FEATURE:
Time to Face It: Don’t Call Me ‘Blondie’!
IN THIS PHOTO: Debbie Harry/PHOTO CREDIT: Sebastian Kim
The Washington Post and Debbie Harry: When Will We See an End to Sexism in the Music Press?
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ALTHOUGH the title of this feature…
PHOTO CREDIT: Celeste Sloman for The New York Times
suggests something academic, the actual reality is simply this: in 2019, there is still casual sexism in the music press, and it is getting too much! The latest woman who is an unwarranted recipient of sexism is Debbie Harry. The Washington Post, when writing on Twitter, posted a statement/headline that proved/suggested (regarding her memoir, Face It) that she was more than a blonde singer in tight pants. The gist of it was Debbie Harry is more than a pin-up or sex symbol; that she is a role model and icon. Whilst there was that subtext in the headline, what it looked like was a reductive and ill-thought-out approximation of an artist who, since the 1970s, has shaped the musical landscape and inspired fans and artists around the world. Although that was a few days ago now, it is still fresh in my thoughts. The backlash to The Washington Post’s Twitter post was swift. Grazia Daily explain in more detail:
“The Washington Post has made Debbie Harry's soon-to-be-published memoir, Face It, all about her hair colour and the elasticity of her trousers. Publicising a review of the memoir, the newspaper wrote on Twitter 'Review: In her memoir, Debbie Harry proves she’s more than just a pretty blonde in tight pants'.
Unsurprisingly, Twitter users have taken to the platform to drag The Washington Post's problematic editorial decision.
One user wrote ' I’ve never heard David Bowie referred to as a pretty blond in tight pants. Or even as a pretty blond in eyeliner and mascara. He was both, but his talent is why he was so famous and why his memory endures. But he was a guy, so…'. Multiple others tweeted about Debbie Harry's pivotal influence in the punk and new wave genres”.
Although The Washington Post retracted their statement and apologised, the fact they felt a poor choice of words was right and okay is troubling. I guess their headline remark was a bit flippant; meant to mirror what a lot of critics and people would have thought when Blondie arrived: that Debbie Harry was just a blonde singer with nothing besides her sexuality. It is worrying we still see this sort of sexism occur because, as they say in their review, The Washington Post have read her memoir and are keen to praise:
“The chapters about the New York scene and Harry’s early adventures making music are the most compelling parts of the book. We’re in her environment — smelling the garbage piled up on the street, trolling the sidewalks for discarded clothing, stepping over drunks on the Bowery. Life was DIY. About her experience playing at the notorious club CBGB, birthplace of punk, Harry writes, “It was a time of felt experience — no special effects, just raw, visceral, uncut living.” Nothing seemed to faze her. There were loft fires and relocations, and she once was raped at knife point: “I can’t say that I felt a lot of fear,” she writes of the experience. “I’m very glad this happened before AIDS or I might have freaked.” In these chapters, Harry is introspective, as she writes about death, time and the serendipitous, sometimes hazardous life she was living.
More engaging is Harry’s effort to categorize her music, which she calls a “crossover between glitter-glam and punk.” She’s reluctant to name disco as an obvious influence, instead insistently aligning herself with punk. But she was familiar with disco — music favored by the drag queens she watched in underground clubs. She also loved drag’s performative qualities, especially its attention to fashion and gesture, two practices Harry perfected while shaping her own image. Drag queens saw Harry’s display of femininity as drag, “a woman playing a man’s idea of a woman.” Harry’s words are more revealing: “I’m not blind and I’m not stupid: I take advantage of my looks and I use them.”
The strange final chapters of “Face It” include a rambling poem Harry wrote about 9/11 and a plea to save honeybees. Throughout this visually evocative book are photographs and a lengthy gallery of fan art. Readers, both familiar and unfamiliar with Harry’s career, will enjoy this memoir because on nearly every page she proves she’s more than just a pretty blonde in a pair of tight pants. If she sometimes comes across as self-interested, so what? She was a young woman who fell under the spell of New York and made herself into the performer she always knew she’d become, one who went on to cast her own spell on millions of listeners”.
It must have been bad enough that Harry faced cat-calling and crude language before playing with Blondie. Through incredibly powerful music and the sort of cool nobody else could pull off, she established herself as one of the most remarkable songwriters and artists of her generation.
