Picture a DJ for me. Youāve probably come up with a classic stereotypical image. A man: in his 20s/30s, wearing a muscle tee or plain black t-shirt, adorned with a mustache and sweaty brow, maybe even a backward snapback or a pair of headphones that arenāt fully on. Maybe this is just the picture Iām painting for you. In that case, though, what does a DJ look like to you? Did you happen to picture a woman at first thought? Odds areā¦ probably not.
The most popular names in the DJ music industry right now are all men: Dom Dolla, John Summit, Kaytranada, The Dare, FredAgain, FISHER, Meduza. Not to say I donāt think these artists arenāt extremely talented, I just donāt see enough female representation. Try to think of female DJs. Youāve probably only come up with a handful: Charli xcx, Charlotte de Witte, BADDIEJUICE, Peggy Gou, M.I.A., Alison Wonderland, ANNA, Miss Bashful, Amelie Lens. Hopefully, you recognize at least two of those names, but generally, they seem to vanish behind the haze of male headliners.
This is mainly coming from a personal place of inspiration. I want to see more female DJs out there. Who said DJs are only men with muscles and mustaches? Something I notice about the female artists I listed is that they are all in their 30s or 40s. Their journey to success took a lot longer due toā¦you guessed it, the glass ceiling. Letās get younger women behind the booth! As women, we tend to doubt our abilities in male-dominated fields. We see this in STEM and business fields, as well. An example I find most often is when someone (typically a man) doubts your knowledge on a topic or artist, and before mansplaining, asks āname 3 songsā or something similar. It undervalues confidence. In this industry, having confidence and trusting your instincts is the most important thing in both ideas and performance.Ā
I wouldnāt consider myself a professional DJ. I just like to have fun and DJ for myself or friends. Making tracks for fun and mixing unexpected genres instead of doing my homework. A lot of my inspiration comes from DJ Mandy (@dj__mandy), who gained popularity on TikTok after similarly mixing wildly contrasting sounds and songs. She was self-taught like me, now having grown a fan base and been invited to play at different venues and festivals. This past year, she went on her first tour playing small shows across the states, including Barboza in Capitol Hill.
In my personal experience, I use the fact that I know how to DJ as a conversational party trick. It seems to surprise most people who meet me, especially the guys. Some of my male friends were able to see me mix live at a friend’s recent house party, and they were joyfully shocked and immediately wanted me to show them how I did it. Not only was I confident in my work then, but I felt powerful having this knowledge over them, in a field where thatās not generally the case.Ā
Being a self-taught DJ is no easy task. Iāve spent hours playing around with different mixing software, trying and failing, trying again, and coming up with something that sounds decent. It all starts with an idea that usually comes to me while sitting in a lecture. Or per my friends’ requests, like āCan you mix a peace and love song with something hot?ā which ended up being John Lennon’s āGive Peace a Chanceā and Sabrina Carpenter’s āTearsā. Wild, but oddly enough, it works. Sometimes, if itās an idea just out of reach and I play with it enough, it becomes something unique that I get to call mine. Right now, I just do this for fun, but in the future, I can see myself doing little gigs. Iām confident enough to keep this necessary āfemale DJ mindsetā and not let any man tell me itās not worth it.
This is the time to support rising female DJs. It’s the only way this industry will change. Go listen to a Boiler Room set. If you didnāt recognize the ladies I mentioned earlier, go check out their work. The best way to support them is to listen to their music. If you rave about their talents enough, other people will notice, and soon enough, there will be more female headliners. As an industry we can shift the focus to the āhiddenā talent. So, get out there and as Miss Bashful would sayā¦ ride that beat!Ā