Revolver magazine recently released tour dates for the 2014 “Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock Tour“. Spanning from February 20th to March 20th, the tour includes bands with female members such as Sick Puppies, Lacuna Coil, Eyes Set to Kill and Cilver.
While Sick Puppies bassist Emma Anzai and Lacuna Coil lead vocalist Cristina Scabbia are indeed beyond beautiful women in the rock genre, is it necessary to have a tour dedicated to their looks? I haven’t witnessed a “Fittest Men in Metal” or “Hottest Metalcore Hunks” tour.
This personally disappoints me, as a dedicated Sick Puppies fan and women’s equality advocate. This is a music tour, is it not? I would rather the tour showcased the talents of these women.
To date, I have attended more than 250 concerts. In my opinion, Emma Anzai is one of the most energetic and talented bassists I’ve seen live and this says a lot. Cristina Scabbia boasts a bewitching presence and powerful voice on stage. The Rodriguez sisters in Eyes Set To Kill not only represent raw musical talent, but are from a Chicago neighborhood not too far from where I live and I have had the pleasure of meeting them.
“I hope we can inspire more women to go after their dreams, because without dreams we have no future.” – Alexia Rodriguez, Eyes Set To Kill
But the challenges of potential objectification are not only for women in the hard rock genre. Canadian indie-electronic artist Grimes discussed the sexualization of many female performers, how she often is told to get bandmates to draw the attention off of her, as well as the belittling of her musical talent on her Tumblr. The post later became a social media sensation with many women in the music industry agreeing – from both on stage and behind the scenes.
As Grimes mentions in the post,
“I have the best job in the world but I’m done with being passive about any kind of status quo that allows anyone to suffer or to be disrespected”
British indie-pop singer Kate Nash also recognized the larger issue at hand and began the “Rock ‘n’ Roll for Girls After School Music Club”. You can watch a video promoting the program here.
So do I think it is worthwhile to derive a tour from physical looks? No. How about a tour that addresses the talents of these women. Let’s recognize the hard work and dedication it takes to make a musical endeavor successful, whether as a man or woman. We should strive to support the music, not the physical attributes of the artist.
Sources: Revolver Magazine Website, Grimes’ Official Tumblr, & Kate Nash’s Official Youtube
