Abbie Minsker
WGST 202
T/TH 9:30-10:45
Professor Currans
Blog Topic: Women in Country Music
Article Review #1
Wilson, Janelle. (2000). “Women in Country Music Videos.”
Et Cetera 57, no 3: 290-303.
In “Women in Country Music Videos,’ Janelle Wilson discusses
how country music and music videos have created an environment where female
artists can express many different roles. She explains the themes that are
associated with song lyrics, and videos made by women in country music and also
touches on the similarities and differences of messages conveyed by female and
male artists. She also discusses how women artists in country music are known
to be strong, take-charge performers, who often take over the role of the
‘dominant man’ in songs and videos. Therefore she argues that “country music
videos offer a space for women artists to visually and openly challenge the
traditional, confining gender roles that dominant American culture espouses”
(290). She also claims that “rarely do
we see in country the kind of degrading of woman’s sexuality as we see in rock”
to prove her point that women in country
music do not only demand respect as woman, but also have shown a great amount
of respect by others because of their passion and independence.
To help argue her point, she first uses the example of
one of country music’s most famous artists, Shania Twain. Twain uses her songs
and videos to send a message as a female. In many of Twain’s songs she enters
into a male domain of activity. For example, in her song “You Win My Love,” Twain
takes over the male space of the racetrack and sings about how she will
instruct men on how they can win her love. Wilson clarifies that “the fact that
she is behind the wheel and in a playing a dominant role, supports the idea of
women approaching and challenging those experiences which have traditionally
been associated with males” (295). Wilson also explains how as the years go by,
women are challenging the idea that women are not as strong or inferior to men.
She argues that “as articulated by women, these themes are apt to be less
traditional and less desperate and perhaps more assertive and more realistic”
(301). A wide variety of women country artists, including Shania Twain,
continue to send a message in their music and take over a ‘mans space’ in their
videos. Some of those inspiring names include Carrie Underwood, Martina
McBride, Miranda Lambert, Reba, and Faith Hill. Women in country music play a
big role in the continuous effort to equalize the rights of females, and the removal
of sexist roles set by society.
She then looks at the similarities and differences of the
lyrics, videos and messages portrayed by both male and female country artists.
She first compares and contrasts how both male and female artists communicate
the one primary theme of country music: Love. Wilson expresses how as viewers
“we see, then, that works by male activists in the happy love category are
traditional in lyrics and imagery while works by female artists are more apt to
portray women as active and assertive” (294). The point that Wilson also
covers, that was my favorite point to read about, was the idea of self-blaming
songs. In the song “What I Meant to Say” by Wade Hayes, he sings about how
sorry he is for not treating a women right and how the failure to do certain
actions would have helped him keep the girl. Self-blaming songs are most often
about a man’s remorse for his actions. Wilson argues that “female artists are
less inclines to fall into self-blame” and that male country artists are more likely
to have a sense of despair in their voice (297). In songs written by men the
lyrics often “express the man’s acknowledgment that he makes mistakes in the
relationship while at the same time, they show that his actions should be
excused” whereas, the woman is urged to stay thought the rough times (298). Women’s
songs differ from men because the lyrics are usually more about revenge, being
a strong woman and having fun. I believe women like to use the image of country
girls knowing how to have fun to make a point that females don’t always have to
act like ladies; they can get wild if they want to. Women’s songs also are
sometime about heartbreak, but more about how they overcame heartbreak. As a
country lover, I never really thought about this until I read this article.
This definitely shows the difference in gender roles that are created in lyrics
made for men and that of for women.
Finally, she implies that women artists in country music and
women anywhere are not to be messed with. She concludes her article by stating
that “women are not only present in country music, they are strong voices, and
have been from the beginning” and “while women have long played a vital role in
the production of country music, their more recent efforts have worked toward
challenging he old honky-tonk girl images that permeate the collective
unconscious” (301). She explains how
women in country music act as the protagonists in their videos and they right
about having their own power to chose and do whatever they want as women. She
quotes “today’s performers are bright, aware, take charge ladies with enormous
reserves of wit and wisdom” (290). However Wilson’s argument also explains that
the work of male and female artists together, and the wide variety of messages
and emotions put into songs by each, continues to make country music the great
and powerful music genre that it has been for years.
I really enjoyed this article and the information it
provided about my blog topic of women in country music. She uses a variety of very
good examples to argue her point that women in country music do much more than
just write lyrics. She explains how women artists use lyrics and videos to send
a message and portray women as strong, equal to men and independent. The theme
of this article is similar to Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan’s article
“Social Movement: Feminism and Gender Equity”. Wilson focuses on the comparison
of male and female artists and specific examples of how women in country music
fight for gender equality through music and music videos by taking a dominant
role of a guy. Pilcher and Whelehan spent more time going over the history of
feminine movements and the ‘waves’ of feminism. Pilcher and Whelehan used the
rise and fall of feminism throughout the years as an analogy of feminism waves.
They explained the differences in waves and what each wave did to help fight
for feminism around the world. Wilson’s article therefore, goes over more
current situations and examples that readers my age can relate to very easily.
One thing I wish Wilson could have done was go into more detail about specific
women. She had many examples, but they were very broad. Overall this article
was very interesting, and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy music and
care about the feminist movement.
