The impacts of female subcultures within the music industry

There are always impacts within the music industry and people usually look towards artists who take drugs or artists who condone violence and death in either their singles or videos. But one of the problems which isn't always directly taken into consideration is young female fans role modeling themselves on female artists or bands who's ideas and image may not be considered to the age group who are able to listen and aspire to be them.

An example of one of these groups is The Pussycat Dolls. They are a group of 5 woman who are trying to give across a sexy and seductive image with singles such as 'don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me' and 'When I grow up' which includes lyrics 'when I grow up I wanna be famous I wanna see the world I wanna be in movies,' which is telling there younger fans that there ambitions should be to be famous rather than having the ambition to carry on at school and go to University.

A book, Media Gender and Identity by David Gauntlett mentions how there song 'Don't cha' can be seen as empowering confident and seductive and how there band is trying to represent female power. However he goes on to say that the idea of being a 'doll' is considered to be not so empowering as it sends the message that they are not human beings but lifeless plastic figures.

This video for their single 'don't cha' shows the group in not a lot of clothing and how they are the main focus of the video, giving across the idea that by the way they do and their image gives them the main focus and attention.






Another example of a female artist who could be considered to be sending out the wrong messages to younger fans is Britney Spears. Her first single 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' is supposed to be a catchy song for all ages to be able to listen to but when the lyrics are actually uncovered this song has a derocative message to women and is even critiscied in her early years as being in rolling stones as being 'child pornography,' As she began her carrer at the young age of 16 and therefore wasn't deemed old enough to carry off her image.

A quote taken from the American Family Association said "pictures, which showed Spears in push-up bras and a minuscule pair of shorts with 'Baby' in rhinestones on the bottom, presented a 'disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality' and asked that all 'God-loving Americans' boycott stores carrying her albums"


Young girls will be influenced by her image and lyrics and therefore think it's right for them to wear hot-pants and be a 'sexy schoolgirl'.

I found these comments written on Britney Spears' website and show young a lot of her fans where when they first started listening to Britney Spears.


i love this albumm i mean i was 4 11 years ago ive been a fan of britney since then i loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee her <3>


This is my 1st review.. I finally realized where to do'em.. so here goes! I was 11 in the 5th grade when i heard BOMT.. from there i was hooked! So this WHOLE album is a classic, a "door opening" to a "Crazy" ride for me.


There are other impacts as well resulting from these female subculutres and their choice image and lifestyle and that's anorexia. Thousands of girls will aspire to look like these artists and therefore can have body confidence issues.
A study was made at the University of Sussex to see if there really where effects of girls aged 12-19 really where suffering from these issues.

Dr Helga Dittmar says: "The mass media is a pervasive force in shaping body ideals, but this negative impact has remained under-examined. Female models in music videos help to promote thinness as desirable - and are often depicted in ways that emphasise this physical ideal. It is against this ideal that young girls come to measure themselves, often unfavourably, which can lead to body dissatisfaction and, in turn, unhealthy eating behaviours."

The researchers discovered that after just ten minutes' exposure, it was the group who watched music videos featuring thin, idealised models who exhibited the greatest increase in body dissatisfaction, compared to those who merely listened to the songs or had completed the memory task.

However despite all this their are artists and groups who are trying to combat this issue. One artist in particular is Lily Allen. Reports came out a few weeks ago claiming Katy Perry considered herself 'like a skinnier version of Lily Allen and a fatter version of Amy Winehouse'.

This sort of comment is not what the music industry want to hear as Lily Allen is hardly large herself and it's making it appear as though skinnier is more attractive.

In which Lily Allen replied

"I happen to know for a fact that she was an American version of me," because their record company needed, "to find something controversial and 'kooky' like Lily Allen."

Lily Allen doesn't let comments like this affect her and therefore sends out a postive message to her fans. She is also an independent artist who writes her own songs. Her songs also don't tgive out the same messages as some of the other artists and are more focused on her previous relationships and her revenge. For example her first single 'smile'.

But has the music industry gone less central to pop in recent years? Some might argue that female artists are considered to much of a 'gimmic' with an article from 'don't panic magazine'

saying:

There are few examples where female singer-songwriters are completely doing it for themselves. Take La Roux (above)- fronted by a woman (who technically can't sing) but whose songs are actually co-written and produced by Ben Langmaid. Little Boots’ first song ‘Stuck on Repeat’ was produced by Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, a name that undoubtedly helped to elevate her to the mainstream. Lady Gaga, Florence, Roux and Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes) all pride themselves on some sort of flamboyant gimmick. It’s hard to ascertain whether dancing around half-naked in flimsy costumes was entirely their own idea.

But artists have always been influenced by other musicians and if the artist happens to be male then it shouldn't matter as long as they are successful and it's artists such as Florence, La Roux and Natasha whoare trying to give a different impression on woman within the music industry for being individual and showing that they have musical talent rather than being like The Pussycat Dolls which in some ways show their group to be a franchise with their T.v Programmes 'search for the next Pussycat Dolls' as well as T-shirts and novelty items.