The music industry is rife with sexism in many forms. Be it the targeting of female artists on social media or the media obsession with pop stars’ sexiness on stage (just look at Miley and Nicky Minaj). To find more examples we don’t have to look far from home: Bristol’s music scene, saturated as it is by rowdy students, has a huge problem with lad culture and macho behaviour.
Slaves and Foals played on consecutive nights two weeks ago in Bristol University’s prized Anson Rooms, and they have been the most recent of many to call out the behaviour of some of their fans. Don’t get me wrong, we all love a good mosh and going wild with our mates during the hook of our favourite songs is why we love live music, but is there a point at which we have to draw the line? Say “hang on, that’s not okay behaviour and I’m not having fun anymore”? The answer is absolutely and categorically, yes there is a line, particularly when we look at what Foals frontman Yiannnis Philippakis had to say in the aftermath of his gig at the Anson Rooms:
Philippakis called out male crowd members on their “shady macho behaviour” in the mosh-pit, citing tweets from female fans who suffered on the receiving end of the unwelcome groping hands of “laddish” indie music lovers. In an interview with DIY he said, “There’s a difference between a mosh-pit and groping somebody, I think that goes without saying”. Additionally he said how he doesn’t like to hear stories about “shady” behaviour of Foals fans, expressing disappointment and embarrassment at the treatment of some girls at gigs. Philippakis isn’t the only one to have spoken out against out of line behaviour of fans. Harrison Koisser of Peace tweeted that guys who thought that this kind of treatment of fellow fans should just not bother coming, and have gone so far as to introduce more security measures to keep gigs a safe space for all.
Slaves called out the fans at their Cardiff show specifically in an girlsagainst, made by a group of five music lovers and devoted to standing against groping at gigs. Girlsagainst has snowballed to success, with a feature on DIY and masses of support on twitter from big names in music including Spector and Swim Deep, as well as Slaves.
Photo Credit: DIY Magazine
The fact that a twitter account devoted exclusively to the seemingly small issue of groping at gigs has received so much media attention is very telling of the extent to which this is a very real problem, and even points to the wider effects of sexism in the music industry, not just for artists, but for their fans too. Girlsagainst is hopefully a first step towards making live music a safer space for everyone involved. Girlsagainst vigilantly share the stories of victims of sexual assaults at gigs, calling out wrongdoers and demanding the attention of fans and performers alike. They tweet successes too, and through them it’s easy to see the situation improving.
Though he expressed his disappointment in his fans, Yiannis Philippakis was quick to clarify that part of the “ecstatic” feeling of live music is the ability to “go mental” crowdsurfing or in circle pits. However he stressed the importance of there being a balance, people looking out for each other and not allowing “jerk-off” behaviour, which to be honest just sounds like common sense to me. A huge part of the fun of live music is that feeling of community within a crowd, and that’s fundamentally jeopardised by the alienation of fans by sexual assault. Music should be accessible to all; nobody deserves to have their right to safely enjoy live music infringed by the selfish and thoughtless actions of a few.
Photo credit of Slaves at the Anson Rooms: Facebook