for them to make a name for themselves in this time period while being women in music and they did it with flying colors. While The Rosettes were a great example of women to make it big in the 60's it really interest me how different it is for women in the music industry now then it was back then.

       Like I said before women were very conservative with their styles of music in hopes of getting no backlash for trying to do something they love. Their performances solely came from their angelic voices and great stage presence. But, today you don't even have to have a good voice. For the most part, women that make it any where in the industry use auto tune, and rely on their looks and body to make and image for themselves. Modern women in music that live up to this auto tuned but good-looking body are Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and even Bhad Bhabie (unfortunatley). These women aren't making it big solely off their talent. Most of it is making themselves look good and finding a way to get recognized in the media, whether it be for good or bad.

       I really like learning about this in class because it interesting to be able to compare what we learn in class to what its really like in todays society. So much has changed in our world through politics and rights, but as we see in class even music is ever changing to keep up with the standards of society and what the public eye wants to see and hear.

Women in Music and Society

In class this week we talked about women in the 1960’s and 1970’s and how their influence changed society and music drastically. Based on the songs we listened to from the 60’s, I could tell that they needed to bow down to the man. Their music talked about pleasing their husbands and doing what society expected of them. In the 70’s that all changed when the feminist movement was born. Women began to sing about what they wanted to and stopped doing everything for the men. Women started to rally for equal rights and sang about what and solo artists became much more common. We also talked about the jobs that women could hold and how they were treated in said jobs. Men often did not like that women were being hired to do a man’s job and they treated their female coworkers poorly because of it. Another freedom that women were given was birth control. This new pill gave women the right to control their bodies and took the power of having children away from the man. The drastic changes in a short span were fascinating to learn about and I enjoyed hearing the evolution of music.

Women in the 50s & 60

As we began to look at how women were in the 50s and 60s it was eye opening in a way. It was crazy to see how different things were back then with women and music. If you look at todays female artists, most of them are all about their looks and making sure they stand out from everyone else. Back then it seemed that the artists were really just focusing on their music and connecting with their audience on a more personal level. 

Within the songs we heard in the 50s, they all mainly focused on a man in their life. Which today does still happen but in a very different style than back then. Back then these women were taking their songs and making them express their rights and trying to reach out to others in spreading a message. 

The songs we listened to in class were very powerful and definitely shaped the time into what it was. 

Women in the 1960/70's

This week in class, we learned about the role women played in society through the 1960/70's. What is now viewed as stereotype, was reality back then. Through numerous videos that we watched in class depicting the role of women in society, it became evident how different womens lives were. It was expected of women to be a "housewife", which entailed cooking for the family, cleaning the house, and washing the clothes. Women became tired of the same redundant routine that had occupied their life. They wanted something exciting, like to go get a job. The problem was that having a job was a mans duty. Women would do all the work in the house, while men would be the ones working and earning the money for the family. Even to this day this idea exists, where it is the women that do most of the work at home while the man does the outside work, even if both adults have a job. However, there are also still those who decide to be a housewife rather than working at a job for whatever reason.

Hear Me Roar

Seeing how different life was for women was actually shocking to watch in class. I had watched I Love Lucy before and I had known that women were treated differently than men, but seeing the documentary and watching the instruction videos on how to deal with women showed me how frustrating it was for them. I take for granted so many of the opportunities I have today that they didn't have back then. It was new and strange for them to have birth control and control over their own bodies. Even their mindsets were able to change to have more freedom towards what they felt. In the 50s when the girls sang songs, they talked about how the man had control over every situation. They wanted to make sure that man would stay with them and would love them. Once Woman's ideas began to change, they became stronger and cared less about what men thought. They focused more on independence and strength for all womankind.

"I am Woman" by Helen Reddy is a great example of this kind of new music woman were producing. She is talking about how all women are coming together to stand up for their new rights. Women were powerful and women need to be heard. These new ideas led to the society we live in today where women can be whatever they want to be and sing about whatever they want. Of course there re still things that need to be fixed and there are still people out there that feel that men are superior to women. But, the progress that has been made over the years is amazing. Women like Helen Reddy and all of the strong women from the documentaries are the ladies we have to thank for helping us get to where we are today.   

