How come the rock/metal/punk industry is dominated by men?

Question

RoVale: Why do you think it is the majority of people don't take women in bands seriously, as you contend?

Answer 1

Actually, there are a number of successful bands without women vocals, but because they're bassists, drums, etc they stay in the sidelines (ex The Pixies, the Smashing Pumpkins).

Rock and roll is a very sexual kind of music, in a way that previous music had never been. Society at the time bands like The Beatles and The Stones started to become popular was a lot more puritanical and looked down on sexuality, so rock and roll was shocking and new-- but as much as people were shocked by rock, they would have been even MORE shocked had women been the lead singers.

As you said, though, there were exceptions such as Janis Joplin, Grace Slick [Jefferson Airplane], Joan Jett, and later Siouxsie Sioux [Siouxsie and the Banshees], Patti Smith, Pat Benetar, Deborah Harry [Blondie], etc (most of those are pretty well-known).

Rock by women, especially in the 60s, just didn't sell as well. Girls listened to male music so they could fawn over Paul McCartney's eyes, and boys listened to it so they could have male role models-- but because women's rights was not as discussed, people didn't see it as necessary for young women to have strong female role models.

Answer 2

its because of the angry, and or tough look that rock bands go for. Not of which u find in most women..unless shes a psycho hobbo...xD

Answer 3

It has always been for day one.

Answer 4

a successful band requires trust. Most female lead singers end up leaving the band for a solo career(not as many lead male singers do this).

        And also look at the main demo graph that purchases those CD's and goes to concert's for the genre.

    Same could be asked why pop music tends to be dominated by female singers.

Or why rap tends to be dominated by African American artists?

Answer 5

Creativity is mostly a masculine trait!

*History remembers people who make noise :-D

**BY, shut it!

Answer 6

There are excellent female artists but, because the industry has been dominated by men, women have been locked out, discriminated against and discouraged.  AND, the rock scene I remember when I was younger was loaded with drugs.  I wonder if perhaps many females back away from the industry in concern for their eggs and reproductive health related to the drug / s*x scene and STD's that go along with all that.  It's a sleazy lifestyle, working at nights, etc.  Also, young males like to make loud noises more than young females do.  In early childhood, boys incorporate loud noise-making into their play much more frequently than do girls.  I think males remain more easily entertained by loud noises and thumping heart-beat simple rhythms than girls until about 25 years old and then males grow more refined in their explorations of music, volumes and complexity of rhythm and catch-up with females in the expansion of their musical sensibilities into areas not exclusively hinged on vagal responses.

Answer 7

its hard to do the low growly voice thingy men do would be my guess..

and i cant name drop?

dangit...oh well...im sure most ppl on here dont listen to japanese rock anyhow.

meanie.

Answer 8

I find it very revealing when people say women aren't very present in these areas due to some supposed lack of creativity or incompetence when in fact the most profitable genre of music in the US, country, is pretty evenly split when it comes to males and females.

I think one reason women are so mildly represented in those genres you listed is because these are still perceived male professions. One hundred years ago education and medicine were dominated by men. They are now dominated by women. But you also cannot ignore the fact that rock/metal/punk are very aggressive genres of music. Look at the fan base: mostly male. Males can relate better to it, so naturally they're going to be more attracted to it when looking for a creative outlet for themselves. Yes, there are females who listen to those genres, but have you ever been to Ozzfest? You could change the name to "Sausage Fest."

Edit: Warped Tour's main audience for the past few years has been teenaged girls swooning over pop-punk boybands who sing about love. Bubblegum pop, the same as Nsync, New Kids on the Block, etc... just with guitars.

Edit 2:I didn't say every single band on Warped Tour is bubblegum pop. I said the core audience is. Go look at Reel Big Fish's crowd compared to Cobra Starship and All Time Low's crowd. The bands that bring in the large throngs of teenaged girls are the bubblegum pop bands. Now the more testosterone-infused and aggressive bands such as Every Time I Die and As I Lay Dying are going to have significantly more males watching their sets.

