As many of you may have already heard, Neil Portnow, the president of the Recording Academy said that if women want to be in the music industry and be recognized at the Grammys, they need to “step up”.
I personally am very angry about this, as are many other people who have heard this statement that embodies sexism as its finest.
For starters, women do not need to step up. We have been making strides and pushing the boundaries of music-both popular and underground-for decades. I don’t know where Portnow has been his entire life, but women are constantly striving creatively to make music different in every scene imaginable. We have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. We have sold out stadiums around the world. Hell, we’ve sold out whole tours. Who is one guy to tell women they need to step up when we ALWAYS HAVE TO STEP UP?
Women work their butts off to get to the places they want to be. They have to work harder than men to get to the same level as them. Tell me, how is that right? Music is about expressing yourself and being creative. There are hundreds of straight, white, cis men making the same music they have been for years and are still being rewarded for it. And all the while, women are breaking the rules, thinking outside the box, and creating music we have never heard before. And we need to step up? Oh no. I don’t think so.
To Neil; we have been stepping up. You’re just too blind to see it. Or rather, hear it. I believe it’s your turn to “step up”. Open your ears. We’re too busy innovating to hold your hand and spoon feed you good music.
Sincerely,
All women