Music & Gender
The question I decided to go with was "are there gender norms in each of these cultures"... a few ideas came to me while reading over this question. Not only is gender stereotyped everyday by people while they see others do music the way they do it, but it is also equally stereotyped by the people making the music.
Like said in my previous blog I grew up listening to a good bit of R&B as I got older, I started listening to a lot more other genres like rap, indie, country, etc. Not too long ago was I told by my guy friend that he felt like women rapping sounded "horrible" and that women should not do rap songs. Yes, I'm sure others might agree with this comment, but this comment was not needed to be put out there. You are able to not like certain rap and not like the people who do that specific genre, but they completely talked down all women saying they were all horrible at rap when that is not always the case. There have even been times that I am told by my guy friends that they are surprised by me listening to the genre rap. Being told that has definitely shown that the stereotype for rap seems to be that only men listen to it and not women. And because of a stereotype like this it causes women and men to end up being quite different in their music genres. I know a lot of my guy friends listen to rap and yes, they all may enjoy it, but it could also be because they want to look more masculine. Whereas if they were to listen to someone like Harry Styles or even a "feminine" type genre they are going to be judged by these men and worried about being viewed differently.
Now how I mention above about stereotyping happening in songs as well. I do feel like this could possibly be a "less serious" area to whereas people are possibly scared to admit the music genre they like because of society norms. But stereotyping happens a lot in songs especially songs that popular today. With this happening it just allows people to generalize women and men even more.
An example I am going to use is the song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. This song was super popular in 2013. The whole time in the song it is relating women to animals and saying how women act crazy like them. The verse that is also said over and over is "I know you want it, the way you grab me, must want to get nasty" when once again that could not be the case at all, but he is saying how all the girls want him and are crazy like animals. Which can just be frustrating since the comparison is way more than that because women are human beings not animals. I personally just cannot stand this song, but I do remember it being quite popular back then.
Although this behavior happens a lot towards women it also happens toward men. In the song "God Made Girls" by RaeLynn. I will be honest I had to search up online "songs that stereotype men" and not too many familiar songs were being shown that I knew. RaeLynn is a country artist, so this issue happens in all sorts of music genres. In this song it is also stereotyping women by saying God only made women for someone to wear a skirt, flirt and hold his hand while men are the ones who are supposed to be driving and washing the truck. Yes, I know this was the norms back in the day and even now some men and women may agree with this, but it also mentions how if women are tough in anyway its only in the way of breaking a man's heart. I know none of this could be "that serious" to you but it is an issue that is still existing till today and not only happens out in real life but also in music and multiple ways.
In my opinion is a person no matter their gender, wants to play a certain instrument or listen to a specific type of music, let them. Everyone is different and we are not all made the same to have the same liking in everything. And if you agree with these songs that is on you. Like I just said we all are different and are made to have our own opinions. Just don't let it get to a point where you are talking disrespectful to others and judging them for their liking. And I will say if you want to try something new but are scared because of gender roles and stereotypes, do not let that stop you. We only live once, and we should be doing stuff we enjoy and makes us happy.
hey Caitlin i really think your argument is very very true because like you said that guys disagree with women that rap because they say its not good, but i was more interested in how you said that men dont like to listen or be caught with a feminine type music because they feel like they are more muscular and i was just going to say that your right.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said about men not listening to more "feminine" styles of music because they want to look more masculine. I also think that the men who do this think like this because they are insecure men. I also remember when "Blurred Lines" was popular and I always thought it was a super creepy song. By the way, if you want a really good rapper who is a woman, check out Noname, she is very talented.
ReplyDeleteI don’t listen to rap very often but when I do I usually find myself listening to women who are popular in that genre. I know there have been rappers who are women nearly as long as the genre of rap has existed but, excitingly, it seems like the space for women in this genre has really expanded over the last decade! I also remember when “Blurred Lines” came out and the amount of debate it caused. Personally, I think it’s a big issue because it not only promotes stereotypes but also feeds into ideas about sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the part when you said how a lot of males don't like to listen to "feminine" music because they feel like they would be viewed differently. I also grew up listening to alot of R&b music. Looking back there are alot of songs that stereotype and oversexualize women.
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