PHOTO CREDIT: @alvaroserrano/Unsplash
I still don’t think there is anybody quite like her and, with so many facsimile artists around, Harry is a true original. Whether harmless, unintended or thoughtless, sexism has always been close to the forefront of the press in general. There is a lot to be done regarding redressing inequality and sexism across the industry; from the number of women booked as headline festival acts and how radio stations prioritise music by female acts. So many inspirational female artists have had to endure sexism through their career, and one suspects Debbie Harry is used to it. She has given the music world so much, so it seems a bit crude and diminishing she should have been referred to in a disrespectful manner. I do hope that the case of Debbie Harry and The Washington Post serves as a deterrent to the rest of the music media. In general, the music press is less culpable of sexist language than the national press, yet one still sees cases of female artists given little focus and cover opportunities; their music less widely promoted and, at times, the way they are described – in terms of their looks and abilities – is quite appalling. From Metal magazines ranking the ‘hottest women in Metal’ through to female artists being seen merely as sex symbols and exploited, I do hope things improve.
PHOTO CREDIT: @patrickian4/Unsplash
Before moving on, I have been looking online and found a couple of articles from 2016 that discuss sexism in the music press/media. In this feature, it is highlighted that, indeed, there is sexism in the press but it is a larger issue. The music press is so powerful and widespread that negative attitudes and sexist language has a very potent effect:
“The media may spotlight a pretty female musician without any requests to do so, yet if that same musician should gain weight like Kelly Clarkson did, God help her. The endless roasts, jokes and body-shaming disguised as "health concerns" could well be the type of media attention Clarkson will enjoy for years to come by an overwhelming amount. And she's nominated for a Grammy this year.
Instead, shaming is the media standard, and outlets do it under the false assumption of protecting us from the evil influence of wayward females.
But why talk about sexism at all? Because trends in media are really trends in our culture. It’s reflective and symptomatic of larger issues, namely gender expectations. Journalists who promote restrictive gender codes by crafting questions and conversations around their own biases and microaggressions are really perpetuating these unrealistic standards upon our culture, and therefore upon all women.
Denying its seriousness is also denying the power the media has over culture. From demands on women’s bodies to be uniformly thin or sexy to literally tearing apart women simply because they’re women, the music media is relentlessly judgmental and misogynistic”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Björk/PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times
In this feature, we learn how Björk called out sexism in the music press:
“The Icelandic artist recently DJ'd at a festival in Houston, with fellow musicians on the line up including Aphex Twin, Arca, Oneohtrix Point Never and more.
She wrote:
i am aware of that it is less of a year since i started djing publicly so this is something people are still getting used to and my fans have been incredibly welcoming to me sharing my musical journey and letting me be me . its been so fun and the nerd in me editing together pieces of others peoples songs for weeks , gets to share the different coordinates i feel between some of the most sublime music i know .
but some media could not get their head around that i was not "performing" and "hiding" behind desks . and my male counterparts not . and i think this is sexism . which at the end of this tumultuous year is something im not going to let slide : because we all deserve maximum changes in this revolutionary energy we are currently in the midst of
She also critiqued the manner in which female songwriters are portrayed by a largely male music press:
women in music are allowed to be singer songwriters singing about their boyfriends . if they change the subject matter to atoms , galaxies , activism , nerdy math beat editing or anything else than being performers singing about their loved ones they get criticized : journalists feel there is just something missing ... as if our only lingo is emo ...”.
PHOTO CREDIT: @jesseskitt11/Unsplash
It is clear that, in order to rectify sexism in the music press, we need to tackle the industry as a whole and take a tougher stance. Female artists are producing the best music at the moment; women are crucial in regards the diversity and growth of music, and yet, there is a long way to go in regards equality and attitudes. If one imagines the case of The Washington Post’s comments about Blondie’s Debbie Harry are rare and isolated, one needs to do their research. I do understand it is a minority of music blogs/magazines/sites that are guilty of sexism and discrimination, but I feel now is the time to taking stricter action concerning those who overstep the mark. Women throughout music deserve the utmost respect and to be taken seriously. Whether you are a certified goddess like Harry or a promising Country artist, one should not have to read about women in terms of their looks or figure. Whilst attitudes (slowly) are starting to change in the media, we still see too many articles that gain umbrage on social media because of the languages used or the way a female artist(s) is portrayed. Whilst women are changing music and inspiring the masses, those in the music press need to start…
PHOTO CREDIT: @stanleydai/Unsplash
RE-WRITING the headlines.