Author Note
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1—They’re Gonna Crucify Her
Chapter 2—“Yoko Oh No”
Chapter 3—“Yoko Love”
Chapter 4—Driving Britney Spears Crazy
Chapter 5—FKA twigs and the Twi-trolls
Chapter 6—Taylor Swift as a Modern Medusa
Chapter 7—Kesha Sebert v. Dr. Luke
Chapter 8— It’s Mariah Carey, Dahhhling!
Chapter 9—Ariana Grande and the “Dangerous Woman”
Chapter 10—Taking Back Bitch
Racist, Sexist Words
Words and labels can hurt us all. And for many female musicians, the wounds are everywhere.
Lily E. Hirsch is a musicologist and visiting scholar at California State University, Bakersfield. She is the author of Weird Al: Seriously as well as four other books on topics ranging from Jewish music's history to music in criminal law. When not teaching or writing as visiting scholar at California State University, Bakersfield, Hirsch blogs at insultingmusic.com.
As a new generation of music lovers grapples with separating the
art and the artist (if such is even possible) in the wake of the
long-overdue reckoning prompted by #MeToo, Can't Stop the Grrrls by
Lily Hirsch is a powerful and important consideration of why words
matter (and hurt) and the hurdles that artists and listeners face
as they deal with the legacy of toxic masculinity that runs deep in
popular music.
Can't Stop the Grrrls permanently changed my understanding of the
impact of misogyny on pop culture. So many modern fables that I had
believed, like Mariah Carey being a spoiled diva and Courtney Love
dragging down Cobain, were stripped away to reveal the double
standards, along with plain old falsehoods, about these artists. I
appreciate the dignity Lily E. Hirsch shows to the singers as she
addresses sensitive topics, such as calling women like Kesha Sebert
"liars" as they speak out against their sexual abuse. Hirsch speaks
tactfully, yet frankly, about the obscene language and the
disturbing experiences female pop stars have had to endure. These
include profanity, racism, sexual and physical assault, substance
abuse, and sexual remarks directed at minors. This book helped me
gain a deep respect for female artists who have endured and
overcome unimaginable obstacles, and I cannot praise it enough to
anyone looking for a thoughtful read on the impact of sexism on the
modern music industry.
In this impassioned study, musicologist Hirsch calls out the music
industry's long history of sexism, racism, and toxic double
standards. The author laments the media's mistreatment of female
artists, as when journalists Dan Carlinsky and Edwin Goodgold wrote
in the Los Angeles Times in 1972 that Yoko Ono used her "hypnotic
power apparently acquired in the Orient" to break up the Beatles,
and, more recently, Janet Jackson was the subject of misogynistic
coverage after her wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl
halftime show. Britney Spears, Hirsch writes, was called "crazy,"
an appraisal that was later used in a 2008 court case that would
lead to her conservatorship, which ended in November 2021. But the
book ends on a hopeful note: Hirsch proposes that a "real
revolution" can occur with the amplification of women's collective
testimonies, because "there is strength in numbers--the stories of
so many women--when they repeat in basic contour and language."
Hirsch's arguments are revelatory, and she approaches her subjects
with respect: "What is the right way to confront and challenge
abuse when it involves someone else's trauma?" This is a convincing
call to action.
Lily Hirsch has written a much-needed exposé of the racist and
sexist language long weaponized against women in music--she has
also illuminated the many ingenious ways our icons have fought
back. You'll learn a lot from this powerful, passionate book.
Music historian Hirsch examines the sexist language that fans,
critics, and artists use not just to devalue the work of female
musicians but to delegitimize their very existence in music spaces.
Encompassing decades of music journalism, Hirsch's analysis is
pointed and damning. The misogyny directed at female musicians is
routine and reflexive, becoming even more vicious when the artist
in question is a woman of color.... Can't Stop the Grrrls is an
important intervention in music criticism, a methodical yet
impassioned chronicle of how language is weaponized against women
artists--and how we can do better.
Musicologist Hirsch pulls from the lives of celebrities to
illuminate the double standards and torturous mistreatment the
entertainment industry has routinely applied to women throughout
history. Readers might already be familiar with Yoko Ono's or
Britney Spears's lives, but Hirsch brings them together with other
maligned stars to create a powerful portrait of how the music
industry, the press, and fans allow talented women to be ripped
apart on an international scale.... For instance, male performers
are often excused when they make outrageous backstage demands,
while women performers are called "divas" or worse. The author
addresses this sexism and its origins, and she offers an intriguing
perspective that brings a deeper understanding of the problem and
enriches this already excellent book. Readers will learn a lot
about the stars they think they know with this well-researched,
smart book about misogyny in the music industry.
This book is a right-on revelation and delivers thrilling feminist
justice. Hirsch debunks canonical music criticism in how it sees
women as artists, or more aptly, how it doesn't. A real testament
to the power of these artists and Hirsch's critical powers, Can't
Stop The Grrrls is essential."
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