"Writing Through Snapshots"
Sydney Salloum
English 1102-062
Title. Double click me.
Remember when music was about being talented and verbal about what you believed in? It was a musician’s gateway of challenging peoples’ ideas and beliefs, while at the same time keeping true to themselves. However now, every tabloid you flip through and every media forum you come across idolizes cleavage shots and full-showing thighs for women. Scantily dressed female artists are now showing off more than just their voice to hit the music charts and to gain popularity. Music is no longer about being talented, but about being really, really, ridiculously good looking. Its no surprise that the most popular female artists today in pop music have more skin showing than not, and perform music with vulgar messages and provocative body language, but do they have a choice?
Feminism Doesn’t Sell Records. Sex Does
Sure You Can Sing, But Can You Really Entertain Us?
It’s no debate that the music industry is “overall is a sexist machine” (B. Peters) and only men are at the controls. “Sexism in the music industry can be seen in a lot of ways—lyrics that objectify women, women being seen as sluts if they sing about being promiscuous while men are seen as “just doing what guys do”, female musicians being held to higher standards of male musicians, etc.” (fbomb). The rules are set for how popularity is gained and there are rules that female artists must follow in order to become successful in the industry- the top ones being that they must be beautiful, thin, and sexy. They must objectify themselves to become images of sex objects while knowing their place in their career.
The music industry that was once ran by talent, now only idolizes women that can fit the typical mold of a female pop musician. In fact, many aspiring female artists are looked over by music executives because they lack what is called “image marketability”. In other words, they’re not pretty or sexy enough.
These standards are not only used in the United States, but all around the world “Japanese pop stars [for example] are expected to look and act sexually, but in a totally virginal and off-limits kind of way; they serve to fulfill the male fantasy –– while raking in millions of dollars for their labels –– but they are completely dehumanized and stripped of their basic rights and needs in the process.” (feminespire) “But it's not only men who objectify women to sell their music - women also know that this system works in their favour. Lady Gaga is known for her controversial videos, and she does it all in very few clothes.” (Huffington).
Where Did It Come From?
So why are all the female artists suddenly acting so provocative? With Miley Cyrus’s new persona and style (hyperlink to vulgar picture) being publicised more than any other young pop singer in 2013, it’s no surprise that her popularity in the media has skyrocketed. According to CNBC, Google searches for Miley Cyrus in 2013 have greatly surpassed the searches for Hannah Montana, done in her most popular year of 2009.
So what changed to make Miley Cyrus so popular? Unless you’ve been disconnected from the outside world, it should be no surprise...
“When I was 19 or 20, I found myself…being pressured into wearing more and more revealing outfits and the lines that I had spun at me again and again (generally by middle aged men) were ‘you look great you’ve got a great body why not show it off?’ or ‘Don’t worry it’ll look classy. It’ll look artistic’- Charlotte Church
Is this really all that new to us though? Surprisingly, no. Female artists have been dressing provocatively to gain in popularity for years, and I don’t mean years as in 2003, when Britney Spears’ video for “Toxic" was released (which had her pretty scantily dressed anyways). Cher, one of the most iconic female singers, used provocative clothing to gain attention and popularity from the 1960’s throughout the rest of her career. The same can been seen with Madonna in the 1980s and 1990s.
I’m not saying that you should compare pop singers such as Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga to women such as Cher and Madonna, because even though they all used sex to sell records, one major difference that can be seen is that although female pop singers of the 1960s-1990s were successfully able to shock the public with their risque clothing, it was already known that they had talent. Female pop singers today on the other hand, have to have their priorities in a different order to get noticed by music executives and by the public. You’re sexy first, then if you can sing, that’s a plus.
I'll Never Become a Sex Object
So why do they just not dress so provocatively? Well as you probably already know, not all female artists show thigh and expose cleavage in the media. However, does this hold them back? Sexy and not could possibly be correlated with successful or not.
