Sexism in Dublin's music scene...discuss. (3 Viewers)

[stunning]

I've only been here 4 months, so I'll wait to comment...but what's the deal?

Thomas

 

[ElderLemon]

Is the insinuation that there is too much or too little?

 

[stunning]

Originally posted by ElderLemon
Is the insinuation that there is too much or too little?

Cute.

TD

 

[pete]

What's wrong with being sexy?

 

[mazzyianne]

.........nice
!cheezy

 

[stunning]

Ok, so my mistake was assuming that discussions of serious political content might actually take place in the POLITICS section of the forum.

Right, I'll know better next time.

I wonder if there was anyone who would have posted on this topic but chose not to because they'd be made a joke of...hmmm...oh well.

Dunning

 

[snap-apple]

well i didnae say anything cos i don't really know what you're getting at - i think it would be fair to say that there are less women than men at alot of the gigs and that there aren't many bands with female members but isn't this the norm? i don't think there's any out-and-out sexism i.e. prejudice against any particular sex.

 

[stunning]

Originally posted by conor
i think it would be fair to say that there are less women than men at alot of the gigs and that there aren't many bands with female members but isn't this the norm?

Thanks at least for replying to the topic Conor. Well, what *am* I getting at? Sure I've got some ideas and I want to talk about them, but I didn't just want to come out and say "Blah, blah, blah..." without getting a feel for the landscape, if you know what I mean. That's why I asked for some discussion before I offered my own feelings. I'm not from or of Dublin's music scene, so it would have been rude of me to come out and say "What the fuck is wrong here?" without asking first. I thought some Women of Thumped would have said something about their experiences with sexism in the scene which could have lead to some deeper thinking about how opportunities for women are secured or blocked.

To be con't.

 

[stunning]

Re: out and out sexism, as you mention Conor...

That's not exactly what I'm on about, though it could be a part of it. I just noticed, and as you mentioned, that there aren't as many women at shows as men and there aren't as many women in bands as men. You ask if this isn't the norm. The norm is whatever we make it. If there aren't many bands with women in them, why is that? What's our responsibility to that? How do we welcome the gifts that women in our community can bring? My norm, where I'm from, is that women run the fucking scene. I guess that's why I noticed it so much here. All the people I've interacted with in the Dublin music scene have been men. If THINGS has a steering committee or a board, are there women on it? If there is a gig with 4 bands playing, do we go out of our way to make sure that a woman's voice will be heard over the course of a four hour show? Where are the rock chicks? In the basement of Bruxelles?

To be con't.

 

[pete]

Originally posted by stunning
Where are the rock chicks? In the basement of Bruxelles?

Yes.

And long may it continue.

 

[stunning]

I guess its called reaching out and as fellow artists, and as consumers, insisting on the inclusion of women in gig line-ups, on local compilations, on indie radio and indie television. I think a scene without a variety of artistic flavors can get pretty boring. Which leads me to my next question...what's the relationship of the indie-rock scene to the indie-folk scene? Is there cross pollination or is that something that isn't really done?

I'll close with this...

The problem may lie (and I'm NOT putting this on Conor, this is for all of us - myself included) with the assumption that women aren't in bands as much as men because they're not as interested, don't have as much of a need to create music or that they lack the creative skills or drive. What I'd challenge us as a community to look at, is the probable fact that opportunities and a welcoming spirit towards women may not have been previously in place. However, we must acknowledge that the music industry has historically been a place where men have held the seat of power and have historically abused that power. How do we change what we bring to the situation?

What do we today?

Thomas O'Neil Dunning

 

[snap-apple]

i think you're making some really good points there, but in my experience it's the norm to go to a low-key gig (dance, indie etc.) and find more men than women, i would never have questioned it before as i'm used to it and i would always have assumed it was down to lack of interest and nothing more sinister. i think crusty dirty dingy music and gigs are seen by some women as a lads thing. it could be a dublin/irish socialogical thing too - there may be more muso guys out there than muso women? the music scene we're talking about here is still very much 'underground' and that probably appeals more to nerdy muso blokes for some strange reason.

 

[stunning]

Originally posted by conor
i would always have assumed it was down to lack of interest and nothing more sinister. i think crusty dirty dingy music and gigs are seen by some women as a lads thing. it could be a dublin/irish socialogical thing too - there may be more muso guys out there than muso women? the music scene we're talking about here is still very much 'underground' and that probably appeals more to nerdy muso blokes for some strange reason.

Thanks Conor, REALLY good points and they help me understand a bit better...I mean, the perspective...I guess that's what I was looking for.

Cheers,

Thomas

 

[snap-apple]

Originally posted by stunning
The problem may lie (and I'm NOT putting this on Conor, this is for all of us - myself included) with the assumption that women aren't in bands as much as men because they're not as interested, don't have as much of a need to create music or that they lack the creative skills or drive. What I'd challenge us as a community to look at, is the probable fact that opportunities and a welcoming spirit towards women may not have been previously in place. However, we must acknowledge that the music industry has historically been a place where men have held the seat of power and have historically abused that power. How do we change what we bring to the situation?

that's cool - i think its just a small scene that you've seen so far and there are other scenes that are problaby less weighted towards men. but i'm continuing to play devil's advocate here and i think you could use similar arguments to suggest there was an equal amount of racism and agism also.

 

[Knacker]

Things You're Missing definitely has an imbalance of the sexes. Would like to see more women attend those meetings. But the Dublin scene has a lot of very active women. And believe it or not, a lot of girls go to gigs. But seeing as there are a lot more women in Dublin than men, it is surprising that the independent scene in Dublin is dominated by blokes.

 

[snap-apple]

Yes i think we'd all like to see more women getting involved with THiNGS. But it is interesting that THiNGS was always an open forum and still there's the imbalance.

the smell at the meetings is appaling

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Can you move this to the main board?

 

[pete]

Originally posted by GrRrrrR
Can you move this to the main board?

et Viola.

 

[Speed Racer]

Originally posted by stunning
I've only been here 4 months, so I'll wait to comment...but what's the deal?

Thomas

I think the scene in Dublin isn't sexy enough. ...




Doh! Pete got there first. Shit

 

[Pantone247]

Originally posted by Knacker
it is surprising that the independent scene in Dublin is dominated by blokes.

If the boys in the bands were more better looking maybe we'd drill up more female support?

I mean some bands round here are just plain ugly.

On a serious note I'm really surprised anybody would think sexism exsists in Dublins music scene, yes, there are more men then women attending gigs and all that (but now that I think of it, not much more at all) but I don't think this could be seen as a result of 'sexism' or be in any way related to any sort of discrimination.

Fair enough ask why don't more women come out to gigs, but throwing terms like 'sexism' round is a little OTT