FEATURE:
Generation X-Why-ZZZZ
IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue
How Ageism Against Women Is a Form of Discrimination That the Music Industry Is Slow to Eradicate
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I know that it applies to…
PHOTO CREDIT: Elena Rubtsova/Pexels
all genders, though ageism is a form of discrimination that affects women most. This is not a new or surprising conversation. I think that there are a lot of forms of discrimination that still exist. Misogyny and sexism has not really radically shifted and improved. I guess we can say there is more awareness and acceptance of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists. I still think that women are the recipients of most of the discrimination and marginalisation. Black women perhaps the least exposed and celebrated. Women still the minority when it comes to radio playlists. Festivals not fast enough to create balance. In terms of representation, celebration and equality, men in music are still seen as superior. There have been a few discussions over the past year or two that have centred around ageism. Perhaps not as talked about as sexism or misogyny, I remember Kylie Minogue acknowledging the fact that ageism is no longer seen as cool. This would have come after she was left off of BBC Radio 1’s playlist. Padam Padam was the first single from her acclaimed album, TENSION. It was not played by BBC Radio 1 – until complaints and people highlighting this changed that. I agree that ageism is not cool though, as Minogue – who is in her fifties – highlighted, it clearly was present. That does not mean that it has gone away. In fact, radio stations especially are still championing and including more younger female and male artists. Male artists do encounter ageism too, though it has always been something much more common regarding female artists.
Earlier this year, Pet Shop Boys claimed how there is no longer ageism in music. Their logic being that acts like that can still be popular. That there is this embrace of older acts. They are short of the mark. They can sell albums and get played on radio because they are established. And a male act. I don’t think that there is the same sort of security and visibility for older female artists. Women over the age of thirty or forty who are making steps into the industry struggle so much more than younger artists to get noticed and played. Recently, actor Kate Hudson revealed how she faced sexism when she tried to go into the music industry – at a shockingly young age. At the age of forty-five, Hudson is now launching a career in music:
“At the age of 45, Kate Hudson is launching her music career. That chapter of her career almost didn’t happen, though, because she was discouraged from even going down that path over a decade ago. Her shocking ageism experience probably isn’t the only story in Hollywood, but The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star has the clout and the power to make her dreams become a reality.
Husdon admitted that the unhelpful advice she received “jarred” her at the time. “It was in my early 30s and they basically said, ‘It’s done. Past. You’re too old,'” she told CBS Sunday Morning. “And for me, it wasn’t just about being a performer, it was about wanting to write music.” She admitted that “it kind of resonated for a bit” until she was ready to say, “Nah, f**k you. No, no one tells me what to do!” That brings her to this stage of her career and the launch of her debut album, Glorious.
Kate Hudson performs onstage at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 14, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
It took a long time for her music to reach the public, but not because of the music executive who tried to thwart her career — Hudson sometimes got in her own way. “I guess I wasn’t ready for it until now,” she revealed. “I just don’t care anymore what people think. It was never right whether it was my own stuff or feeling afraid to mess up my movie career. It just never felt right…until now. I’m just doing it”.
James lead Tim Booth recently told Channel 4 how he has faced ageism. A successful band who have been making albums for decades, they are not immune to that discrimination. I think it highlights how there is this preference for younger artists. How relevance is defined by age. Artists in their teens, twenties and early-thirties seen as cool and current, whereas any artist over that is ‘past it’. Will Young, in the video for his song, Falling Deep, worked with dancers his age (he is forty-five). He recognised how there is this desire and allure for young and fresh artist. If you are established and should be played because of that legacy, it seems less important to the industry. Will Young, in this article, acknowledged how there is particular discrimination against women. Ageism plays into a wider narrative and spectrum of discrimination. One that is affecting women more than anyone else. A recent report about gender equality also highlighted how there was age discrimination. Younger women in the industry less likely to face discrimination than those of a different generation:
“Prepared by MIDiA Research and featuring a forward by Melissa Etheridge, the report — available here — aggregates responses from 4,146 creators and professionals in the music industry. This research was done through an online global survey translated into 14 languages and executed in November and December of 2023.
Of these respondents, 64% were men, 32% were women and 6% were gender expansive, with this segment indicating that they identify as nonbinary, agender, transgender or other. One-on-one interviews were also conducted with women and gender expansive creators in the U.S., South Africa, France, Mexico, and India.
Among the key findings, the survey found that — despite some recently documented gains for women in music creation and representation — women and gender expansive people are far more likely than men to experience the music industry as “generally discriminative” based on gender, with 49% of women and 41% of gender expansive individuals expressing this belief, compared to only 16% of men.