Women's rights

Women's rights are something that are still being fought for today.  Things like a wage gap, and job discrimination are evident in todays society, and there roots can be traced back to any time in American history.  As we watched a series of commercials and skits in class, as well as songs by female artist, they all shared a common tone of oppression, and discrimination.  In short skits like the one explaining how to deal with women in the workplace, you could obviously see the prejudice that some owners had against women workers.  They truly believed that gender determined the efficiency of their workers.  Unfortunately, while ideas from these skits like that seem so far in the past, they are really not, and many people today still have the same false ideas.  That is why we still have these sorts of issues, people still believe that women are not able to complete jobs that can be stereotypically viewed as male jobs (ie. firefighters, police officers, service members etc.).  All of these professions can, and have been preformed by women at a high level that resulted in production that is just as good as a mans.  Also, as seen in another skit that we watched in class, some people just seem to think that a women's brain can not function at the capacity of a males.  Although what we watched was comical, it rooted from real ideas, that are present today.  Although these ideas are arounds, they are completely irrational!  While women have received educations of all sorts, and excelled in every single field in this world, some still seem to think otherwise.  That makes those people ignorant, and they obviously are being close minded and just do not want to see any women succeed.  In my opinion, if you think less of a person because of their gender, you cannot be that intelligent, and you are far worse than what you think of that person.

#ForTheGirls

This week in our seminar class, we learned about how women fought for the equality they deserved. Some of these things they were striving for were jobs, contraceptives, and just fair treatment. One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that birth control was made accessible for women in the 1960s. Then, in 1965 the Supreme Court game married couples the right to use birth control. It is so shocking and unbelievable to me that for such a long time this was not granted to those who wanted it. In the videos we saw in class, the oral contraceptive was the first method to debut.

Finding out that it was illegal for a period of time to use just had me so confused. It's almost as if a woman had no control over her future life. It must have been so sad and hard to go through a pregnancy when it was not your first intentions. I know many women and young women today use birth control for a variety of reasons, so to think it was accessible at one point is just so weird to imagine!

Ladies All Across the World!

             Ladies All Across the World!

This week we talked about women empowerment especially in the 1950s -1960s. We talked about many artists who mainly sung about not needing a man. I learned about artists like Dolly Partin, Doris Day, and Helen Reddy their message being about women’s independence. After listening to these artists, I realized how hard it must have been back in the 50s and 60s as a woman. 

I couldn’t imagine being a woman during this time and not being able to work, and vote but seeing these women artists who sung about independence inspired many women across the country and formed a protest. Seeing woman protest about independence has had a big impact on society today now woman are capable of doing anything from flying a plane to becoming a engineer.

Today I am inspired by one amazing girl group whose main message is spreading woman empowerment their called Little Mix. Little Mix are a British girl group who were formed in 2011 they were the first girl group to win X-Factor U.K. I’ve been inspired by their music since because they have such a powerful message behind each of their songs, and they know how to make a catchy song with meaningful lyrics. Their newest single Woman Like Me featuring Nicki Minaj is breaking all woman norms and spreading the message of empowerment.

They have tons of songs that talk about empowerment and I think you should check it out especially their newest single. Below I have attached their newest single and a couple of other songs that have inspired me too.

After all who got the power?

Its Not Over Yet.

When we went over the 50’s we noticed that most of the songs were about women being scared of her man leaving her. In class we talked about how women during this time were scared of not having any control in their relationships and their lives as a whole. This spoke volumes because after looking at how they were being treated and how they were dressed and lived their lives. The women back then were very conservative and were told what to do. They could not try to better themselves with school or a job but had to stay home and be a housewife. This all affected the mental health of women during this time and it shows in the songs we listened during class because they were in a constant state of worry that they were not good enough.

