Music & Gender

     In the music industry, artists and performers are held to gender stereotypes. These stereotypes affect the clothes artists wear, the genre of music they make, and how they are seen and thought of in public. Men are more inclined to prefer genres that are more vigorous, more complex, and that strengthen their interpersonal relationships, such as Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Jazz, and Rap. So, in this blog I will be talking about why more men sing these three genres of music. 

    Heavy Metal and Hard Rock is mostly played by men because of their high levels of testosterone. It is considered a form of protest music, existing to rage against societal ills and corruptions of power. It is aggressive and abrasive. Guns N' Roses is a popular American Hard Rock band from Los Angeles, California. This group heavily toured the West Coast club circuit their first years before embarking on the Appetite for Destruction Tour. They later produced "Sweet Child o' Mine" which became the band's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This album sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units in the United States, making it the country's bestselling debut album and eleventh-bestselling album. 

    The culture of jazz emerged out of an almost entirely male, black subculture in the early 20th century. This genre of music was played at speakeasies and later became closely intertwined with hard drugs and the mob. Jazz went from being something seedy and illicit to something intellectual and highly cerebral. In the 1920s-50s, women were not encouraged in either of these directions. Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential figures in jazz. He was a featured and musically influential band soloist and recording artist. His best known songs include, "What a Wonderful World", "On the Sunny Side of the Street", and "Hello, Dolly". He even made an appearance in films, such as, Paris Blues, A Man called Adam, and Hello, Dolly!. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqhCQZaH4Vs

       The lyrics in rap music support, justify, and normalize, the objectification, exploitation, and victimization of women. It is an ideology that portrays women as objects for men's ownership, use, and abuse. Content analyses have found that approximately 22% to 37% of rap lyrics contain some misogyny. Adams and Fuller state that there are six themes that are considered to be misogynistic rap: derogatory statements about women relative to sex; comments linking malicious actions against women, also in relation to sex; referencing women causing problems for men; the characterization of women as "users" of men; references to women being less than men and finally lyrics referencing ideas that women are usable and discardable beings. Radric Delantic Davis, as known as Gucci Mane, is an American Rapper and record executive. He has released 14 studio albums and over 71 mixtapes. He has worked with artitsts such as, The Weekend, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, and Bruno Mars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xw2H_lkQaw

Works cited

https://edubirdie.com/examples/gender-stereotypes-in-music-and-their-effects-on-public/#:~:text=In%20the%20music%20industry%2C%20artists,way%20based%20on%20their%20gender. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+do+men+sing+heavy+metal&sca_esv=571003301&ei=1dQeZdXvN8j7kPIPzPqY-AY&ved=0ahUKEwiVrvSYm9-BAxXIPUQIHUw9Bm8Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=why+do+men+sing+heavy+metal&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiG3doeSBkbyBtZW4gc2luZyBoZWF2eSBtZXRhbEj0K1DIA1iZJHACeACQAQCYAYcBoAG6CqoBBDEwLjS4AQPIAQD4AQHCAgoQABhHGNYEGLADwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYigUYhgPiAwQYACBBiAYBkAYE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns_N%27_Roses

https://www.reddit.com/r/Jazz/comments/1l59kw/why_is_the_ratio_of_malefemale_jazz_musicians_so/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misogyny_in_rap_music