Daughter says musical instruments are for men in pop music - how do I prove her wrong?

[mids2019]

My daughter play a the guitar and electric guitar.

I was trying to think of really good female electric guitar players to act as role models and actually struggled (my bad). Men however, Clapton, Hendrix, Marr etc. The list goes on. In fact when I watch bands it always seems to be be men on supporting instruments generally.

Modern pop music seems to equate women with good looks/sex appeal/ singing and there isn't much variation. Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter , Arianna Grande, Tate McRae etc. etc. However the more heavy weight bands in pop cukture, The Beatles, Stones, Queen, Bowie are all male.

I am now seeing classical music as the genre where you have true gender equality and opportunities so I am trying to get my daughter to see at least a classical concert for this reason (as well as the music being brilliant). Am I wrong in this view??

Going back to the 90s but has she heard of Hole? Courtney Love’s all female rock band.

Sometimes it’s just the zeitgeist- at the moment it’s all solo singers. There aren’t a huge number of younger rock bands that are big at the moment are there? Male nor female? Happy to be corrected!

Oh I was reading something the other day about Alice Cooper’s touring band (god knows how that came up!), his guitarist is a woman, and a relatively young one. Nita Strauss a quick google tells me. She also apparently had a short spell touring with Demi Lovato.

Taylor swift is such a music nerd in general and she's actively involved in producing her own music, often playing her own instruments. You can see some of this in her Netflix specials

Taylor swift get her to watch Eras on Disney even if not a fan she was amazing live totally inspiring Dolly Parton plays 14 instruments and writes as does Swift

Check out Mexican rock band The Warning
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warning_(band)
My DH and ds (who love hard rock - I don't) have been to see them twice this year!

Anna Calvi
Heart
Carly Simon
Last Dinner Party
Wet Leg

Doesn't Beyoncé have an all-female backing band?

I have a teenager daughter drummer. She loves beebadobbe, who is amazing we daw her in the summer. Last dinner party are all female.
Mitski but I'm not sure if she plays anything.

My daughter has a band with her friends, all females and have played local things.

Tell her not to let her gender stop her music is music and if she's enjoying it that's all that matters.
My daughters a level music class is more female.

Hope is not lost!

The late Christine McVie is one not mentioned so far.

Dolly Parton plays lots of instruments, not just guitar.

Michael Jackson had a female guitarist whose name escapes me.

There were many female musicians in 90s indie bands like Elastica and Lush.

If she's into rock then she should check out Lzzy Hale who fronts Halestorm, she's amazing 🤩

Kim Deal of Pixies/ the Breeders and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. Both amazing musicians.

The 5,6,7,8s. A fabulous Japanese girl band. Easily the most fun I've ever had at a gig was seeing these ladies.

St Vincent
Feist
Kim Deal
Nadine Shah
Hayley from Paramour I assume plays something
Sheila E
Harry Styles band was roughly 50/50 gender split and his drummer Sarah is incredible

Avril Lavigne plays guitar. As does Taylor Momsen from the Pretty Reckless. Haim - all three women in the band play guitar.

Hayley Williams from paramore also plays, but only seems to play acoustic sessions.

Haim all female and all play instruments multiple

The Japenese House. Lead female can play everything

Both very modern

Not quite what you asked for but channel 4 did a drama called lady parts where it was an all female band. Music was good.

I’m sure I’ve seen Pink and Lady Gaga with their own guitars!

Gail Ann Dorsey

There was a section in every eras tour show where Taylor played a surprise song on guitar and another on piano.

Taylor Swift has albums upon albums that aren't traditional pop - her earlier albums are very guitar based, Folklore & Evermore are heavily piano based. She also has a song about being sexualised and how if she was a man, she wouldn't be seen in the way she is.

Adele is an amazing female artist, who plays piano, and is definitely not sexualised.

Gracie Abrams performs with a guitar a lot.

Honestly I think it's a shame that we are living in a time with so many amazing female artists (Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Beyonce, Adele, etc etc.) and al you can do is reduce them down to their looks.

The Pretenders - Chrissie Hynde on guitar

The Bangles all play instruments

Prince had loads of female musicians in his bands over the years - in the video for Kiss you can see a female guitarist doing the solo

I also personally know several teenage girls who play guitar, keyboards, and drums

Phoebe Bridgers
Julien Baker
Lucy Dacus
Julie Dawson and Cara Joshie from NewDad
Ellie Rowsell from Wolf Alice
Tori Amos
Kristen Hirsh and Tanya Donnelly from Throwing Muses
Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson from Lush

Did anyone mention The Dixie Chicks?

Definitely get her to on to Dolly Parton - as well as being a hugely talented singer, song writer and multi instrumentalist, she's a great role model. Came from poverty. She properly backed herself and stood her ground with some of musics biggest heavy weights. She does a huge amount for underprivileged children, with a particular focus on illiteracy. I've come across some great snippets of old interviews where she's been criticised for her appearance and she intelligently and articulately shuts down the interviewer, with a sweet smile on her face.

Miley Cyrus plays guitar and piano.

There was an all female pop punk band in the early 2000s called The Donnas. Used to love them.

Edited to add: YolanDa Brown. Slightly different as she's a saxophonist, but very successful and very talented.

Billie Eilish plays guitar, so does Taylor Swift, Mitski and Beebadobee, all women writing and performing at the moment. Hole, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Elasticata, Pulp, Talking Heads, Alanis Morrisette - off the top of my head all successful bands with female instrumentalists. Then multi-instrumentalists like Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Alison Goldfrapp.