International Women’s Day: Interrogate Power and Have Your Voice be Heard

It’s International Women’s Day, which is a day to celebrate all people who identify as women is part of Women’s History Month and a time to reflect on those who challenged patriarchal power. International Women’s day is about everyone, people who identify as women, people who identify as men and non – binary folks to come together to dismantle systems that perpetuate gender stereotypes. It’s about celebrating strong women and people who identify as women, while sticking it to patriarchal systems of power and oppression. With that, let’s look at some artists who have interrogated male privilege and patriarchal power in music.

Pussy Riot: Police State

This all woman Russian punk collective famously criticised Putin and espoused feminist virtues in a public concert in Moscow, which found 3 of its members arrested and sentenced to 2 years in prison. This is a band whose members come and go, but there are roughly 11 members of Pussy Riot over the years and they all have fought for both people’s individual rights and women’s rights at their own peril and risk of imprisonment. These are some brave women striving to change the world.

Ani DiFranco: Not a Pretty Girl

Did someone say punk rock? One of the most prolific and fearless indie rockers in American history, Ani DiFranco embodied sticking it to the patriarchy when she started her own label, Righteous Babe Records, in order to put out her music and shake up the system. She is still singing about feminism, reproductive rights, voting, LGBTIQA+ rights and sticking it to patriarchal power systems. She put social activism back in music and is my hero and inspiration.

Aretha Franklin: Respect

People know about Aretha’s amazing voice, but not many people know about her activism. She was heavily involved in the civil rights movement and would often post bail for protesters who were arrested. She also covered a number of civil rights song and was very vocal in the women’s rights movement. Aretha used music to promote social change and has been one of my favourite artists since I was a child visiting family in Detroit.

Kim Petras: When We Were Young

Best known for her work on Unholy with Sam Smith, she is also an outspoken trans-woman artist. She was the first trans artist to win a Grammy with Unholy and now has her own record out. She is outspoken about her transgender identity and wants her music to act as hope for other trans young people that they too can live their truth and come out the other side. For Kim, the personal is political and her artistic voice is a ray of hope and representation for millions of people.

Nina Simone: Young Gifted and Black

Much like Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone was a key player in the civil rights movement. In fact, Aretha Franklin covered this very song. Nina Simone put her career and safety on the line with her civl rights involvement and continuous protesting of white supremacy in America. She ultimately left the country for a period of time, but her music lives on in protest and social activist groups to this day.

Loretta Lynn: The Pill

I love this song and I still find it unbelievable. A song about the pill and women’s reproductive rights would be a brave song now…let along when Lynn released it in 1975! This is a track about women’s agency, her right to not have kids, her right to her own body and women’s sexual agency. This is an amazing song that is the embodiment of what’s great about Women’s History Month. Let’s stay with country…

Dolly Parton: The Bridge

This is an uncharacteristically dark song by Dolly about a woman who had a child out of wedlock that was left high and dry when she went into labour, which led her to kill herself on the bridge where they met. Dolly has talked about how radio stations in 1968 refused to play this song…not because of the suicide…but because it was about a woman who had a baby out of wedlock. Dolly would continue making songs about women’s agency in the face of abusive and deadbeat men to much controversy, but these songs gave marginalised women a voice in music.

Queen Latifah: Nature of a Sista’

I think Queen Latifah is an underrated hip hop artist due to her wildly successful acting career. People forget that she was busting out bars calling out deadbeat misogynistic men and uplifting women back in the 90s. Moreover, she was not shy with calling people out. Queen Latifah was outspoken, destructive on the mic and along with Salt n’ Peppa / TLC / Missy Elliott / Gangsta Boo / Sister Souljah she helped pave the way for the explosion in women hip hop artists we ahve seen in the past 10 years. DO yourself a favour and listen to some Queen Latifah.