Why Do People Hate Female Vocalists?

[Homemade Dynamite]

It seems to me that a lot of men don't like female vocalists, and will slam anything with female lead vocals as "pop garbage". For example, female-fronted rock bands don't seem to get a whole lot of respect from rock fans, such as Paramore, Evanescence, The Pretty Reckless etc. This is especially true for female-fronted metal bands, they'll automatically be slammed for not being "true metal". Honestly, I don't see how these vocals aren't metal (not that you need harsh vocals to be metal).

 

 

 

And this isn't even without mentioning the disrespect female rappers get from the general public. There seems to be an automatic stigma against female rappers, which is why women in hip-hop are more often-than-not R&B singers. Female rappers are immediately dismissed as "watered-down pop rap", and I'm not just referring to the likes of Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea. I know hip-hop is known for being a very misogynistic industry where it's extremely difficult for a woman to get respect, but this extends outside of that and into the general public. It's simply not cool to listen to female rappers.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc

 

(Funny how so little has changed since 1989.)

 

So whats with the stigma against female vocals that male vocals don't get? Songs with male vocals are judged by their merit, while songs with female vocals will be disliked just because of the vocals in question. I've definitely gathered that here, from my experience with sharing songs with female vocals, which are often labelled "pop" and them saying it's "not my thing".

Edited July 10, 2015 by NightSpectre

[Vega LVI]

Nothing wrong w/ female singers. I think the big reason certain people aren't too keen on them is b/c women's singing voice's tend to gravitate towards similar music styles that a lot of other women sing to (there are exceptions out there though), which makes only a select few of them stand out from the rest (plus, there aren't as many of them to begin with). With that said, most of the music I listen to have male vocalists, but having a lady singer is a welcomed change-of-pace for me...

I think there was a much bigger variety of female vocalists, some 30-40 years ago, but nowadays, I can't tell a Selena Gomez from a Demi Lovato if my life depended on it.

 

I'll stick to what I know and like best...

 

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Vega LVI

[mr quick]

Having studied music with more than 200 music students within the same school, I don't feel as if the general consensus is that there is less respect to be had for female vocalists, and "hate" is an extreme to which no one would go. In fact, in discussions where specific vocalists were praised, female vocalists were more frequent than male.

 

If you are talking about specific genres, however, I don't know if I can answer. The problem may be that a lot of music featuring a female lead is literally pop garbage. The reason being, of course, that record companies(don't get me started) have doomed the music of the music industry(ironic I know) because they have chosen to market and sell a pretty face in stead of good music, as this is more likely to generate revenue among young listeners. Therefore, a lot of music which isn't pop garbage will be judged as such.

 

Thankfully you are under no obligation to respect the opinion of those who will dismiss an entire piece of music based purely upon the gender of the vocalist, and I certainly wouldn't hold their views in high regard.

 

e: I may have phrased myself in a way that would make it seem as if I think that music featuring a female lead vocalist is often "pop garbage", that is not the case. My point was about pop music, and how more often than not there will be a female lead, which could contribute to the unwarranted hate for a female vocalist in other genres. I certainly and strongly disagree with the notion that a female vocalist is in any way less of a "true musician" based purely upon their gender.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Marwin

[sivispacem]

Anyone who says that Holy Moses aren't true metal deserves a punch in the nads.

 

See also- Sceptic, Cynic, Acheron, Exit Strategy

[Pyrrhic]

Female vocalists can be just as good as male ones in the right circumstances. Obviously many of them can hit higher notes and I also find it interesting to hear the different sound that they can create, and can give to a song even when singing to the same music as a male.

 

One of my favourite bands, High Tension, has an insane vocalist, Karina. Got to see them live a couple months ago in a similar environment to this video and the atmosphere she created was so f*cking intense. Even got to buy a shirt from her and talk about the new album. Would recommend giving her a listen.

 

 

 

Bjork also springs to mind. Love her music to bits.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Linc.

[TheMcSame]

This is especially true for female-fronted metal bands, they'll automatically be slammed for not being "true metal".