Have you ever heard of the pop artist, Amanda Palmer? Well I had not prior to my research. Amanda Palmer “comfortably sings feminist-sounding lyrics that denounce such things as feeling like you need to have a significant other in order to be happy” (F-Bomb). When we look at popularity, at the time of this writing Amanda Palmer has 243,042 likes on her Facebook page. Adele, who is often slammed in the media because of her weight and not “being sexy enough” has an amount of 55,380,207 likes. When we look at Katy Perry, on the other hand who’s both music and style is degrading towards women, it shows that she has 67,133,151 likes. Lady Gaga has a high amount of 64,736,589, and Rihanna with a staggering amount of 86,930,883 likes.
No, really, who cares? When was the last time that you came accross any form of media that only discussed someone’s music? Probably not recently. The media focuses on more than just that- it’s what the singers are wearing, who are they dating, and what crazy situations they’re being caught in. If you are to look up articles about Ke$ha, one of the first articles you are most likely to get will be about her recent readmission to rehab. Rihanna will also come up with searches about her most recently spotted outfits and how revealing they were. Articles about the artists’ music will come up later, because really, who cares?
The media does not focus on music, so why would artists put it before their persona?
Who Cares About the Tunes?
While researching prior to this writing, I came across many articles of female artists claiming to never give in to the pressure of the music industry and to not become public displays of sex objects. However a large number of these artists can be found now, many years later posing for nude photoshoots. The other female artists that made these claims have simply never been discussed in the media, and have never been successful.
Charlotte Church claims that the music industry is "a male dominated industry with a juvenile perspective on gender and sexuality" and increasingly wants "sex objects that appear child-like”. (Miley Cyrus )
Now, although I personally enjoy all of the discussed female pop artists, it is still clear to see how the music industry would rather promote music lyrics that are demeaning than empowering. Sex and beauty is the key to success in the music industry for women.
Citations:
-
"Miley Cyrus vs. Hannah Montana: The Stock Charts." CNBC.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014"
-
Lady Gaga Sued By Ex-Boyfriend For $30 Million." Music News Reviews and Gossip on Idolatorcom RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
-
"The Music Industry and It’s Best Friend, Sexism | Fbomb." Fbomb RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
-
"Sexism in the Music Industry Drives Female Pop Stars to Shocking Lows."Feminspire. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014."
-
"Sexism in the Music Industry Ain’t Nothing New." Why Aren't Female Artists Getting Their Due? – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music." FACT Magazine Music News New Music RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
-
"Is the Music Industry Sexist?" Eshac News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
-
.Boardman, Madeline. "Sexism In Music Targeted By Female Singer Grimes In New Blog Post." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
-
"Misogyny Is the Music Industry's Ultimate Marketing Tool." The Huffington Post UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014
Being made into a sex object is not the only problem female artists are facing.
Credit is not being given where it should. For many female successful female artists, the media did not focus on her achievements, but rather, how the man supporting her made it all happen. Lady Gaga’s ex-boyfriend, Fusari, claims that it was he “came up with the moniker “Lady Gaga,”” (Idolater) and therefore, her whole persona. Similar situations have happened with Adele and her manager Jonathan Dickens and Beyonce with Jay-Z.
Early April of 2013, “ indie darling” Solange Knowles tweeted: “I find it very disappointing when I am presented as the “face” of my music, or a “vocal muse” when I write or co-write every fucking song, How can one be a “vocal muse” to their own melodies, storytelling, and words they wrote?” (fact mag).
Yea, She's Good For a Girl
“Although Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Madonna are essential ingredients of our modern culture, women musicians have had a very difficult time breaking through and getting the credit they deserve.” -Abbey Phillips
Claire Boucher took to her tumblr to post “I’m tired of men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to ‘help me out’ (without being asked), as if i did this by accident and i’m gonna flounder without them. or as if the fact that I’m a woman makes me incapable of using technology. I have never seen this kind of thing happen to any of my male peers,” she writes. “I’m tired of the weird insistence that i need a band or i need to work with outside producers (and I’m eternally grateful to the people who don’t do this).” (fact mag) "I don't want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction, I'm sad that my desire to be treated as an equal and as a human being is interpreted as hatred of men, rather than a request to be included and respected." (huffington)
Both Knowles and Boucher were said to have not even written their own songs by the media. Female artists are not getting their due.