This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply. Boygenius sat down with GQ: Bridgers: People will talk endlessly about five white dudes playing shoegaze and how different it is, and like, literally war each other about which one you’re allowed to like and the differences between the two bands, and then women literally play guitar and whisper sometimes and scream sometimes and they’re like, “Same!” Baker: I hate those articles—this is a pet peeve of mine—like move over X, here’s the new Y. And it’s just like, X didn’t become obsolete because there’s a person doing a similar thing. You also don’t have to be like the new old-thing, you’re just the current you-thing. Expand - View Original
I feel like the more they bring up the issue that they are girls they make it more of an issue. I guess that's the point? But I didn't think people discredited them because they are girls. I just like the music and don't give a shit what their sex is.
I’ll say this: just reading these two paragraphs, I got a totally different feel for what they were actually getting at and what the conversation was than when I read the whole piece. Which isn’t anyone’s fault - it’s just one of those conversations you need to see start to finish.
It’s hard to imagine liking Julien Baker or Phoebe Bridgers and thinking the EP is anything but great. Because it’s definitely a top notch example of their writing. (I’ll fully admit to being unfamiliar with Lucy’s work. But she’s great on this too.)
This is going to sound snarky, so I promise it isn't: it is super cool that you feel that way... but many do not. As a woman who has worked in this industry and who has had countless friends in the industry, we are discredited a LOT for "being girls." I can promise you there is no exaggeration happening. It sucks. Making people (especially men) aware of this is important, because for every belligerent guy who yells some shitty comment, there are a dozen guys who are unaware of their own bias causing just as much havoc with casual sexism. It's good for all of us to step back and examine what's going on when we decide we like or don't like things, who we feel are inherently qualified in their field, etc. That just doesn't happen as much as it should, and more often than not, women are the collateral damage. Especially in music.