Women in Country 1

To: Lori Whitaker

From: Yasmin Alber

Date: 02/01/2018

Subject: Women in Country Music

This following research essay will discuss the seemingly strange combination of Country

and its feminist influences and messages. It will also take a closer look at the existing sexism in

this music genre, so in the following research, feminism in the country music industry will be the

focus. Country music fans tend to primarily listen to the music through radio stations, so radio-

broadcasting is a major part of the development of strong female country singers.

When people think about country music, a lot of things come to mind: trucks, beer,

cowboys, guns and the good old days. People hardly ever associate country music with strong

and independent women. Yet, there are many strong and empowered women out there. They just

get overlooked by media and fans. Men have dominated country music charts for decades, but a

change is noticeable, then, women get more stage and media attention. The #metoo and other

feminists movements rarely talk about the country music industry, how is it that one of the oldest

music genres in America is barely connected to this issue?

Women in Country 2

Gender equality is not only an issue today, it always was, and it affects us all. Everyone

in this society needs to take a closer look at our culture, then we all surround ourselves with it

somehow. Country music is a part of this society, it was in the past, it is now, and it will be in the

future. The Industry needs to make more progress to show a positive image for future

generations of listeners.

In the following research, multiple sources will be used, especially newsworthy stories of

the last years scholar’s thesis on the subject and interviews of women in the music industry. The

research paper will start in the earlier years of successful women in the genre and compare them

with female singers from today. It will contrast the lyrics of the women and their male

counterparts which will be an informative part of this research. This will lead to a conclusion on

how they have changed over the last decades. Also on how the media attention differs from

female to male. Lastly, it will bring points on how the media and especially the radio station can

give feministic country singer, female or male, a voice.