            When we went over the 60's  in class, the tone and look about women were far much different than the 50’s. women during this time gained a voice for change and demanded equal respect. Women dressed less conservatively and started to not care what others( especially men) cared about them. They strived for a better life in being more educated to actually start a career for themselves. While fighting for equal rights for women, the music also demanded a change. Most of the music we listened to were anthems for women and empowered women. Some were also love songs but very different than the love songs in the 50’s. They were not demanding to be loved back by someone who does not love them but stated that they don’t care if the guy left or not. This sparked a new wave of female. They started to break out into other genres and ideas. They learned not to be the status quo.

            The sad part about learning about this is that in our society today, there are many people who still has the beliefs of men in the 50’s. There is also a wage gap between men and women in the work force. The cool part is that women are still making a stand for their rights. Women in music are still writing and making songs to uplift women. Things have gotten better but the fight is not over.

Women in the 70s-90s

This week, we learned about women's live's in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Women in these years lived much different lives than the average woman in 2018. Back then, Woman were given roles. They had to act lady-like, when married they would have to stay home and clean the house, stay home with the kids, prepare food for the family, or would fill any other needs that weren't being taken care of by the husband. Overtime, women got extremely tired of this dull, repetitive cycle and decided to challenge the gender role system. Feminism became a much stronger movement during these years and achieved a great deal. Women got many results they fought for and basically proved that they could do the same things as men, and don't need to stay home constantly cleaning and cooking. 
Another way women gained traction in feminism was through music. Instead of singing the typical love song, women began singing about how they wish to not be treated any less respectfully than they should be and other things in which they did not think were right.
Learning about how women made an impact through going against the social norms in class this week, was very informational and engaging. 

I am Woman

On Thursday in class we took a look at the early role of women in music. We learned about how in the 50s and early 60s women could only really perform in groups or maybe be solo country artists. Or how they would sing about hoping that they would be able to keep their man.  But that all started to change in the mid to late 60s when the second wave of the feminist movement started to take place. There was a very influential book that came out in 1963 called the “Feminine Mystique” came out and explained how woman do not and should not be confined to the stereotypes of being a caretaker for children, cooking and cleaning and and pleasing men. Women started to break out on their own and started singing about other topics besides trying to keep their men. Instead women were now singing about anything they damn well felt like singing about. A couple examples would be Joni Mitchell singing about how she had a baby as a teen and having to give it away and how she was sad about having to do that but it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Or Janis Joplin singing about love but not in your typical way instead of talking about how in love with a man she is. Instead she sings about how being in a relationship can feel like you have a ball and chain attached to your foot, and how it can weigh you down. The best example of the second wave of the feminist movement in music has to be the song “I am Woman” by Helen Reddy. The song talks about how women as a whole have been viewed in the wrong light for far too long and they are back to fight for their rights. It talks about how strong women are and no matter how many times they are knocked down they will get right back up again. The hook of the song is “I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman.” which is just incredible because it's so empowering for all women to know that they are strong already just having to deal with all of the things that come with a woman.

Women in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

This past week, We learned about women throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s and how they overcame the typical stereotype of being housewives. Women were bored of the same old routine everyday. Wake up, feed the family, clean up and do laundry, go to sleep and wake up the next day. Women had gifts and skills they needed to put to work but they were not seen as capable people in the workforce. That was considered a mans job. We watched many videos of artists and they all used their platform to influence other women, spread the word and create a stance of allowing women to work in the workforce and get treated fairly, and equal to men. Whether that is rate of pay or behavioral wise from other men. It really seems surreal to watch these videos and learn about these past years because I have always grown up with successful-business women in my life. I cannot even imagine not being able to get treated fairly in the workforce. It was very interesting listening to all of the musicians sing and spread the word and I look forward to learning more next week.

Watching the videos in class this week made me realize how much women had to overcome and still fight, for equal rights in America. Women in the 50s would sing about their fears of there husbands leaving them and this shows how women were treated as only to be a housewife and not have a career of their own. Women started to stand up to the social norm and striked against being a housewife and wanted to go out in the workforce. At the same time, more women started to sing about standing up for themselves and not needing to rely on a male to live. Women started to get more respect as workers but there was still a gap between females and males. Men would still be picked first for hiring and last for firing, all while having a significantly higher pay wage. Women would begin to stand up again for themselves and closed this gap by a lot, but there is still work to be done for women’s rights.