Age plays a factor in regard to this finding, with Gen Z less likely to perceive gender discrimination than older generations. 31% of 16-24-yea- old women view the industry as generally discriminative based on gender, compared to 54% of 25-34 year olds and 42% of women 55 and older. The report notes that this finding “could reflect improving conditions” but could also be a function of younger women not yet being in the industry long enough to experience discrimination.
The study also found that three in five women in music have experienced sexual harassment, and that one in five have experienced sexual assault.
More than 70% of women who have these experiences do not report them, the study says, “due to fear of retaliation and not believing anything would change being the most common reasons.” The study also notes that 53% of men who witnessed sexual harassment and/or assault did not report it, with 37% of these men saying that they “did not feel it was their place.”
Additionally, 56% of women who reported sexual assault responded that their claims were ignored or dismissed. The study found that nearly one-third were told to “keep quiet about it” while 12% were terminated from their job after reporting an incident.
As such, the study states, “the burden is on women to adapt their behavior to avoid misconduct, rather than on perpetrators and the wider industry to stop it happening in the first place.”
In terms of money, the study found that women and gender expansive people “are twice as likely as men to discover they are paid less than colleagues in the same or similar roles.” Identity compounds this issue, with 49% of women of a marginalized race or ethnicity having learned they’re paid less than colleagues. The study advises that the pay gap “is likely even more widespread than these statistics indicate, as individuals may be subjected to unequal pay without knowledge of it”.
Even if ageism against women has slightly moved and there has had to be some evolution, there is still this barrier. Artist LT (Leanne Tennant) told me how she has faced ageism and continues to do so. Many other women facing barriers and fewer opportunities when they reach thirty. Things are even bleaker when they hit forty. I do feel that there is this thing where artists over thirty and forty are only seen as relevant and worthy for particular radio stations and demographics. Even if bigger festivals like Glastonbury will book women over the age of thirty and forty, there is still a reliance and dominance of male acts and younger artists. Kylie Minogue’s third imperial phase shows that there is still ageism in the industry. Women baring the brunt of this. Things can change and get better. I don’t feel enough is being done from those in the industry. Like sexism and gender imbalance in general, few are keen to move the dial when it comes to embracing women of ‘a certain age’. I think about this article. Artist Lola Blanc, who was twenty-seven at the time, wrote how ageism is something she constantly faced:
“In a culture where artists and actresses and writers alike are either fibbing or withholding the truth of their birth dates, because everyone around us is telling us we're only as valuable as we are young, the impulse makes sense. It might mean fewer acting roles, or less interest from labels or agencies, or no longer having a "thing." And that's extremely daunting. But maybe it's only the norm until it's not. Sia and Tina Fey—women known for the merit of their talent rather than the size of the boners they induce (though they're both totally boner-worthy)—give me hope.
Yes, I am getting older. In a few years, I'll be 30, and maybe I'll be tempted to email all the websites that have ever listed how old I am and ask them to erase any evidence that I'm human. Tempted, perhaps, to do my darnedest to make the world believe that I am still young and fresh and sparkly and dumb and infantile and fuckable, available for the defiling, even as my humanity pulls me, faster and faster, into smarter, stronger adulthood. Tempted, as it were, to be a part of the problem.
Except I do believe it's a problem. Time is moving, and it's happening to all of us, no matter how well we conceal the shrinking lips and deepening lines that come with its passage, and what I can't quite wrap my head around is why women are supposed to be so goddamn ashamed of it.
The truth is, I'm thrilled to be beyond much of the insecurity and ignorance of my teenage years and early 20s. I feel beautiful. I'm doing the best work I've ever done, I know more than I've ever known, and I'm excited at the thought that, with every passing year, my work will improve and I'll know infinitely more than I do now. I believe that I am valuable. So why am I, along with countless other women, being told to feel like I'm not? I'm only in my 20s. What happens in ten years? Twenty?”.
Recently, J-Pop artist kiki vivi lily discussed her experiences with ageism. Many women are making the best music of their career when they are in their late-twenties and thirties. That experience and time means that they have richer and more personal stories. Music that is stronger than what they were making in their teens and twenties. Legends like Madonna and Rita Ora have recently responded to ageism in the industry. One can also say that platforms like TikTok have not helped. How there is lookism and an obsession with beauty standards. If women are over thirty or forty, they are not seen as desirable or worthy as younger contemporaries. As I say, things are better now than years ago, though we are nowhere near the point where ageism against women has ended. Male artists do face it, though you can look at playlists, festival line-ups and further afield and see how things are easier for men who are part of Generation X or older. Career highs from the likes of Kylie Minogue show that you can never write off an artist or define them by age. Minogue’s recent album far stronger than most of the work being put out by modern and younger Pop artists. I am hearing of incredible women who are struggling to get heard and respected because they are not in their twenties. Music should be ageless and barrier-less. However, when it comes to female artists, they are facing so many pushbacks and issues. It is evident that…
NEEDS to change.