Themes of Gender Equality
The idea for the documentary was imagined by producer Michelle Grace Hunder when she discovered that only 10 out of 182 Australian hip-hop artists were female – equivalent to just 5.5%.
In 2018, solo female musicians or all female acts only made up about 21% of the top 100 most played songs on radio in Australia, while solo male musicians or all male acts made up about 52% (according to data from Aircheck analysing the most played songs across 58 Australian radio stations).
And it is not just in Australia!
“Equality in the music industry definitely doesn’t exist, it’s male-dominated through and through,” songwriter Carla Marie Williams, who has written for artists including Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Craig David, told the Guardian news in 2018 in this article. This New York Times article also explores the surprising inequalities in the music industry.
To try to understand this inequality, it is important to look at perceived gender roles in society, as people are generally a product of the values and ideas in their society. Traditionally, in western society over the last century, gender roles have suggested that men are seen as the more ‘creative’ and ‘star’ performer, whereas women have more ‘backup singer’ and ‘devoted fan’ roles.
Feminism is largely understood to mean empowering women in order to achieve equality of genders. Throughout history, 'waves' of feminism have challenged ideas of gender equality in society.
The ‘first wave’ of feminism began in the late 19th century and focused on the recognition of women as individuals within society, through women’s right to vote and own property. You may have heard of “the suffragettes” – this was women actively protesting (sometimes by violently breaking the law!) for the right to vote.
‘Second wave feminism’ began in the 1960’s, and changed the social idea that women could only be housewives. It concentrated on women’s rights at work and also access to birth control.
‘Third wave feminism’ began in the 1990’s and aimed at improving gender balance in the workplace and reducing sexual harassment.
Academics claim that ‘fourth wave feminism’ began in 2012. This current wave pushes for the empowerment of women through online movements such as #MeToo, and seeks justice for the mistreatment of women. Fourth wave feminism focuses on ideas of intersectionality and celebrating diverse humans, turning away from social gender norms. In Australian the #MeNoMore movement is a calling for gender equality in the Australian Music Industry and began as an open letter in 2017 (read more about #MeNoMore here).
Globally, Gender Equality is a UN Sustainable Development goal.
Watch the interview with the film makers here:
What are some of the ways the documentary explores gender inequality? Share your ideas with a partner.
Write a brief paragraph explaining if you think gender equality and feminism are the same thing. Include a justification about which wave of feminism you think is the most important and why.
With a different partner, identify two ways have you witnessed “fourth wave feminism”.
In the documentary, 50% of music students are women, but only 20% of song writers are women. The documentary asks the question – where do all the women go? Explain your thoughts on this.
Should there be gender quotas at music festivals? Stage a class debate with affirmative and negative sides.
Watch the weather scene from Her Sound, Her Story:
Read the article by ABC Triple J HACK Journalists: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/by-the-numbers-2019-the-gender-gap-in-australian-music-revealed/10879066
Complete a PMI brainstorm evaluation of your research:
What is a “plus” of the data?
What is a “minus” of the data?
What is interesting about the data?
To submit to your teacher at the end of class, write 1 sentence on your opinion of this data and information: do you think it is important? Why or why not?