If any band even slightly deviates from the traditional metal formula they get slammed for not being "true metal", it's not just women, the vocal side of the metal community is very touchy and just refuses to call something metal unless it follows the traditional metal formula.

 

As for it not being cool to listen to female rappers... Oh boy... If you listen to certain artists because that's the cool thing to do then you need to sort your priorities out. You listen to an artist because you like their music.

Edited July 10, 2015 by TheMcSame

[Mr. Scratch]

Lol u 4 real?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSkCkvgtgYk

 

 

 

L7 in particular sh*ts all over a lot of bands around today. So basically, f*ck those people.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Mr.Scratch

[Queen]

Um...what about...

 

 

 

 

 

These were highly successful bands with female lead singers. And my God, they ROCKED!!!

[Mr. Scratch]

F*ck Joan Jett, she sold out as soon as she could. Plenty of other great female vocalists.

 

 

 

Wanda Jackson has a voice that can pierce the f*cking sound barrier.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Mr.Scratch

[mr quick]

Come on people, don't let this deteriorate into another one of those threads. There's no need to post examples of "good" hard rock or metal featuring female leads. We know they're good.

[Queen]

I was just looking for an excuse to post good music. Sue me.

[mr quick]

I was just looking for an excuse to post good music. Sue me.

 

No worries, it wasn't intended as a personal remark towards you are anyone else specifically. It's just that the most active threads in this section are all just people posting a video of whatever they like and then taking off, letting there be absolutely no discussion.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Marwin

[Mister Pink]

Guys, I have to agree with Marvin firstly on his original post and lets keep this to discussion please. You can use videos to emphasise or compliment a point but I'll lock it if you are just going to post videos and not add to the discussion. Thank you.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Mister Pink

[Mr. Scratch]

Joan Jett can still get f*cked. As for Heart, they didn't have that many great songs.

[Queen]

As for Heart, they didn't have that many great songs.

 

I think they're brilliant. Songs like Kick It Out, Straight On, Tell It Like It Is, Alone, and What About Love are terrific. I'm not going to pretend to be a Heart expert, but the band wrote some really great tracks, and the performances were usually spot on.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Queen

[Mr. Scratch]

Like I said, not that many.

 

And as for female rappers, what the hell are you guys talking about? Iggy Azalea sure as sh*t doesn't rap. But there are good rappers out there, Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah and my favorite, MC Lyte.

 

 

 

So it's a moot point you're trying to make, TheMcSame.

[[...]]

Um...what about...

 

- Heart - "Barracuda" -

 

- Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" -

 

These were highly successful bands with female lead singers. And my God, they ROCKED!!!

 

This.

 

And...

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Phnx.

[Mr. Scratch]

Lydia Lunch, anyone? Bjork? PJ Harvey?

[sivispacem]

F*cking Gallhammer

[El Dildo]

ok, I'll bite...

 

Having studied music with more than 200 music students within the same school, I don't feel as if the general consensus is that there is less respect to be had for female vocalists, and "hate" is an extreme to which no one would go. In fact, in discussions where specific vocalists were praised, female vocalists were more frequent than male.

I think it's fair to say that your opinion is skewed because you've been a music student in a school surrounded by music nerds. in my experience (you know, outside of music schools) the general consensus is definitely a lack of respect for female musicians and artists. the general population at large is manicured to react to male-centric artistry and themes much moreso than their female counterparts. this attitude permeates out from the music industry itself into other related areas; where women have a harder time making it in radio or on television for the same reasons.

 

it's part tradition and part evolution.

for starters we're still basically stuck in the classic male-societal-dominance whereby men are the gatekeepers of most industry and you have to do things the 'boys' way in order to break-in. and then there's the fact that for the longest time - during the actual onset of film and voice entertainment - that men were chosen for the 'serious' and 'trusted' roles while women were more like sidekicks or assistants. so you've got generations of people being raised on the Walter Cronkite strong/deep/steady male ideal and it can take some time to shake.

