The entertainment and music industry has been historically entrenched in sexist, racist and patriarchal structures. Women have had to fight to enter the industry, all the while their bodies being sexualized, commercialized and made palatable for the public. This project will examine representations of women’s agency and autonomy starting in the 1920’s to the 1990’s by looking at the music, positionality and impact of prominent American female singers and groups. This exhibition will examine the lyrics of popular songs by American female singers and groups, musical performances and different representations of women in the music industry within literature, advertising, and media. Beginning in the Jazz Age from the 1920s to the 1940’s, moving to the Rock n’ Roll era from the 1950’s to the 1970’s and ending in the 1980s and 1990s with pop music and girl groups, this exhibit will look at the music of singers like Lucille Bogan, Tina Turner, Joan Jett and musical group “TLC”. The project will explore the impact that female musicians and music groups had on American society, defying social order, gendered and racial norms and stereotypes, as well as persevering through existing sexism, racism and misogyny within the music industry.
The Jazz Age, which reached its peak in the 1920’s and continued into the 1940’s, occurred during a time period of immense racial inequality and sexism within America. Black female jazz singers, constrained by their race and gender, battled to be acknowledged as worthy musicians within a white, male-dominated industry [1]. While jazz music was being highly appropriated by white people and commercialized to be made mainstream, the Jazz Age saw African American musicians entering American popular music, especially black female artists, like Billie Holiday and Nina Simone [2]. Jazz became widespread with commercial radio broadcasting beginning in the 1920’s, allowing the messages of rising black female jazz artists to be heard, messages of feminism, racial equality and sexuality [3]. While female musicians in the Jazz Age were “confronting and attempting to change the circumstances of their lives [through their music]”, they were continually misrepresented and seen as unequal amidst the racism and sexism present in the 1920’s to the 1940’s [4].
The 1950’s brought Rock n’ Roll, a genre that would become a vehicle for political and countercultural movements, with female rockers utilizing their music as a channel for second-wave feminism [5]. While rock n’ roll incorporated elements of African American jazz and soul music, the genre was made popular by white men and was seen as masculine and rebellious, stark in contrast to how female musicians were seen thus far, as feminine and adhering to societal norms and expectations [6]. In the 1950’s and 60’s, women, as well as African Americans, were viewed as unequal in society, but with the 1970’s came many powerful feminist and equal rights-centered anthems, the result of many female and black female musicians and groups rethinking their position in society and speaking out against inequality [7]. Women joining rock n’ roll was just one facet of the shifting social and cultural happenings of the 1970’s. The 1970’s saw a move towards a post-war, free love movement, peace-and-love way of living, with many people resisting the economic and intense political climates of the 1960’s and starting to share more anti-materialistic and anti-establishment views [8]. The 1970’s saw a ‘counter-culture’ that raised issues such as racial inequality, the Vietnam War, gay liberation and women’s rights, ideas that gained speed and were addressed in the music of the 1980s and 90s [9]. The intrusion and rise of women into the era of rock n’ roll parallels women’s growing role within society during the 1960’s and 1970’s, as able to speak their mind, challenge gender norms and reject ideals of domesticity and sexuality.
Pop music spoke on current events and social issues like police brutality, drugs and alcohol, domestic violence, etc [10]. American pop music began to branch out to more audiences, speak out about more topics that were once seen as controversial, bringing social issues like women’s rights and racial equality to the forefront. Female pop singers and girl groups spoke on these issues, representing and branding a new form of musician that defied social norms, was outspoken on concepts of increasing feminism, sexual agency, womanhood, etc., and held contemporary ideals and values that they unapologetically expressed through their music and musical performances. The 1980’s also saw a rise in different forms of media, as well as the digital music revolution in the 1990’s that brought digital sales of music, online music media platforms, a decline in record sales and an increase in digital music sales [10]. The focus on the image of female singers and girl groups in the pop era was more significant than it had ever been in decades before, with dress and appearance being heavily scrutinized. Women in the music industry in the 1980’s and 90’s were policed by the media and society for their appearance as technological advances thrust women into the spotlight and into more spaces where they could be seen and heard. Though female musicians and girl groups of the 1980’s and 1990’s were heavily scrutinized for their appearance and image, they were were agents of change that brought to light social issues as well as ideals of self-expression, autonomy and empowerment,