Sunday, 7 February 2010

Is it reasonable to consider that rock music Is gendered male.

Rock ‘n’ Roll has a clear division of the sexes, males seem to dominate the genre, but women are always seen to have an influence, especially lyrics, this was evident when only men appeared in the Rolling Stone top 50 guitarists.. Frith and McRobbie describe rock lyrics as being an ‘aggressive expression of male sexuality’ – women may struggle to relate to this. When women are in rock, they tend to show a masculine side in order for their music to be taken as seriously.

Certain instruments are associated with a gender, e.g. the electric guitar is typically male and the harp is typically female. In regards to the electric guitar, it is seen to hold a ‘silent encoded phallocentric message’ (Bayton), which can be very intimidating for females. These associations have been made through society and it’s difficult now to change the balance and still keep rock the same.

1 comment:

  1. This doesn't say a great deal about the gendered nature of rock. You have recycled some of the quotes used in the lecture, but not really in a manner than supports the construction of an argument.

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