It seems as though whenever I go on any social media platform, critics and fans everywhere love to compare women artists in the music industry to each other, and not in the best way. The words “better than,” “copy” or “steal” are commonly used in reviews of music. While I believe that it is natural for fans to have such discourse over things they are passionate about, there is a fine line between being a critic of a body of work, versus having deep-rooted feelings of misogyny.
Due to the fact that we live in a patriarchal society, many individuals who consume music from female artists may subconsciously judge the artist and/or her work, simply because she is female.
This needs to stop.
If you or someone you know has done this before, allow me to ask this question: why do we feel the need to create a sense of competition between women? Why does one artist have to have a better sound than, be jealous of or copy the style of another female artist? This mentality is damaging, to say the least. It is not sending a good message to young girls and women in this world who want to peruse their dreams. We are instilling visions of a cutthroat artistic industry, where not all women can be successful in their own way. This is simply not the truth. Instead, we need to encourage women to pursue whatever they desire, and tell them that nothing and no one can stand in their path to success. Every person’s journey is unique, and we must honor that and uplift each other.
For those who believe that it is normal or necessary to compare female artists to each other, allow me to ask another question: why don’t we do the same for men? Personally, I have never seen any critics of a male musician pit him against another, even if they do in fact have a similar sound. Why is there more room for men in the music community – for those who appropriate style or not – than there is for women? The sense of competition is slim to none, and if there is competition, it seems to have less of an “all or nothing” mentality. No one is trying to demolish the other’s career, which seems to be a recurring theme when comparing two women in the music industry against each other. There can only be one that reigns supreme, which again is extremely toxic and simply untrue.
So the next time that there is an emerging female artist, give them the same chances and opportunities that are given to their male counterparts. View each artist as an individual, and give them the respect that they deserve. Lastly, create an environment that is healthy enough to raise our girls and young women, and teach them that they can do anything that their heart desires.