Back in Time

This week in class, we discussed women in music, both women singers and songs/attitudes about women in the fifties and sixties. Though women did not have as much power as they do now, they still turned to music to get their points across, mostly about the men in their lives, or even their lives in general.

It popped out to me that a majority of what women sang during this time was their fear of the men in their lives leaving them, mostly their significant others. I thought that this was important because it shows how women were most likely treated during this time. Based on the lyrics, it seems like it is very common for men to just up and leave their wives/girlfriends all alone without much warning. Another aspect was men leaving women for other women. I think this shows that women did not get as much respect that they deserved and kind of got pushed around by the men around them.

We also looked at some "comedic" videos of men talking about how they cannot deal with women in the work place. I found this to be very offensive and insensitive, regardless of whether or not it was a joke. Men would look down on women and have little to no faith in any of their abilities other than house work and taking care of children. These videos show that women have come a long way over the past few decades, but there is still some work to be done to move further with women's rights.

In the Sixties.

           In the sixties, bands were extremely popular regardless of race, sexual preference for partners and gender if the band was talented and marketable they were a shoo-in to become a success. Bands like the beetles, the supremes and the bee gees some of the most popular and well-beloved bands from that era with the music. However, the Sixties had so much more to offer when it came to music because this was the peak of the civil rights era and modern feminism ideologies many musicians gained inspiration from these events and turned it into empowerment for everybody to listen to and enjoy.
          When I say girl bands and women singers used feminism and empowerment within their music there sure used it until there was nothing left to discuss. The female singing group Martha and the Vandellas had a hit "nowhere to run" they are singing about a woman who is trying to be strong and trying to get away from this man that is no good for her. Listener interpretation and imagination can be used for why she should leave him because the listener may have gone through this issue it can be he cheated multiple times, an abuser or a misogynist, the ideas of how this one man behaved toward this girl is limitless. The song sounds very upbeat and happy as it progresses because of Martha and the Vandellas want the women who listen and understand what they a singing to not be ashamed to get away from him that they should be happy to disengage from the situation before they become like their partner in the end.
             This is not the only song to embrace women empowerment from the girl group because songs like this are needed for everyone. It's common for humans to have struggles and trials in life but women have a bigger struggle because of their gender and stereotypes put on them by men that they constantly to fight to dismantle. "I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Lifes a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass." -Maya Angelou Having to repeat the same routine to gain rights and respect can be exhausting but the end result of getting these basic rights is so rewarding especially when it 's women who fought for themselves and you before you even existed want to see you do well that is an amazing feeling because it shows progress is being made for women and their rights.

I am woman

     This week we discussed women evolution from the 50's to 60's. In the 50's the songs were about how to keep a man, and the fear of not being good enough and your man leaving you. Patsy Cline sings "crazy", which is a great example of these fears of the women in the 50's. "Crazy for thinking my love could hold you", this line stood out to me because its hard to believe women truly felt they weren't good enough to keep a man's love, and they could just leave whenever. The style of these artists were puffy dresses, conservative outfits.
     The 60's had a much different take on things. The music by the women in these years were basically saying "I don't need a man, I'm good just being me". My favorite song for the 60's was "Dumb Blonde" by Dolly Parton. This song was basically her saying that her man thought she needed him because she was just a "dumb blonde", but she actually not as dumb as he thinks. I hate the stereotype of a dumb blonde, and enjoy her mocking the man thinking she is dumb and needy. 
    We also watched documentaries on Women protesting for equality in the 60's. It is so strange to think how women used to be viewed as just house wife material, incapable of working. If the women were working then they were being paid 59 cents to every dollar a man earned. For doing the same job, how does that make sense? Looking at that stuff makes me angry how men felt so superior when women are just as capable. I have to be thankful for the protesting and women that came before me, for changing what women can do today. I now can chose any career path while attending college and although some people still think women are inferior, the majority of people have changed with the times in realizing they are equal. " I am woman" by Helen Reddy was an inspiring tune for women at the time, which made me feel so thankful. I love the style of this artist, wearing whatever she wants even if it is classified as scandalous and her hair is short which is different for this time, and shows independence in my opinion.

