- Published: November 15, 2021
- Updated: November 15, 2021
- University / College: School of Visual Arts (SVA)
- Level: Undergraduate
- Language: English
- Downloads: 42
Gender and Sexuality in Music: Reflection Women have played a vital part toward advancing hip-hop and music industry in entirety since 1960s. For instance, the Teen idols, Riot Girls, misogamy and homophobia in hip-hop, girl groups of the 1960s, Heavy metal masculinity, ” twerking”, and Spice Girl masculinity underscore the critical role that women and girls have played courtesy of numerous prominent female musicians in history (Biddle & Gibson, 2009). Although they appear to be underrepresented in the world of pop music, women such as Wendy Carlos and great artists of the 70s, 80s and 90s, have used music specifically to agitate for equal representation, women rights, and to campaign against sexual assault.
Similarly, the contestation over the significance and meanings of ‘ girl power’ and girl culture have produced new relationship between feminism, girls, and popular culture. In particular, popular culture has always been the primary focus of feminism (Biddle & Gibson, 2009). Apparently, the impact of contemporary life on women and the importance of popular culture to mapping ideologies and desires around the modern woman have been of vast interest to feminists. As a popular civilization, girl culture is conceivably a form of feminism. Many of the contemporary feminist approaches underline the active deployment of popular culture by women.
In summary, the complexity in discussing or analyzing the relations between Spice Girls and their fans suggests the difficulty surrounding ‘ identification’ (Biddle & Gibson, 2009). According to British cultural theorists, Paddy Whannel and Stuart Hall assert that the pop stars girls admire are tangible idealizations of life of a typical teenager, and not merely remote stars. In addition, the psychoanalytic principle claims that girls are normally characterized by over-investment in objects. The principle reflects or denotes a fear of separation and difference.
Reference
Biddle, I. D., & Gibson, K. (2009). Masculinity and western musical practice. Farnham, England: Ashgate.