FEATURE:
Radio Edits
PHOTO CREDIT: Carolina Grabowski via Pexels
A Time to Ban All Misogynistic, Sexist and Disrespectful Lyrics Towards Women
_________
YOU cannot erase the past…
PHOTO CREDIT: rawpixel.com
and stop people from hearing songs with lyrics that seem to promote misogyny and abuse against woman. Whether sexually degrading or bordering on coercive behaviour, there have been some damaging and horrific lyrics written through the years. It is not a problem confined to genres like Hip-Hop and Rap, but one tends not to hear it across, say, Jazz and Folk! Indeed, Pop music has featured more than its share of troubling and disturbing messages. It is not just a historic problem either. Last year, Olly Murs was criticised for including misogynist lyrics in his song, I Hate You When You’re Drunk. There are those who will say that female artists have shot back at men, and there are songs that attack men and can be considered threatening and sexist. This is true, although the comparative minority of these examples means it is not such a huge issue. Also, many female artists are often retaliating to male artists and actually defending themselves. Saying they will not be messed with, and that it is not okay to treat women with so little respect. In researching this feature, it is clear there have been some truly degrading and offensive songs written throughout the years! I know that Hip-Hop and Rap have always had a problem with this. Although the genre is improving and there are far few instances of outright misogyny and sexism, artists such as Drake have also recently been accused of misogyny and sending out bad messages. Whether an artist talks threateningly about women or merely considers himself to be a prize and far superior to any women out there, it is showing a real lack of respect.
I am going to go on a slight tangent before bringing it back to the subject. The reason I am writing this is because I revisited a couple of films where violence against women was severe and inexplicable. One was the recent horror film, Terrifer 2. I would not advise anybody watch this – due to its extreme gore -, but the most gruesome death was reserved for a female character. The same was true in the first film, but there was something especially horrible about the amount of pleasure the film’s killer took in slowly ending this woman’s life. I struggle to understand directors when they say it is not misogynistic and it is only fair that women are also victims in horror films. Terrifier 2 is directed by Damien Leone. Another director who has been accused or extreme violence against women in his films is Quentin Tarantino. His most recent film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), also saves the most graphic death for female characters. It is a long-running and complex debate regarding his films. Someone who has strong female leads, he also does not shy away when it comes to inflicting disturbing and frequently unnecessary violence against women. I look at film and the way there is still a thread of misogyny present. How unsettling and problematic it is to still be making film where women are demeaned and abused in such a way. If the story revolves around domestic abuse and requires realistic violence, then that is a different matter. In many cases, the violence is not necessary. It is not just violence. It is language and attitudes levelled at women.
Even if artists have creative license and there is a big argument against censorship, I think that there are areas that should not be accepted for inclusion. Homophobia and transphobia has no place in music. Neither does racism or any other form of prejudice. Misogyny and sexism are still very much alive within music, and I feel that now should be a moment when artists are truly taken to task and displayed if they violate these rules. Whilst there is not the same rampancy and proliferation as there was in decades past, one cannot look around music and now and say we are clearly in a safe zone. Indeed, there is plenty of sexism and misogyny elsewhere in music. Cases where male artists are accused of sexual misconduct and abuse. Clearing out any toxicity and Stone Age attitudes in music, I think, it is a necessary step few could object to. It is not about censoring artists and taking away their voice. If your creative freedom, voice and independence relies on you making such statements and displaying such despicable attitudes, then you really have no place in the industry! I think it is more about showing respect. If a step forward occurs when an artist apologies for an unwise lyrical choice or subject matter, there are two steps back when it happens elsewhere. Lessons are briefly learned, but how often does the message stick that women should not have to hear and see this in modern-day music?
There is nobody who has a good heart and conscience that could ever object to this ruling. The finest Rap music can still flourish and grow without lines that seem to normalise violence and abuse against women. Disrespectful and humiliating language that almost seems casual and tossed-off. If icons and queens like Dionne Warwick have truly schooled rappers and got them to change their ways when it comes to misogynistic attitudes and lyrics, we have not got rid of the issue. It is great that there has been evolution since some dark days, but it is not only the massive stuff. Whether it is a recent Olly Murs track that should not have seen the light of day or a song that features violence against a woman, it has no place in modern music. Nor do any songs that degrade or disrespect women. It is not a case of sanitising music and throwing down these extreme commandments. It is, as I said, about respect. Maybe some will say that, as Rap and Hip-Hop is more woke and conscientious and you do not hear as many cases of misogyny and abusive attitudes towards women in music that this is really not an issue. You only need to look at recent articles about misogyny in the industry to realise why artists need to ensure they are doing their part. A month ago, this article was written, that highlighted the Women in Music podcast – where inspiring women come together to talk about their experiences in music. It is clear that the industry still has a real issue with sexism, inequality and misogyny.
Think about this recent article, and how the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee is investigating misogyny in music. Whilst lyrics in older songs are being scrutinised and highlighted, it is also clear that this is not merely a historic issue. There is still a stench and poison in the industry that needs to be eradicated:
“Music Ally has covered the UK’s parliamentary inquiry into music streaming economics in great depth, but there’s another inquiry underway in Westminster that focuses on the music industry.
It’s about misogyny in music, and is being held by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee. Today saw its second evidence session, and we were watching to take notes.
