Critical Review 4: Cohen 1997

In her work from 1997, Sara Cohen elucidates the sources and implications of gender inequality in music by focusing on rock music in England.  Early on she explains that rock is male-dominated because it is set up to be (from clubs being in places a woman would not feel comfortable going at night, to a schedule that isn't complimentary to childcare).  Still, women's exclusion isn't solely unintentional; from a man's perspective in a band, women can pull group members with whom they are involved out of the natural flow of creativity and get them to take interest in issues outside of the band.  In conclusion, Cohen points to social practice and ideology as the impacts of our definition of what is male or female, which goes on to define what roles members of each gender can serve in music.

Discussion Question:  Cohen includes a quote from Frith and McRobbie: "Some feminists have argued that rock is now essentially a male form of expression, that for women to make non-sexist music, it is necessary to use sounds, structures and styles that cannot be heard as rock."  Is this true, or do we unfairly shy away from calling rock by women "rock?"