HOPE SMITH
reporter
collegian.editor@tccd.edu

It appears that women in the music industry are held to impossibly high standards, having to fight to stay on top and be the loudest in the room.

I thought about what it was like to grow up as a girl under the influential eye of a society that held the woman artist in the music industry under its thumb, gently applying pressure. To me and the rest of the girls growing up, we watched that thumb and did not want to be associated with it. For the women under that thumb however, it was just another day in the music industry. 

In order for  a woman to be accepted in that space, she has to be scrutinized and then approved on a level far more than the men, and until then she is under fire. Taylor Swift’s very legacy was criticized and I remember her being under that thumb since I was young.

I did not want to be “the girl” who listened to her, because I was made to believe she was crazy, didn’t you know? Truthfully I hadn’t, I was only a young girl without access to the internet. Yet I was made to believe that Taylor Swift was the kind of girl who couldn’t get over her exes and each song was some reach to the men she once dated, she was simply crazy. 

But Harry Styles seemed to have built an entire empire off of love songs. 

I believe “Fine Line” by Harry Styles is a heart aching, admirable story. Both are incredible artists, undoubtedly, but where along the lines had Taylor Swift’s content become so disconnected from Harry Styles’? I can’t help but feel like she had been dragged down too far and squashed too hard, another result of the standards for a woman in the music industry.

And think of all those eyes watching female artists. 

We can all recall Brittany Spears’ moments of mental struggle and shaved head, we know about Miley Cyrus’ transition from Disney’s Hannah Montana to her “Wrecking Ball” era and have not stopped talking about Demi Lovato’s addiction. It has been more than easy for the internet to speak about these women like they are only topics, not human beings. 

In order for a woman to be successful, she must be the picture of success but she cannot be too much. It’s not hard to tell when the thumb will come crashing down on a woman in the music industry because it typically happens after a minor incident but expectations hit her like a freight train, crushing her under the weight. One moment of vulnerability will mark her fame for years to come. 

I think it’s unfair that the freedom of women in the music industry is so restrictive that their content is limited to what is perceived as appropriate for her. It is often looked down upon to sing on sexuality and yet it sells more. She is wrong if she is honest and will not succeed unless she appeals. Do you see the contradiction? 

She must do more in performances, dance, sing and maintain an image unlike any man in the industry. I have seen the world pass by Chris Brown’s actions, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop hearing about the mistakes a woman will make in the music industry at least once a month.