Music and Gender

 Music and Gender 

Gender is something that affects all aspects of life.  Whether we want it to or not I believe it still has a prevalent role. As we grow and evolve, I believe society has worked towards breaking down many of the dividers and “norms” that were once believed. In history women were expected to stay home care for the family and home, whereas men were expected to go to work and earn money to support the family. I think these ideals are very outdated and I am grateful to see it shift. I grew up in a household where both of my parents work and equally share the chores around the home. I am grateful to have been raised with that as my example of gender roles within my household. Gender roles whether positive or negative are still prevalent in music, sports, entertainment industry and more! 

As mentioned above gender and gender roles are frequently displayed in music. Different cultures and types of music depict different genders in different ways. In class we have discussed music of from Africa, South America, and Native America. Every culture we have studied has displayed different roles and norms. It is super interesting to see the vast differences.

As I have mentioned on my previous blogs, I am a huge country music fan! When thinking about what I would write about for this blog I immediately though about country music. I was thinking about how women and men are depicted in this specific music genre. I also began to think about what instruments are predominately played by who. This urged me to do some research about this topic. 

I discovered an article titled “Country Music Excludes Women, Especially Over Age 40, Study Finds” published by NPR. I found it a super interesting read. There were lots I had never really put much thought into. According to the Annenberg researchers, “only 16 percent of country artists are female, and only 12 percent of country songwriters are women.” I was surprised by how small this number was. Below I have attached a screenshot from the article. I found it fascinating to see the difference between pop and country music. 

I do not believe female country artist get the recognition that they truly deserve. I have included two of my favourite female country artists. The first being Shania Twain. I have grown up listening to her cd’s as my mom is fan of her. My senior year of high school we saw her live in Vancouver. It was such a fun performance to watch! My second favourite being Carrie Underwood. I was fortunate to see her concert as well when came to Vancouver. I believe these two women are pillars in country music. They have helped set the precedent. 

Source: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/05/710262673/country-music-excludes-women-especially-over-age-40-study-finds