¡FORWARD RUSSIA! opinion

It’s common knowledge that gender, appearance, race, class still affects at least the tiniest part of peoples opinions, whether they know it or not. But did we realise it’s still such a massive issue in peoples views of the music industry today?

If I think about the response people give me, of “Are you the singer?” I can see where they are coming from. Everybody is born with a voice, you only need yourself to sing [to a certain point] whereas playing an instrument requires you to first have an instrument before you can even begin the basics. So do we think girls might be tight with money? Or their parents are? Fair enough we do have to buy those bras and tampons! But really, how often do you see an image of a teenage girl in her bedroom practising the guitar for hours on end? I don’t think you do.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, and I think an underlying factor, why we don’t see images of girls practising drums and guitars, might be a combination of peer pressure and the lack of role models girls have to look up to.

Women with [powerful] voices have been in the media since sliced bread was invented. In the past, there have been women such as Billie Holliday, Dusty Springfield, Lulu, Diana Ross, Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry, (just a few that sprung to mind) who have created strong female role models for adolescent girls. (It would be easy to assume that having a girl front your band, would gain you more exposure.)

So, as a young girl playing the guitar, bass, or drums, who do you look up to for your inspiration? Until the 70’s, there was virtually nobody, and even then you’d have to look hard. Once the punk and indie scene started to develop on both sides of the Atlantic, girls seemed to take matters into their own hands, and started to be involved in the music scene from the stage, rather than from the crowd.

It's girls like Poison Ivy (The Cramps), Kira Roessler (Black Flag), Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), Samantha Maloney (Hole, Motley Crue, Peaches) that I feel have really opened up the world for girls like me. These women aren’t all glammed either, and it angers me that the media seem to only put girls in the spot light if they reveal some skin, wear a bit of lipstick, or most of all, are fronting the band.

It's a fact, whether you’re a girl or a guy, the front person is the main focus. But if you hear a record with a face melting guitar solo, or the fastest hi-hat beat, or funkiest slap bass, would you assume it's a guy playing? I think most people would, but I think this is our starting point.

Bands and musicians have always been in the media for being different and wacky, but I’d like to believe that there was a time when bands were exposed because they were good. So, if a girl could give Kerry King a run for his money, I hope she’d eventually have a reputation for being as good on guitar. This is my plan; if girls practise twice as hard, to be twice as good as any man, perhaps we might get an equal amount of exposure.

What I’m trying to say is, boys do smell, girls can be stupid, but working together is surely the best option for creating music for the new generations. Gender should in no way be an obstacle or mean free access to a musical career, in the same way that race and class shouldn’t. Sometimes I think, well maybe there just aren’t many girls who want to be in bands? And perhaps the ones that are good do get the exposure and the credit they deserve?

I really don’t know, but I like playing drums more than anything else.