Not here for the tulips
Daina Dubauskaitė 2014-03-08 18:48
Women were prohibited from voting in Liechtenstein (there are more similar examples) all the way up to 1981. That’s 30 years ago. And, right here and right now, we do live happily. At least looking at the bright side, because, obviously, there’s always room for improvement. This short article is my own way of congratulating all the music industry women with March 8th. Here’s to you, DJs and clubbers, singers and musicians. And here are some wishes that go together with the salutation.
I wish that promoters wouldn’t book girls to perform in clubs only because they’re girls and they look good behind the decks.
I wish, and this point is actually more important than the first one, that the girls wouldn’t agree to play in events described above. I also wish they wouldn’t play at girls-only nights or even initiate nights like that. Even for the sake of March 8th. Because that’s how you segregate yourself, point out imaginary differences and divide girls from boys in the first place.
I wish that taste and talent weren’t judged by gender or occupation. It’s almost surprising to hear respected members of electronic music community saying they are surprised that an erotic film star is listening to ambient music. Or to hear a phrase 'a best selector in women category'. These are two examples from last week only, and, believe, me, there are many more. Such as beauty pageants in music festivals.
I wish people would ignore marketing tricks like 'free entrance if you’re wearing high heels'. Is it because it’s harder to walk in them? Ladies, please. We all know sentences like that were coined only 'girls enter for free' was banned by the equal rights committee (funnily enough because it was discriminating men, not women).
It’s true that more women in a club attract more men and they have more money, yes, obviously, it’s all true in real world. But is culture about mating? Is it at least only about mating? If yes, then I am out of here, and I am turning off the music on my way out. Because nobody cares about the music, right?
Show business (and not only, but I have to be specific in a short post like this, right?) is a very sensitive place talking about women and their rights. There are numerous reasons for that, a lot of them have been valid for decades. There are a whole lot of men who do business, and women, well, they are decorations. And they usually choose to be. I have, of course, met great women who work in labels and festivals and do great job, sometimes better than their colleagues who are men. But the statistics is far from balanced. Let’s not be afraid and get involved. Let’s initiate things and make them happen the way we think they should be done.
Let’s be women not when we’re asked to or being paid for. In fact it’s better to be oneself, not woman or man. Cheers!
D.D. 2004 - 2016
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