Editor’s Note: This is a part of a Women’s History Month collaboration with HerCampus UMich. Their piece can be found here.
In 2015, every time I heard the far-too-recognizable opening notes to “Shake it Off,” “Style,” “Blank Space” or any of the other decade-defining hit titles from Taylor Swift’s 1989, I would instinctively jeer. With her sparkly outfits, youthful femininity, flowery lyrics and poppy production, Taylor Swift was the antithesis to my desire to become the strong, cool man I saw glorified in American culture. Yet, eight years later, I would find myself in the same room as Swift herself, along with 60,000 other fans at the Eras Tour in Detroit, wrists covered in bracelets and passionately belting out every single word to the same songs my 9-year-old self hated.
For most, music is an omnipresent component of our culture, traditions and daily life. With ever-increasing access to it, music has become a critical part of our own individual identities. Especially on college campuses where no study session is complete without earbuds or headphones, music is deeply connected to all of our emotions, experiences and personal development. However, the consumption of music by heterosexual, cisgendered men has become a device through which traditional notions of masculinity are maintained, and subsequently the continued relegation of women in society. To develop a healthier, more equal society, straight, cisgendered men need to open their minds and hearts to the acceptance of female artists, especially those like Taylor Swift that many continue to neglect — even though masculinity and the subsequent rejection of female musicians by men is a normalized practice in society.
It is proven that most men, specifically those who are straight and cisgender, tend to gravitate toward music with themes of violence, aggression, emotional reservation, strength and other aspects of traditional masculinity. I quickly gravitated toward classic rock standards like AC/DC, Guns & Roses, Mötley Crüe and any of the many other hard rock bands from the ’70s and ’80s that championed aggressive guitar instrumentals, hypermasculine independence and the power of being a man in society. I wanted to feel like I was strong, I could take on the world, I could accomplish anything by my own will. Conversely, many female artists display characteristics traditionally associated with femininity. Swift is known for hits like “Love Story” or “Blank Space” that focus on romance and relationships while Rihanna, a much different musician, is known for hits like “S&M” centered around sexual empowerment and women’s sexuality. Consequently, I felt like it was a necessity that I disregard female musicians and denounce them as “girly” or “annoying,” but I did not understand the greater implications of adhering to this idea of outward, expressive masculinity.
The notion of masculinity as an inherent, evolutionary component of male identity and behavior is often accepted, yet this argument hides the truth that masculinity is primarily a construct essential to prolonging misogynistic gender dynamics. In her groundbreaking 2005 paper “Masculinities,” sociologist Raewyn Connell explains that in reality, masculinity is predominantly a result of an extensive, often subconscious socialization process that pushes men into specific roles and dynamics, and less so a result of inherent behavioral traits. Connell articulates that this identity — often exhibited as valuation for physicality, control and disregard for emotion — separates men from women. Perceived as a divide between masculinity and femininity, this construct then plays a key role in the elevation of men and subjugation of women. Importantly, this depends on the mass adoption of these dynamics in all facets of society, particularly by men so that they can claim the power this divide creates for them. In music and culture, this is reflected both in the gender listening gap and the tendency, that which I once held, of men to eagerly deprecate and spurn artists displaying traditionally feminine qualities and championing those displaying characteristics believed to be masculine. Though not always, this behavior is often rooted in misogynistic attitudes and driven by the subscription to the masculine-feminine divide, prolonging gender equality in music, popular culture and society as a whole.
Besides greater society, men themselves have a lot to gain from pushing themselves outside of their preconceived boundaries of gender identity. Though masculinity elevates men, it also takes an immense toll on them. As explained by Connell, this identity revolves around the suppression of emotion, overvaluation of physical traits and internalizing one’s problems, which have been proven to worsen mental health issues in men. These themes are often reproduced in much of the popular music followed by men, and by pushing themselves to accept different artists and genres of music, men can break down these detrimental components of their identity.
As men, we need to question more the reasons behind our discrediting and distaste of music by female artists and push ourselves to explore new genres and artists that we may have disregarded before. This is a critical step forward in breaking down the traditional conceptualization of masculinity, subsequently working toward gender equality in society as well as breaking down the components of masculinity detrimental to men. This first involves carefully considering how we criticize and evaluate female musicians — we must question whether any expressions of distaste are rational, or subconsciously motivated to delegitimize the artist and their non-masculine identity. Secondly, though it can often be uncomfortable, we have to push ourselves to listen to a wider range of artists, genres and styles in order to break down our masculinity. This is something that we can easily take more control of, it just takes the will to not skip a song that might come up on autoplay, avoid leaving the dance floor whenever Sabrina Carpenter comes on or to try out a friend’s favorite Taylor Swift album.
Willem DeGood is an Opinion Analyst from Traverse City, MI. He writes about American social and cultural issues and can be reached at whdegood@umich.edu.
