The Flip Side Hey festivals, you forgot about women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................................................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Words by Jonathan Briggins Imagine if every time you read about a band entirely made up of men, it was referred to as a “boy band.” Or every band with a male lead singer was referred to as a “male-fronted” band. Music writers and listeners have a habit of classifying bands with women members in a genre of their own, which is silly at best but mostly harmful. A gender isn’t a genre. However, it was was downright offensive that not a single female band played either The New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee in Nova Scotia (August 2-4) or Fredrock in New Brunswick (August 9-11) this summer. Both festivals were three days long. Both festivals’ programming was made entirely of dudes. While this may not have been a conscious decision by either festival to exclude
women, it certainly looks suspicious. It’s discouraging for women in the music industry. It puts them at a disadvantage because of something that shouldn’t matter in music. Gender exclusion in music is why events such as the Rebel Girl Rock Camp in Halifax and Ottawa Rock Camp for Girls are important events. Both give confidence and practical musical skills to women and girls who identify as female, trans or are gender non-conforming. These grassroots movements are empowering for women in an industry that treats women as if they’re lesser than men. This summer, Toronto band Ohbijou announced an indefinite hiatus. One reason stated in the band’s goodbye letter was “Our cultural and gendered make-up has become intrinsically important to how
some media makes sense of us. This is tiring.” The treatment of women in the music industry is causing some musicians to consider leaving music. In the case of Ohbijou, that’s exactly what happened. Montreal electronic artist Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, wrote a post on Tumblr in April titled “I don’t want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living.” Boucher lists problems she has had in the music industry because she is a woman. “I’m tired of men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to ‘help me out’ (without being asked), as if I did this by accident and I’m gonna flounder without them. Or as if the fact that I’m a woman makes me incapable of using technology. I have never seen this kind of thing happen
to any of my male peers,” she writes. Here is one way for festivals to move forward: create a mission statement containing core values. The Canadian music blog Weird Canada does this on the “About” section of its website. If music festivals stated that a core belief was equal opportunities regardless of race, gender and other factors, everyone would benefit. Making such priorities public sets the tone and can hold festivals and businesses to account. The festivals would have more balanced lineups. Artists wouldn’t have to worry about perceived barriers. And most importantly, the consumers of music get a better product.
FALL 2013 MIXTAPE
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