Female Gender Discrimination In The Music Industry

Female Gender discrimination? In the music industry? Is it still happening? Why yes it is. It is 2018 and we are still lowering woman in the music industry. Growing up I watched a lot of hip-hop and R&B music videos on VH1 or MTV and I'm sure you did as well. However, one thing I noticed most was the ratio of female and male singers. There were more female background dancers than female singers.

Growing up I never realized the ratio until I researched it. Many females in the industry today are still being put down. From Beyonce to even Taylor Swift, although they are the ones who get most credit with songwriting they still don't have many. The most songs they have written with credit are about 13 whereas some men in the music industry have at least 20. It is very sad to see this still happening.

Women in Hip-Hop videos as mentioned in an article called “sexism in hip-hop videos” are portrayed and showed off in a sexual way. They are mostly in the background of a music video with a bikini or dancing around in a background with a guy singing. Back with the 2000s hip hop and r&b such as usher or nelly you always see girls in the background dancing. The only humanization girls get is when they are featured in their songs. They do not get the respect they deserve whether they chose to be in the video or not it is their decision.

It is also mentioned in the article how music affects one's development over time whether it is their sense of style or identity. It creates their image as they are growing up in life. I believe it is important to involve more woman lead singers or solo singers. Seeing male singers can help develop a person over time but it will not have the same effect on a female. There needs to be a female figure to help females develop with their sense of style and taste in music. In today's world, we are seeing more females rise up which is improving well but there is still trouble, unfortunately.

In another article called “ General and Cultural Consecration in Popular Music,” they too agreed upon the fact that women in the industry are getting treated poorly. They mentioned how men in the industry get more production time, first in decision making, etc. Whereas females are limited on radio time and get limited resources. Reading this gave an eye-opening because I thought women were treated as equal to men now since we have more equality in today's society. However, it is not the case and it is sad to see a lot of females hard at work and not getting the credit they deserve.

In the article, it still mentions the effects the unfairness has. Females in the music industry are more likely to move to alternative rock bands because in that genre men are more drawn to playing the guitar. This also opens up for a female to play bass. The author also talked upon the nineteenth century talked about the one and only Beethoven and his rise in fame. When Beethoven began his pieces it put females in a shadow. Due to that women rarely covered his pieces. So females were excluded during the Victorian literature and female writers and musicians had a difficult time finding opportunities in the industry.

Females are being put out of the spotlight when they try to get out and try to become successful on their own. No matter how successful they are they are still overshadowed by men in the industry and it is just very depressing seeing their hard work being turned down. Just like what happened during  Bethoveen and when he rose in fame, many female artists are going through the same problems today. For example, a man during an interview would be asked about his music and how he is progressing with his work. Whereas a female during an interview, she would be asked wheat clothing line shes wearing and whether she prefers a certain guy and how her love life is. Both get treated differently within interviews and females are not getting the respect they deserve.