By Niamh Hughes
Growing up I always listened to songs meticulously curated by my own father. Yes, I still loved One Direction and Taylor Swift, and perhaps always will, but I would also listen to older songs from the 60s up until my birth. It then felt natural to wear T-shirts with these bands’ members or logos. As a young girl I wore these with pride, desperate to make clear that I was “educated” on The Greats before my time. With such confidence in my knowledge, I would not have expected the disrespect of an older music fan’s classic retort: “Oh, you’re a fan? Then, name me three songs.”
Is this simply music snobbery, or is this something different? Dare I say, would a man wearing a similar T-shirt be faced with the same scrutiny? Having asked my peers, this seems to be the case exclusively with girls, rooted in the idea that it was worn simply for “fashion”. That the male gaze has become so embedded the main aim is to simply give off the impression you listen to this music, to act “cool” as a simple attempt for male attention, but never truly embody the adoration and knowledge of a “real fan”.
Such an example could be seen with Oasis’ recent reunion. With Ticketmaster, dynamic pricing and thousands disappointed missing out on tickets, one would naturally deduce this is due to the popularity of the band. From Britpop devotees of the 90s to teenagers belting Wonderwall at any given karaoke opportunity, everyone wanted their hands on a chance to witness them live. With many failing to get tickets, backlash and frustration was to be predicted. However an unexpected scapegoat emerged: young girls.
Narratives such as the following TikTok post, epitomise this attitude:
“Imagine waiting 15 years for Oasis to reform only to lose out on tickets to Chloe, 20, Fiat 500 driver, from Stockport who just wants to hear Wonderwall live.”
In some ways this could be justified. After all, why should someone who has been a fan of their music for years miss out on a ticket to a mindless teenager who only knows their most popular songs, who didn’t live through the great years of britpop, who didn’t debate with their friends on whether Blur was the better band?
But are there deeper sentiments behind this? Is this simply an example of harmless gatekeeping fuelled by passion, or another subtle but long standing prejudice against women?
In response to backlash, Noel Gallagher’s daughter, Anaïs commented online:
“One thing I won’t stand for is the ageism and the misogyny around people getting tickets. Sorry, if a 19-year-old girl in a pink cowboy hat wants to be there, I will have my friendship bracelets ready.”
Not only is there an explicit “calling out” of behaviour here, but also a nod to Taylor Swift’s sold out Eras tour in which trading friendship bracelets and wearing pink cowboy hats was commonplace. The true irony is, the girls who in their own right, choose pop music such as Taylor Swift are equally as belittled. One can only look to the comment sections of any Eras tour content to see opinions on fans being “cringe” or “hysterical”.
So where is the winner? Pop music is hyperfeminine and as such fans are mocked. It is perceived as frivolous and effeminate. Those girls who choose to display a passion for alternative, rock, or indie, are in danger of being told they are doing such for show. If they fail the test of proving genuine interest, they are “pick-me” and simply looking to present as the “cool girl” to male counterparts.
On a broader scale women’s interests are trivialised from music, to gaming, or sports. With the latter, lines of questioning are simply reskinned: “Name three songs” shifts for example to “Explain the Offside rule!”.The cycle of scrutiny repeats. Where male passion for football seems to pass, female interests are either superficial, or instead the opposite, obsessive and hysterical, often with connotations linked to the so-called “fangirl”.
While this sexism is seemingly not explicit, internalised biases come to light. Whether authenticity in interests being questioned or passion being obscured into hysteria, rooted in preconceived perceptions of irrationality, female interests are not taken as seriously.
There are certainly more pressing issues of systematic misogyny to be addressed, but there is also still a need to recognise the danger of these presuppositions, or simply even acknowledge the inconsistencies within them. We need to ask the question: why is passion for music still simply not enough to escape judgment? Why can’t we let “Chloe, 20, Fiat 500 driver, from Stockport” enjoy listening to Oasis?
