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??

Me too. I liked them from their first album and their version of Valerie. They were playing locally and just bought a ticket on a whim. They were fantastic, I didn't stop dancing the whole gig. Abi was amazing, I was quite in awe watching her dance around the stage playing the sax.

A bit more 90s alternative - Melissa auf de maur (hole bassist, and great solo artist), pj Harvey, kat belljand of Babes in Toyland. The 90s were a golden era for women expressing themselves through guitar based music, there's many more great artists from that decade.
In fact I'd listen to 'Courtney Loves women's' on bbc 6 music (it's on the bbc sounds app) it's a pretty long list of the female musicians who've inspired her.
Oh! And I watched an Winehouse doc the other week, and I was struck by her musicianship, how seriously she took it and she wrote all her songs on her guitar. As someone who is creative, but pretty much tone deaf, it seemed like magic to me.

In her fuck off massive heels?

yeah we were the same, tickets came up for a gig locally not expecting a great deal but they were absolutely fantastic

The Gossip: female drummer.

Amy MacDonald

With pop music you're often hard pressed to find someone genuinely playing a musical instrument. If she comes over to the dark side (metal/alternative) she'll find many artists who do play their own instruments, lyrics that actually mean something and a community to take part in. I wouldn’t assume that classical is the only type of music for gender equality whatsoever. Many women are amazing on guitars. Maybe she can find her own niche in a genre that is very accepting and you'll just have to deal with your own judgements. She needs to find her people and style, do not get in the way of that.

Kittie, Even Avril Lavigne. Don’t dim her shine whatever she wants to go for.

Yeah if you're into a daft musical about Henry VIII's wives. I doubt that that can be an inspirational thing just because there were women who didn’t even get the facts right

I work at a theatre where this is currently playing for the second season… The first act is historically accurate and the second is a “feminist remake/what if/girls revenge”… Absolutely not my cup of tea at all, but it’s hugely popular and gets bums in seats. It gets a lot of younger people to the theatre and that’s a great thing.

Susan Tedeschi
Brandi Carlile
Melissa Etheridge
Sheryl Crow

I’m resurrecting this as I just heard kerrang radio talking about women’s day. Sounds like they’ve got a lot of programs planned championing women in the music industry.
might be worth a listen @mids2019

https://hellorayo.co.uk/kerrang/shows/international-womens-day/

https://www.kerrang.com/international-womens-day-in-conversation-music-industry-record-label-management-publicity-media-festivals