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Joan Jett’s been busting her butt to prove that girls rock for almost 40 years. | Source
We all know girls rock. That is, except the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Despite so many girls and women being kick ass musicians, we’re still so underrepresented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that it’s pretty ridiculous. Think about it: Out of all the 11 new artists being inducted this year, only one–the late Laura Nyro–is a woman. Wanna get even more peeved? Out of the 296 inductees in the hall’s history, only 40 have been female or had female members. That’s a little ridic, isn’t it?
It’s especially mind boggling when you consider the omissions that the Hall has made so far: Joan Jett, who has been a consistent face on the rock and roll scene pretty much forever (well, at least since 1975), has yet to be inducted. She’s still touring today, headlining Warped Tour and sharing stages with the Foo Fighters, proving that girls rock harder and longer than a lot of the guys. In addition, the movie The Runaways made Joan Jett extra relevant, even to those who may not be rock aficionados, when Twilight megastar Kristen Stewart played her. What is the problem here, people?!
The adorbs Cyndi Lauper, who still tours, performs, and acts as an activist today more than proved girls rock–and just wanna have fun–and has yet to be inducted. Pat Benatar, who came up around the same time as prior inductees Blondie, is proof that girls rock and have a heart at the same time (hello, “Love is a Battlefield”!) and has yet to be let in.
Additionally, there is a special display for women at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because they know girls rock. But this is part of the problem: Why are women separate from the dudes? We’re just as kick ass as they are, so we should be able to stand next to our male counterparts, not in a separate wing. It’s a subtle, and perhaps unintentional, way of saying women aren’t equal to men by placing us in a separate section of the hall–and it also increases the chance that women may be passed by when people visit if they’re not placed in the main hall with everyone else.
Girls rock, even in a band of all boys. Think Gwen and her No Doubt bros! | Source
Based on the numbers alone, there appears to be some institutionalized sexism at play in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since it started, and some awesome gals want that to end. You can sign their petition here–showing that girls rock not only arenas, but also their right to be heard.
We hope this policy gets straightened out by the time a lot of our favorite current women in music become eligible: We’re looking at you, Beyonce, Pink, Avril, and Gwen! Girls rock, and they deserved to be honored for it just as much as the boys do.
Do you think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is sexist? Who is your favorite female musician? What do you think is the best way to let the world know that girls rock? Tell us in the comments!
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If you were to compare the ratio of male to female musicians in rock/pop music in the last 40 years I’m willing to bet it would be about the same (if not more disproportionate) to the 40/296 inductees in the rock and roll hall of fame.
I’m not saying men are better musicians, I love SO many female artists. I’m saying this is a result of mathematics, not sexism. Your argument is ridiculous.
Why is it sexist to have less women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Statistically there are far fewer female musicians than their male counterparts. Not everything that has a difference in the number of male to female is sexist. I’m all for equality, but come on. It’s just as sexist to demand everything be equal simply because you’re a woman.
Anna is absolutely right! No matter how rock they sound they are consistently labeled pop or made into pop (even if temporarily) if you’re going to go all feminist n the rock and roll hall of fameget you facts right! It would only be sexist if they had no girls in it. How many female rockers are actually beyonce popular? Or P!nk popular? Or Avril popular? Not a lot!’
And please WHO CARES IF WOMEN ARE SEPARATE FROM MEN? Why don’t we use the same bathroom as men in public? Or why do we have separate categories in award shows? Because we’re different from men! In this society we are expected to rock a certain way! Men a different way! Or they are just that awesome! Why are their separate basketball teams? Stop asking these questions!
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just a load of CRAP anyway. It’s completely useless. The Hall shouldn’t dictate how we see the face of Rock–it’s clearly WAY WAY WAY out of whack. Hello, Beastie Boys? Since when are they ROCK? There are tons of bands that should be there–Gwen, Beyonce, and Pink are NOT and never will be Rock, either. How about REAL rock bands? It’s one thing to notice a trend, it’s another thing to add to the stupidity of an already outrageously idiotic list.
To be honest I don’t think Beyonce and Gwen Stefani should be counted as Rock artists. Avril would’ve been good to nominate during her first two albums, but now she’s only an adult trying to hard to write about teen angst. Pink on the other hand, she’s a lady that deserves to be inducted.
Yeah, I agree, Beyonce and Gwen Stefani are awesome, but they dont play rock and roll. I also agree with the last comments. Sure, there are awesome female rockers, but really- its mostly guys. Sure more girl rock an roll artists should be inducted, but you can’t really help who plays rock and roll and who sings pop music
What Anna said was right! There aren’t very many girls in the genre at all, so of course not very many have been inducted. As for the girls you listed, some may not be inducted because of the qualifications. A performer’s first record has to have been made at least 25 years before their induction year to be considered.
Joan Jett was one of the best rockers out there letting the world know that girls can rock. Her songs are so catchy and awesome.
Dude, rock is a male dominated genre- of course women are outnumbered. Even today, women in the rock industry are uncommon. We’re expected to be pop stars. The hall of fame isn’t sexist, society is.
Thank you Anna that is just what i was going to say. i went to a rock concert and the only girls there in the crowd was ones with their boyfriends, or they were lesbians (im not being homophobic im just saying lesbians can be more boyish than girls). there was very few girls there for the music and not going gaga over Tyler Connolly (lead singer of Theory of a Deadman). i am a true die hard rock and roll kind of girl. my boyfriend considers himself to be very lucky. but i love Joan Jett and hell, i even share the same birthday as Pat Benatar.
Maybe they should induct Halestorm into the Rock ‘n Roll hall of fame. Lzzy Hale Rocks harder than anyone whos been inducted in the past 5 years.