The Widespread Issue of Sexism in the Music Industry

There has been a long history of sexism in popular music, which is an issue that few people pay attention to even to this day. There are many prominent women in the music industry, but a large number of them are overshadowed by their male counterparts. Numerous songs lyrics, music videos and even album covers depict females in a degrading fashion. There is a discrepancy among the number of males and females in entertainment, and the denigration of women that is present in art is appalling. Fortunately, there are ways society can stop sexism in the music industry and this essay proposes some solutions for current issue.

To begin, females have often had their work more overlooked than males. This can be proven through the research of Dr. Stacy L. Smith, who studied this gender disparity. According to one of her recent studies, 1,064 people have won Grammy Awards in the select categories from 2013 to 2019. However, only 10.4% of these recipients were female. On a similar note, an article by Britt Julious states that “5% of music producers and engineers are women”. To sum it up, males have been more represented in the music industry, as they generally have more sales and higher album chartings.

Furthermore, there are is variety of music that contains highly vulgar content. A noteworthy artist that has made such suggestive work is American singer Jason Derulo. In his 2014 song Wiggle, Derulo sings “If I take pictures while you do your dance I could make you famous on Instagram”. Surprisingly, the song is included on his studio album Talk Dirty, in which the album cover depicts a woman's hands caressing a shirtless Derulo's left pectoral and abdomen. If Derulo had actually done as he suggested in said lyrics, it would most likely go viral, as he is a popular celebrity. As a result, music with indecent lyrics are recurrent, but eventually become critically and commercially successful nevertheless.

However, it is possible for people to end this asinine phenomenon. Ways people can help include creating petitions, filing lawsuits, and speaking out against sexism on social media. Popular female artists such as Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande have spoken about dealing with sexism; the latter even states that “There are so many unbelievable female artists out there that try so much harder”. Famous American singer Miley Cyrus also said in a 2015 interview that “Kendrick Lamar sings about LSD and he's cool. I do it and I'm a druggie w***e”. In due time, the world will become more aware of the discrimination if more people challenge it.

In summary, the ubiquitous use of sexism in music is scarcely acknowledged. The music industry is full of notable women like Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande, but their contributions have taken the back seat to those of males. A vast number of songs contain many indecorous lyrics that are lauded by many of its listeners. Such unjust treatment is still widespread to this day, which is eminently lamentable.