 

the female voice being higher pitched and 'thinner,' compared to the male voice being deeper pitched and more 'full' sounding. it all comes back to that weird, incalculable, intangible art of perception. there's something comforting and assuring about a warm, strong, male pitch. a female speaking the same lines doesn't provide the same feeling. it's really stupid but it's really base and simple, and people will carry the sentiment over to other forms of media subconsciously. the female voice - even when performing in the same role as a male voice - can be perceived as whiney or weak by comparison which causes the listener to merely tune out especially if the listener is male.

 

I try to be as open and considerate as I can be.

my tastes I notice are much more eclectic than most of my friends and while I've no problem with female artists personally, I'm still guilty of this unconscious bias and I'll catch myself falling into it. when I'm listening to talk radio for instance I have a hard time maintaining attention to female comics or commentators for very long... even if what they're talking about is technically interesting to me. the curious thing is that this phenomenon only appears to exist over certain mediums. I wouldn't feel this way about a conversation I was having with an actual female friend of mine in person. I'll never get that feeling in-person but it happens often with the radio or TV.

 

I understand why people don't prefer female voices in music.

classically speaking it just doesn't feel as powerful. for me personally, I don't really have anything against female vocalists in music, but I can definitely see where the sentiment is coming from in general. that being said; this sh/t is awesome right here:

 

 

 

we need more women like this in the music industry.

desperately.

 

I think another part of the problem is the way that pop music treats women. how can they possibly gain any respect in this world when they're treated like a bunch of 2-bit whores and skanks? Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, whoever the f/ck it is, they're all the same which is a huge part of the problem. they all sound and look exactly the same; performing ridiculous stage shows with 25 different hair and makeup changes, 35 different dress and costume changes, 50 backup dancers, some stripper poles, some aggressive male thrusting, and a massive laser-light show with choreography and fireworks.

 

men look at this and have no respect for it. as they shouldn't.

it's total garbage and demeans the women as well as the so-called "music." I think if women were more honest and sincere in their performances they would actually get a lot further than when they let the record executives decide how to market them.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2015 by El Diablo

[Homemade Dynamite]

 

This is especially true for female-fronted metal bands, they'll automatically be slammed for not being "true metal".

If any band even slightly deviates from the traditional metal formula they get slammed for not being "true metal", it's not just women, the vocal side of the metal community is very touchy and just refuses to call something metal unless it follows the traditional metal formula.

 

As for it not being cool to listen to female rappers... Oh boy... If you listen to certain artists because that's the cool thing to do then you need to sort your priorities out. You listen to an artist because you like their music.

 

I didn't mean "cool" as in trendy. I mean that as in female rappers are automatically shunned by the public, and listening to them means you have bad taste in rap music.

[TheMcSame]

I didn't mean "cool" as in trendy. I mean that as in female rappers are automatically shunned by the public, and listening to them means you have bad taste in rap music.

Same thing applies really.

 

As for female rappers being shunned, personally I haven't seen too much of that, when I have seen female rappers being shunned it was those that use their body to attract fans as opposed to those that use more talent rather than cleavage and ass.

Edited July 10, 2015 by TheMcSame

[Trillest]

Amy Lee from Evanescence has always been one of my favorites. She's got a great and powerful voice.

[reiniat]

 

 

(Disclaimer; she actually has a good singing voice, I saw her in a concert with Kamelot and she filled Shagrath AND Simone Simmons roles perfectly)

[Skeever]

To be honest, I enjoy listening to female vocalists more than I do males, especially when it comes to genres such as pop and country. Hell, the only reason I still listen to country music is because of the female bands and singers out there; literally every male singer in the past 10 years has only sung about booze, trucks, seducing women and other meaningless, brain-dead sh*t.

I dislike rap music in general, so the singer being a man or a woman makes no difference to me.

