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.
This is a great blogpost Cassidy!!!
ReplyDeleteYou ended your post with, "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."
I am currently wrestling with this last line. I both agree and disagree. I would say that women and men are inherently different, and there are things that men are ~typically~ better at than women and vise versa. But, I would also say that it is nonsensical to provide men with opportunities that are not offered to women under the same circumstances.
If that makes sense.