Gender Discrimination In Music Analysis

In present day confessional music, the hypocrisy and gender discrimination has changed little over the years, despite what people may think. Taylor Swift, a female songwriter and performer who often gets criticized by the media for writing about her relationships, is an example of this. In fact, she even plays on her known crazy ex-girlfriend image in her music video for “Blank Space,” where she depicts herself as unhinged (Swift). While this song lyrically and video visually appear to be Taylor’s confessional response to her perceived image, critics still slammed her for this video. One specifically, Karol Markowicz from the New York Post writes, “Worse, they invoke a sense of ‘girl power’ as if there is something empowering about a woman behaving insanely. …show more content…
Critic comments such as the ones Markowicz makes here are extremely ironic. Male musicians like Eminem who express violence have been praised for their lyrics by prominent media outlets, not degraded like Taylor Swift. For instance, a Los Angeles Times writer Robert Hilburn commented on Eminem’s aggressive and violent content by stating, “Eminem is simply exercising his creative impulses.” Hilburn’s statement perfectly demonstrates the double standard female musicians face from critics in the media. I believe this hypocrisy ultimately stems from the sexist image society has of woman, which wants them to be calm mannered and unemotional. Overall, hypocrisy and discrimination is still present today, as it was in the 90’s and 80’s with Nirvana and Madonna, and further in the past with James Dickey’s thoughts on female