How has the World Succumbed to Such A Double Standard?

Music used to be primarily a man's area of work, but over the years, that has drastically changed with the breakthrough of females in pop music, rap, rock, country, etc. It seems that women get judged more by how they look rather than how musically gifted they truly are. Examples of this can come from rappers such as Cardi B, Nikki Minaj, Beyonce, and many more. We all know these three artists are extremely talented in their genre, but it is almost as though they are judged more by their looks, not their talent. For a woman to get on stage, it's almost as she has to sell the "sex appeal" before she can sell her voice. For a man, that does not stay the same. For a man, he can go up on stage and rap for two hours wearing Balenciaga jeans and a Gucci T-shirt and he'll appeal to the crowd, finishing off his act with a round of applause. However, for women, they have to play the part of a musician, showing off their astonishing voice, as well as wear a skin-tight skirt, a top showing off more than they may want to and high heels. As a guy, I know damn well I could not get up on stage strutting around in 4-inch heels and wearing a crop top, so it makes it much more difficult for women to pass as a "good artist." So how exactly do women separate themselves from men in the culture of music?

Before I dive into what I believe, let me clarify something first. I do not hate male artists who put in a half-assed effort into their stage costume. The fact that you made it in your career is an achievement on its own. For that, congratulations. Also, I do not hate the women who sell their body to try to make a bigger killing in the music industry. If you make more money for it, then why change the way you think? My point in this post is that I wish we could change the way the world thinks and not require women to have to be a dual threat in the industry, while men only have to sell their music. I praise both men and women who put all their effort into solely their music and do not change to make more money. I praise the ones who stay true to themselves.

Now, back to my original point. It seems the only way for a woman to exploit herself in the world of music, and make a successful career out of it, is for her to sell her body as well as she can sell her music. You may have a great voice, but if you cannot dance like all the other pop stars, or grind like the next big woman rap artist, you are going to have a tough time living the so-called "American dream." It seems as though very few women musicians can live a rich and wealthy life without trading their soul first. I'm not saying all women fall to the pressure of being a "sexy" star. Adele has achieved a net worth of $135 million dollars, and she has done it all while staying true to herself. She does not go on to the stage wearing an outfit that barely covers anything. For all the time, energy, love, and effort she puts into her music, I applaud her. However, this seems to occur in very few instances. Look at what happened to Miley Cyrus. She was a country and pop star who was doing very well for herself. She even had her own tv show when I was a kid. It's like everything changed at the snap of a finger for her. One day, she was a sweet girl whose popularity and payroll was gaining by the second. The next day? She came in like a wrecking ball, changing her entire appearance, including her hair. One day, Miley was singing about how she made it to L.A. The next, she was twerking on Robin Thicke. See what I mean? Miley had to change everything about her to attempt to make a bigger killing in the industry. It's almost as her label changed her. Maybe it's because of her manager, who was also the manager of Britney Spears. Coincidence? I think not.

Men, on the other hand, do not have to go through what women do, from costume changes to costume changes. Sure, some men are sellouts, changing their style of music to make more money (I'm looking at you Post Malone). However, most men do not have to deal with all the criticism that women do. If you are a man and perform badly live, (21 Savage on MTV) then you deal with the repercussions of your act. For a female, though. If you go on stage and sing great, but a body part falls out mid-performance or your costume was "ugly," then guess what's going to be all over the news tomorrow? No, it's not going to be how well you sang. Oh and guess what? Reporters will flood where you are staying to ask you about the incident. So who really has a tougher time in the industry?

So, I am asking everyone out there. Everyone who reads this. Stop giving women shit for how they dress on stage. Stop giving them advice on what their music should sound like or how they should look the next time they have a concert or are going to perform on stage. Stop having a double standard towards women when they release music. Stop expecting them to dress slutty on stage or live television for more views. Let the women perform the same way men do: in clothes they are comfortable in. Let men be men and women be women and love musicians not for how they dress or what they look like, but who they are, how their music sounds and their overall message.