The session heard from four witnesses: Vick Bain (The F-List for Music); Melinda Kelly (Safe Gigs for Women); Nadia Khan (Women in CTRL) and Vanessa Threadgold (Cactus City Studio).
It kicked off with a question about misogyny in music lyrics, and whether that’s reflective of wider trends in the industry.
“14% of musicians who are signed to UK music publishing companies as composers or songwriters are women. So with such a huge dominance of men as songwriters and as musicians, the songs they create are going to be from a male viewpoint,” said Bain.
‘Delilah’ by Tom Jones has been making headlines in the UK this month, with discussion over its lyrical content (a man murdering a woman) and Jones’s decision to keep performing it.
Bain said she’d met the writers several years ago, and that they saw it as “part of a great tradition of folk songs: around the abuse and murder of women. That’s not something that is particular to my taste!”
“We need the music industry to sign more women, to invest in more female musicians, and then we will have songs of a different nature,” she said.
‘Delilah’ was written in the 1960s, so are things getting better? Khan said not, with an eye on the wider context within which misogynistic and sexual-violence lyrics are created.
“They’re so prevalent and so widespread in popular music,” she said. “My view is that it’s actually representation of societal views and societal norms, and it’s a reflection of the misogynistic culture that’s apparent within society but also within the music industry. And the structures that women have to work with”.
If the film industry does still have issues that range from unsettling violence against women in films, to sexism and sexual abuse on sets and behind the scenes, then the #MeToo movement at least did weed out a lot of perpetrators and created this voice and space where women could share their experience and bring to justice a lot of abusive men in the industry – and yet the movement has not infiltrated the industry to the same degree it has with the film business. The BBC wrote about this last year when they highlighted how Black woman in the industry experience even worse discrimination than their counterparts:
“Wild west'
At the same inquiry, Charisse Beaumont, chief executive of the Black Lives in Music (BLiM) initiative, compared the music industry to "the wild west", saying there is no central place to report bad behaviour.
She suggested less than 5% of music producers are female and that the gender imbalance, and "male gaze", translated into a misogynistic culture.
"I think there could be more signposting, more obvious ways of showing that there will be a consequence for the perpetrator and that you're going to be protected and safe," she said.
Last year, a BLiM report found that racism in the British music industry was "serious, upfront and personal".
Beaumont stressed how black women are discriminated against twice - for their gender and race - and often feel the need to change themselves in order to be accepted.
But she noted how the success of recent Mercury Prize and Brit Award-winner Little Simz highlights how it is possible to "be your authentic self" as a black woman in the music industry.
"What I want to hammer home is the director of marketing who handles Little Simz is a black woman," she told the committee. "She knows exactly what to do with an artist like Little Simz, meaning it can be done."
During the inquiry, Beaumont announced the launch of an industry wide anti-racism code of conduct, endorsed by the Independent Standards Authority (ISA).
The move, which will come into place in spring 2023, intends to raise standards and tackle discriminatory behaviour and micro-aggressions, as well as providing support mechanisms for staff and mandatory anti-racism training.
She said it would also look into equal pay and contracts, career progression and achieving proportionate representation for artists and technical/production workers.
'Hear women's stories'
Dr Nicola Puckey, senior lecturer in English, creative writing and American studies at the University of Winchester, pointed to the rapid rise of another Mercury Prize nominated act, indie band Wet Leg, as an example of how we are "slowly" seeing more diversity in the traditionally male dominated industry.
The current state of play, however, means listeners only hear "half the story", according to Dr Rosemary Hill, senior lecturer in media and popular culture at the University of Huddersfield.
"We should be able to hear ourselves reflected in the songs that we listen to and what we want to sing along with," she noted, while giving evidence.
"We also need to acknowledge that sometimes the way that men portray women in songs is not how we would like to see ourselves portrayed so it is really important to hear women's stories and to hear the different things we have to say about the world and reflect our different experiences”.
PHOTO CREDIT: rawpixel.com via freepik
It is 2023, and so many doors have been opened and problems solved. One cannot look back fondly on past decades without addressing problems and regressive attitudes. Songs and artists that promulgated such regressive and disturbing messages. It has not completely gone away. Even something as relatively minor than insulting a woman, I think, should be eradicated. I understand that this is like taking a red marker pen to all lyrics and crossing out any that are seen as ‘wrong’! That is not the case. It is not a puritanical drive. It is about cleaning about music so that we no longer see attitudes of sexual abuse, sexism, misogyny and sheer disrespect for women continue. It is clear that there is a wider industry issue, so artists should lead from the front in combatting it. Indeed, where are the male voices and songs that demand change and call out those culpable and unwilling to change?! For all the great personal music out there, there are gaps and opportunities artists are not taking to raise bigger issues. From the environment and modern politics through to ways to change the world, I think the personal is outweighing something wider and bigger than the individual. One hardly ever hears male artists spotlighting poison attributes against women – through, if there are a lot of songs that do, I would like to know! It is another case of women in music fighting for themselves and not getting adequate support from men. That was also true of #MeToo - although there were male allies. All artists need to come together to ensure that regressive and disrespectful attitudes towards women are…
PHOTO CREDIT: cookie_studio via freepik
A thing of the past.