I'm sure you all know that when I write about the punk scene, I don't mean shit like Nofx or The Misfits. I mean punk that doesn't suck. In other words, underground punk that's actually underground. At first glance, punk/hardcore/indie/everything in between might seem like a total dude-fest. But you have to look a bit deeper. There's been a new wave of women in punk. Not only that, they're important. Like, Marissa from the Screaming Females. Sheena from Lemuria. Tegan and Sara, the indie duo. The ladies from Mixtapes, RVIVR and Tigers Jaw, whose names I can't find anywhere. Also, if you're interested there's a Straight Edge blog that's run by some really awesome girls. It's called xSisterhoodx.
In addition, I always hear guys in interviews saying they wish there were more women in their scene. I heard Pat Flynn say it just recently. Also, we got dudes supporting us. Polar Bear Club wrote a song, "Our Ballads" about it. Latterman was a band known for their fanatical anti-sexism. No surprise their singer is now in RVIVR with two girls. I know by now you're like, "Don't other genres always do this?" Answer is no. I'm into a lot of dude-infested types of music and they don't even talk about it often. One example is the metal scene. All the women there are unimportant. They're only there to look pretty. And most of the time they only sing (cuz that's all they do) in lighter metal bands. Whenever a girl does something in a heavier metal band, she's seen as eye candy. Never for her talents. Just find a heavy female-fronted band on last.fm or youtube, and all you see is guys going, "Oh, so-and-so is so hot." There language tends to be a bit more obscene, but you get the point. Also, chicks in metal seem to not respect themselves either. They're always dressing like total sluts. I'm damn glad I'm not into metal. I'd hate to be around so many people like that.
One can argue that punk has less girls, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the enthusiasm. Us females are slowly coming into this scene. It took us awhile, but now we're really taking it over. Another argument is that punk is less heavy than other styles. That's a bunch of damn nonsense too. I won't elaborate due to lack of space, but the above-mentioned Polar Bear Club song touches on that exact argument. Girls in punk aren't seen as eye candy either. I don't think I've ever seen that, even as a joke. Sure, guys might comment on a girls appearance, but it's always respectful. Something like, "Oh so-and-so is so cute. I'd love to talk about so-and-so's new record with her." You know what I mean. We're also respected as listeners too. In dude-fest scenes we have to "show our knowledge" to be accepted as one of them and they think we're doing it to impress our boyfriends or whatever. Point is, I'm glad that there's this little movement going on. And that in at least one scene, females aren't disrespected and we are seen for our talents. Let's rejoice in high-pitched voices over grungy guitars and adorably awkward promotional band photos.
And to think this was once a sausage party. Huzzah.
What a fascinating topic! I know a few unconventional female artists in subculture, my favorite and most obvious one being Patricia Morrison from The Sisters of Mercy, Fur Bible ,Kid Congo Powers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Buttttt I know her from being a former basset from The Damned! But female musicians like her are rare because they usually are stand alone acts. (Emilie Autumn, anyone?) to stand out in a other wise boy band and NOT be looked at as a sex icon is tough.The singer in Flyleaf and other bands like that...I don't know, her and Amy Lee and others seem to try to her. The best musicians, regardless of sex, aren't remembered for there looks or whatever but just for their music and contribution to their bands. Patricia did that :D I'd love to see more women like that in punk and other subcultures.
ReplyDeleteOH forgot to add- Don't forget the whole Riot Grrrl female punk (and yes, aspects of goth)movement. There'
ReplyDeletes a lot of feministic female groups that fall in this category, the only one I know from expedience because I like them is Jack Off Jill ("everything's brown" <3)
Oh yeah, Patricia Morrison is awesome :D Flyleaf's singer does a pretty good job at not being a slut. Same with Amy Lee. You gotta admire them for that. Riot Grrl was a great movement as well.
ReplyDeleteBut what I love about these new girls is that they're more accepted. Like, they're not known as "girl bands". You know what I mean? Like, I didn't even know Tigers Jaw had a girl until I looked at their promo pics. I think we're starting to become more accepted. Which is awesome. All these girls are like a breath of fresh air in the midst of beards and tattoos <3
sure was. actually one douche bitched that the Flyleaf female singer was "a fugly bitch" and her fans were like "WGAF??" she's average looking, but who CARES, there's different types of beauty and she's contributing in a way other then looks which is NOBEL.
ReplyDeletetruuuuue dat. wasn't there a famous female metal band singer who could sing grudge or whatever SO "well", just like a man, that for a long time they didn't know it was a girl? Who am I thinking of...? I think she was the only girl in the band to. BTW flyleaf's singer can get pretty pretty rough sounding,ya know, for a conventional, well-known band.
Exactly. Thinking that female artists should be all about looks is such a bland, mainstream way of viewing things.
ReplyDeleteUhm. That I don't know. Maybe it was Courtney Love from Hole? I don't much about her at all though. And yeah, girls are pushing limits nowadays too. It's great. I think the scene now is a million times better than when it started. Which of course, is the point of a scene.
Ohhhhh and who could forget, The Queen of PunkMetal, Wendy O. Williams????
ReplyDelete