Answer 9

Your right, most rock bands are dominated by men, but  there are girl rockers that do more than sing. Like Lita Ford, Joan Jett, the Heart sisters, and others that I can't recall by name at the moment.

You mentioned groups from the 60's on. Yes, most were male led and still are. There are less women in rock and roll to begin with, so naturally there are less in the "successful" bands, also. It's just a matter of percentage.

Answer 10

I like hard rock and metal bands like Slipknot and Disturbed, but to hear a woman sing like that... screaming... I can't stand it. It just doesn't sound as good. Maybe thats why? I dunno. I just can't stand the voice.

Answer 11

I am a woman musician.... not rock/metal/punk.  But Christian... and it never ceases to amaze me that even in the gospel genre Men still dominate.  Men are the best musicians (they have the strength and large hands to really pound on the piano )..  I have noticed that men are better than women (on the whole, I know there are a few exceptions), in the cake decorating, flower arranging, fashion designing, and interior decorating.  My husband is even better at cleaning house than I am especially mopping the floors and cleaning the bathtubs/shower stalls.  I think strength again is a big part of that.  But in spite of what I just said, I still think women have a place in all of those areas.  We just have to work harder and try for something more creative and unique.

Answer 12

I think it's because females were perceived as buying most of the records in the old days and the s**y male rock stars were geared towards female appeal as they made up the bulk of the fans.  Today, music is more accessible with the net and we all buy/download the music.  I must admit that there are legends like Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Blondie, Cher and Madonna - but they are not in metal bands.  I'd like to see a female band with male groupies!

Answer 13

When I wanted to learn the guitar, my mom said it wasn't "feminine."  Maybe lots of girls fantasize about getting into the rock industry, but are pressured away from it?

There was that era of "riot grrl" bands like L7, Bikini Kill, 7-year *****, Babes in Toyland, etc where female guitarists were women.  

I don't know.  The stereotype is that rocker women are tomboys, which isn't true.

EDIT: Whalers, have you heard Angela Gossow from Arch Enemy sing? She sounds like any other death metal male singer.

Not all metal singers have to sound a certain way..You guys need to check out doom/goth/ambient metal. Tarja from Nightwish has an excellent opera voice and they're a well-known metal band. Metal isn't just growling or screaming.

Answer 14

It has more to do with women not being as successful in music in general, which has more to do with them not being as successful period because of oppressive societal standards and even laws way back when. It's a snowball effect. Punk originated in a time when it was still considered a bit taboo for women to be out demanding that much attention. When punk came out it wasn't as bad, of course, but women were not successful in the music industry in general because of past decades when they were meant to stay home and raise kids and not draw attention to themselves. Unfortunately most of them listened and the ones that didn't had a h**l of a hard time getting heard when the music industry was essentially run by men, for men, just like every other major industry. Sure there have been waves of women breaking boundaries, but things go back and forth and even with those few women making it through, the history of punk and rock and roll is surrounded with men, who influence other men, so by default it becomes difficult for women to get a leg up. It's not as bad now and of course there was the whole riot grrl thing (which was good to an extent, but I do think they isolated themselves a bit too much and that kinda defeats the purpose) but it's going to take a while, some cultural evolving, if you will, and a lot of hard work for women to gain as much notice and respect in the world of punk rock as men. It's just the way it goes.

There's also, unfortunately, the violence issue. This, for women, doesn't just mean the chance of getting punched in the face. We can handle that. Bruises heal. C'est la vie. Don't go in the pit you can't handle it. For women, this means being grabbed, slapped, otherwise molested and even raped. I'm not saying that's the norm. It's not, at least not at most punk concerts, but it does happen and it happens often enough that it can make the idea of a punk show a scary thing for a lot of women, especially if you don't have people to go with and especially if you've never been. Real punks don't do **** like that, but there are always idiot posers who think it's all about mindless idiotic violence who pick out any girl who looks like she's been separated from her group. My sister's friend was attacked at a punk show and luckily she had a bunch of friends with her so when they got through to her they beat the living **** out of the guy, but if they hadn't seen things could've been really bad. Again, real punks don't do **** like that and usually it's ok, but the risk is there and it's enough to make many women cautious, at least. In my opinion any guy who tries to do **** like that at a punk concert should be held down, legs spread and should have his d**k stomped on by some girl wearing combat boots. He'll think twice.

