Fembot5 is an anonymous writer and activist based in India. The writer's recent publication titled 'Empowerment of Women in Music' is a compelling narrative. A manifesto in the making - about inequality and gender bias that exists inside the music industry in India. Introducing a brief outline of international feminist solidarity movements, the focus of the website is on India. The article sets the need to study inequality and gender bias, in order to see how one can combat it inside the culture industry of India. nature of the inequality that exists between men and women of Indian music, be it mainstream pop or The writer is comparing on-going feminist movements in the west, and states "the vast body of work undertaken by women’s networks has credibly helped change the way we think about society and gender" - yet those changes are yet to effect the massive numbers of women in India and their native talent, potential and representation. The article explains the basis of gender bias and stereotyping, that lay deeply internalised within the fabric of Indian society, which perpetuates the inequality generations on. Willy nilly institutions, mainstream culture and society perpetuates the same.
FEMBOT5 extract (Part Four)
Charlotte Church in a recent lecture outlining the deep biases that enforce itself upon the US / UK music scene currently - ” There are three specific roles that the Industry and it’s men have carved out for women. Each of these three roles restricted to artists as well as audience. We can find them very easily inside music videos. I call them ‘The Girl’s Girls Roles’ – ‘The Victim & The Torturer’ and the ‘Unattainable Sex-pot’. The first one is a shallow representation of feminism based on populism. The 2nd category defines the sexy yet helpless victim being preyed upon again and again. The most damaging is the third category as much as the irony of many ‘Sexpots’ often being hailed as the ’empowering’ icons by the industry and press. These women are encouraged to be hyper-sexual, even macho, act violent, whimsical, cartoonish, and be exposure friendly : reducing female sexuality to a prize that you or I can win “
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