Monday, January 15, 2018
Women jazz musicians are using #metoo and taking a stand against sexism
theconversation.com: Every year since 1986, the Les Victoires du Jazz Awards selects France’s best jazz musicians. In 2017 all the nominees in all categories were men. Two decades ago this would not have been a story, but today it stands out and shows that there is something off and obsolete about this old boys’ club. It may have also been the case that, 20 years ago, female jazz musicians may have been reluctant to kick up a fuss. Fortunately, not anymore.
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3 comments:
This is not a new conversation. Women deserve a voice as Jazz Musicians, Actors, Technicians, Scientists, and almost every other profession that is apart of our current society. However, the fact that in 2017, there were zero females Jazz Musicians nominated is simply disappointing. It feels as though there has been zero progress for women in the past twenty years. The music industry also has the essence of the casting couch as part of its culture and it’s really refreshing to see women standing up and voicing their opinions. Jazz music shouldn’t be a “boy’s club.” There shouldn’t be a “boy’s club” in any industry. Everyone should feel like they have equal opportunity to every job offer or opportunity. We are currently living in a world where that is not the case and that is extremely disappointing. I hope that for female Jazz musicians and any woman who is apart of an industry where women are not paid, treated, or seen as equals to their counterparts that this #metoo movement and #wehaveavoice are more than just tweets but actual action will spur change.
The universality of this conversation about sexual assault and harassment should be sign enough that inequality between genders and the oppression of women in general is very real and has been for a very, very long time. As Ella stated, this is not at all a new conversation to many of us, and while it may not be a new idea to me, I am at the very least, glad that more and more people are including themselves in conversations on sexism and sexual assault and harassment. This article shows just how deep sexism and misogyny has crawled in to the single industry of jazz music, and therefore speaks to how this same mindset has found its unnatural place in all industries. I am glad to see activism against these types of oppression has started to grow in industries other than ones like Hollywood that the public speaks and learns about all the time. It is important to stand up for those who have not had a voice no matter what career path you are in, and I hope that this is just the beginning of that.
As the article states, the existence of many kinds of jazz music has developed as a vehicle for social change. Yet, it’s unfortunate that women in this industry have been relegated to the sidelines throughout the lifespan of jazz even though they have historically been such critical leaders in pushing boundaries with this music. It was interesting to consider how women in this genre of music have been dismissed simply because of the instrument they play-- somehow society has developed to consider certain instruments such as the drums or the saxophone to be more masculine for little to no reason at all. The article also mentioned how there were all-girl bands in jazz music, however they existed somewhat as tokens rather than to be taken seriously. Unfortunately I think this is still relevant in music today, with mostly all-female groups but even with all-male ones as well. While there have been incredible female bands across many genres of music, the fetishization of women in the industry has been an underlying theme that contributes to sexual harassment and assault, sparking the “Me Too” movement.
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