As far as the woman almost always being the lead singer, I'd say it has more to do with the fact that she's the only one of something than the fact that she's a woman. That is, if there's a band with 4 men and one woman then the woman becomes kind of a token article and, if she's got the voice for it, it just kind of works out that she'll be put in the front.

Also, WHO HASN'T HEARD OF THE PIXIES??? I've yet to meet a single person, even people who don't give a rat's *** about punk, who hasn't heard of the Pixies. They're classic. Even if you don't know there music or anything about them chances are you've at least heard the name.

Answer 15

So is noise, johno.

ETA:  my pleasure.  You think I give a sh*t?

ETA:  Discussion?  Here?  I never pass up a good straight line.  But since you're whining so nicely . . . okay.

Answer 16

Well, a lot of women don't like that kind of music.

I will repeat my regular answer to these questions that arrive ad nauseum.  The women are working to support the band, cooking food for the band, sewing costumes, washing clothes.  

Women don't generally have the extra time to go hang out in a garage playing in a band.  WE ARE BUSY.  While the band is practicing, who is keeping the house?  

Also touring is tough.  I had a job where i had to travel and it is a killer.  It is great if you are a man w***e and want a different lay every night, but for a woman, it is lonely.

As for women always being the singer....I used to be a singer in a band.  I did play an instrument - the keyboards, but they hired an ugly guy for the keyboards and told me to stand out front and dance.  They like to show off the female members or the band.

Answer 17

Sweet Kitty does have a point, in metal a woman singer just does not have the voice for the music. And honestly how many men, and for that matter some women take female musicians seriously. Sometimes they are viewed as novelty acts. Except when actual musicians know good musicians. The average trend following moron just see's women and doesnt care.

I wont name drop because you wont care but there are many exceptional singer/guitar playing/writiers if the blues genre. But if you do not look or appreciate it you will never notice them. Your loss.

Answer 18

I only know about metal.

Female metal fans are hugely outnumbered by male fans. Even then, most female metal fans are into pseudo metal. Metalcore, hair and nu metal. Teenage girls love that c**p. The biggest selling metal bands in the eighties were big mainly because their aesthetic captured female fans as well as male fans. There are many more males interested in metal.

The successful female artists are definitely the exception. Angela Gossow is a great vocalist and there are even all female bands like Astarte and Gallhammer. Males will always more more numerous in the metal scene and thus the bands will be primarily male.

Women do have the voice for it. There are many lighter and symphonic metal bands that use soprano vocals. They make beautiful music. I particularly like Therion. There are also female harsh vocalists that I like such as Angela Gossow and Vivian Slaughter.

I don't think that discrimination has anything to do with it. If you don't play metal because of what others think, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO PLAY METAL. Metal is for the free.

Another reason is that males are probably drawn more towards making music themselves. Most males expect themselves to be stoic in taciturn. Music is an avenue to self expression. Something that most males are denied in daily life. Females don't have that denial.

tl;dr version:

There are far fewer females interested in metal. Thus, far fewer females will want to pursue music in that direction. Also, metal music helps stoic, taciturn males to express themselves. Males are more drawn to use aggressive music to express themselves.

Answer 19

There have been all-female rock groups such as f***y, The Runaways, The Go-Gos, The Bangles, L7, Kittie, The Donnas, and so on. The problem is that these groups never attract the same kind of popular attention as the male groups do. What's worse is that female artists often have to deal with other aspects that the men never do such as their competency on their instruments (I can remember many people speculating that the recordings of both The Go-Gos and The Bangles were actually played by session musicians. This went on with all-male groups all the time, especially in the 1960s but somehow that was okay) and comments on their appearance and how they are dressed. You don't hear that kind of nonsense with male artists. The problem is that many people don't take female artists as seriously.