Edited July 13, 2015 by WinkingSkeever6

[Shenmue18]

It seems to me that a lot of men don't like female vocalists, and will slam anything with female lead vocals as "pop garbage". For example, female-fronted rock bands don't seem to get a whole lot of respect from rock fans, such as Paramore, Evanescence, The Pretty Reckless etc. This is especially true for female-fronted metal bands, they'll automatically be slammed for not being "true metal". Honestly, I don't see how these vocals aren't metal (not that you need harsh vocals to be metal).

 

 

 

And this isn't even without mentioning the disrespect female rappers get from the general public. There seems to be an automatic stigma against female rappers, which is why women in hip-hop are more often-than-not R&B singers. Female rappers are immediately dismissed as "watered-down pop rap", and I'm not just referring to the likes of Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea. I know hip-hop is known for being a very misogynistic industry where it's extremely difficult for a woman to get respect, but this extends outside of that and into the general public. It's simply not cool to listen to female rappers.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc

 

(Funny how so little has changed since 1989.)

 

So whats with the stigma against female vocals that male vocals don't get? Songs with male vocals are judged by their merit, while songs with female vocals will be disliked just because of the vocals in question. I've definitely gathered that here, from my experience with sharing songs with female vocals, which are often labelled "pop" and them saying it's "not my thing".

A lot of those bands/singers are modern and most people in the music section of GTAF are 70's dad-rock enthusiasts.

 

I mean, I haven't seen Heart, Joan Jett or Fleetwood Mac get a ton of hate here.

 

Also to be fair, bands like Archenemy and Nightwish are beloved by hardcore metal heads, it's just that all mainstream music, regardless if it's good or not has and always will be sh*t on by most people in favor of older stuff. Especially if it's post-grunge or nu-metal.

Edited July 14, 2015 by Shenmue18

[Twang.]

To be honest, I enjoy listening to female vocalists more than I do males, especially when it comes to genres such as pop and country. Hell, the only reason I still listen to country music is because of the female bands and singers out there; literally every male singer in the past 10 years has only sung about booze, trucks, seducing women and other meaningless, brain-dead sh*t.

Word. I've always hated country, but unfortunately it's been growing on me lately, thanks in part to the female vocalists. Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, the Band Perry. f*ck Carrie Underwood, though.

 

And pop is my sh*t these days. Purity Ring, Tegan and Sara, Lana Del Rey...a few others I like to come back to every so often. Absolute bliss. There's certainly no reason a male vocalist can't excel in that field, but they seem less inclined to do so.

 

It depends on the style, though. I personally have a hard time taking female metal vocalists seriously. Even that Arch Enemy video posted above, though that might be because I personally find their brand of metal to be barely a step above the buttrock on hard rock radio. She might be good at what she does, but I can't tell because I don't like what she does.

 

Outside of pop and country, it seems like most music is heavily male and at times it seems like female rockers or rappers are hard to find. Because of this, they're sometimes seen as a novelty of sorts and to overcome that stigma, you gotta impress. Even if she's perfectly competent or even what you'd call good, sometimes that's not enough. That's just how I see it, though. To be honest, I don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of popular opinion.

[Niko Montana]

I've always liked Aaliyah's music

 

[Skeever]

Word. I've always hated country, but unfortunately it's been growing on me lately, thanks in part to the female vocalists. Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, the Band Perry. f*ck Carrie Underwood, though.

I don't care much for LBT or Kacey Musgraves, but I like the other singers you mentioned. Carrie has actually been my favorite country singer ever since she won American Idol, but I can understand why people wouldn't like her. She's gone downhill with her last two songs, if you ask me, so I'm not sure if I'll stay a fan of hers for much longer.

 

I grew up on country music (as well as classic rock), so I've always liked it. I can't blame anyone who says they hate it, especially those outside the US.

Edited July 18, 2015 by WinkingSkeever6

[Clem Fandango]

People are socialised not to respond to women making art. Music is probably the least frustrating expression of this.

 

As for vocalists specifically, I remember reading a study a long time ago that classed certain men as 'excessively intimidated by women' (neckbeards). They didn't listen to female singers at all, and they were like 15% of men.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Melchior