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Welcome to the new
breed - The Slits Ari Up |
All the girl bands
had their music, image etc controlled my men producers and record labels. It had
been that way since Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. Yet punk did something
very special here and short circuited this . One: you didn't have to pay your
dues or even know how to play. Two: You had a ready made audience who may hate you
but would listen and Three: You could say what you wanted. The rules were the
same for men and women. Neither of you knew how to play. You still had the morons shouting get them off but
at least you stood a chance. As a man playing to an audience of women screaming
get them off it might be frightening but exciting; for a women l imagine it
both frightening
and sexually disturbing.
It also for better or
worse opened the door for politics to enter the arena. Ok it had to happen and
god knows what it achieved with people like Crass
and their minions who wanted to make
more of a point and politicise the gender debate. I mean walking around with a
strap on dildo and throwing bits of meat around, complaining about shaving your
arms and slagging of people who wear high heels and makeup and expecting people to
be converted had me pissing myself laughing. Who did more for women to awaken
debate ? Crass &
The Poison Girls or Madonna ?
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| Like it or not punk
opened this door. Writers, photographers, designers. If I were
to think of strong sexy original punk women then I think of Siouxsie, Joan Jett, Gaye Advert, Vivienne
Westwood and The Slits. Other people always say Poly Styrene . Don't get
me wrong but Poly wasn't exactly a looker (and that's not meant as an insult
or a negative) and it as strong and sexy that makes
men (and women for that matter) most afraid. They are all mainly English and
the reason is that they added realism to women in rock. Check out the lyrics..
they sure weren't about love ..in fact a lot of them were about women's changing
role in society and their view of that society and their place in it i.e. becoming more equal and more a force to be reckoned with.
It wasn't just showmanship and rock'n'roll; it was gritty reality and the aspiration to
present themselves as themselves and if you didn't like then f**k off !!! |
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Jordan |
This also coincided with
punk fashion...women wore aggressive, sexual clothes. Whereas previously they
might be the dreamt up clothed creations of the manager or record label
they were no longer passive consumers of teen fodder or dreamboats. They were
active participants They were smart ,they were sexy and they could play. Look at
the early characters in the early punk scene..nearly all women each with strong
and distinctive characters from Sue Catwoman to Jordan. But like everything
else the media honed in on their looks, not least Sounds who specialised
in Blondie Gaye Advert, Plasmatics pictures weekly. |
Punkettes
on the street |
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| As
rock developed so did the media and the media presentation of women in
rock was conservative, male ,reactionary and sexist. You see as it is
now in this visual world what's the quickest way of gaining attention
for a new star. If she's horny underdressed well you are on a winner to
start with. Sex sells. Up until 77 women with guitars was an angle
itself and was almost exclusively coupled with turning them into male
fantasy figures or as I said earlier novelty items. Could a women have
anything to say besides being horny and what's wrong with that anyway in
an industry that revolves around sex and teenagers ? What it proved was
there was more and that women did have something to say. The
answer to that is on whose terms is it ?? Music was so male dominated
that female artists were a godsend to papers who could feature female
artists as sexual light relief.. The other way they could handle them
was if they were ugly, folk singers lesbians . If they had anything to
say ridicule was in order. Rock journalism works by references to rock
history. When someone writes about a new band it will always be such and
such sounds like a mix of so and so and someone else. With females
or women bands. their sexuality is always the first port of call and
then whether they could play as there were no references to place them
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Artists or pin up's ? |
Is sexuality a
legitimate commodity to help sell records ? I don't see why not. Rock is
sex...at its best it exudes sexuality ?? When we are young who do we fantasize
about f***ing ??? Normally the pop stars on our walls . Was Elvis being
exploited ? Quite probably. Were the Runaways exploited yes. Was Madonna ?
Yes and then no. As teenagers we are shamelessly exploited. There's a fine line though
and its all to do with the perception of the woman as artist or pin up and
there's a great deal of confusion there coz puberty doesn't tend to
recognise women's rights and vice versa for girls !!! Madonna used her body to
get where she is now and now uses her body to manipulate others ?? Good role
model ??? Sexy and intelligent??? Yet as we all know rock isn't just
about a pretty face. |
Artist or pin up ? |
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