Bethany Cosentino, lead singer and guitarist of the California rock band known as Best Coast, has always been strongly outspoken and open about speaking her mind. It’s something I’ve always loved about her. So when I heard she wrote a piece for Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter subscription newsletter series, I was excited. Imagine my feelings when I heard it was about the misogyny that runs rampant throughout the music industry.
Cosentino begins by talking about her early career and how one of the internet’s favorite rules (don’t read the comments) still applies, perhaps even moreso when you’re a popular artist.
I learned very early on in my music career: never read the comment section. Or rather: only look at YouTube comments, Instagram comments, Twitter mentions, or blog comments with a discerning eye while wearing my toughest, full-body armor. While these can be places where fans say things like “Yaaas, queen, you are my spirit animal!,” they can also be rampant with hurtful and sexist critiques about appearance and identity.
This paragraph lays out one of the many dilemmas surrounding “internet popularity.” Where you’ll sometimes find the greatest support from your fans is also where you’ll find some of the harshest, most uncalled for criticisms in the world. Fans often feel dejected and rejected when an artist doesn’t interact with them on social media–and honestly, the only ones they have to blame are the toxic fans commenting alongside them.
But the thing about being an artist is that those comments take different forms, sometimes. Back in October 2013, Cosentino shared an example of an incident at a music show where a heckler threw a cheeseburger at her.
Last week, we played at Indiana University, and there was this kid that kept yelling ‘Play something better!’ and I was like ‘What the fuck does that mean?’ And then he threw a cheeseburger at me, and I lost it. I was like ‘Fuck you! Get the fuck out of here!’ I was just screaming on the mic, and all the kids at the concert were like, ‘That was so badass, I can’t believe you did that!’”
Those shitty comments can also come in the form of music reviews. In the Letter, she shared an example of a music journalist’s review of one of her shows:
I recently read a review that mostly lauded a Best Coast show — it specified how great the band sounded and how “sexy” I looked — but it bemoaned my lack of smiling. This article has, and continues to, deeply trouble me. This reviewer’s gendered critique of my presence onstage revealed how he thought a woman who he saw as “sexy” should behave. It also showed how ideas about the sexualization of women are reinforced. Many people did not see the underlying sexism of the review. In fact, in the social media referencing the article, countless people attacked me with comments like “Get over it! He complimented you! Quit being a whiny bitch!”
Some comments were supportive and questioned how an article like this could have been published. The reality is that it was published because we live in a world where this kind of thing is considered OK. We live in a world where a man can yell at me while I’m onstage, “Bethany, I wanna fuck you!” and I am supposed to not only stand there and take it but also digest it as a compliment to add to my fierce arsenal of sexy confidence. Not only should I take it, I should be smiling and excited to be sexualized by my audience. If I’m not, there is something wrong with me.
Though a sexist review is certainly not the same as getting sexually harassed or assaulted over the course of a decade, it’s all part of the same continuum. Because when someone critiques Best Coast’s live performance because “Bethany looks like a miserable bitch onstage,” it is a gendered attack. There are currently four men in my band, and no one is really talking about how they don’t smile onstage or how hot their outfits are. There are never comments about their bodies, demeanors, or stage presence, other than those lauding their instrumental virtuosity. What the fuck is it about a woman that makes everyone think we need to be smiling all the time to prove to the world we are having a good time?…
It’s kind of sickening to think that a music artist can’t even play a show without someone essentially telling them to smile. Not only is that kind of gendered critique uncalled for, it’s disgusting in its insidious sexism. Like… who are you to pan someone because they didn’t smile enough for you? Do you realize how gross that sounds?
You’ll also remember a few weeks ago that Cosentino voiced her support for fellow artist Amber Coffman when Coffman called out music publicist Heathcliff Berru for his repeated sexual harassment of female musicians. The fucked-up politics of industry power dynamics aside, it was at once both heartbreaking and reassuring to see the insidiousness and hidden sexism running beneath the surface of the music industry brought to light.
She goes on to expose the ridiculous double standards around music criticism and points out how it’s unfair to consider the songs she writes “whiny” because she’s a woman who writes about her feelings.
But a line needs to be drawn. People need to stop calling women “bitches” because they’re strong and empowered. People need to stop calling me a “slut” for my public support of Planned Parenthood, an organization that has saved my life as well as many other men’s and women’s lives. People need to stop calling me a “whiny baby” because I write songs about heartache and my feelings. Did anyone call The Beatles “whiny babies” for singing the lyrics “This boy wants you back again”? Did anyone call them “desperate” or “needy” for singing “Oh please say to me / You’ll let me be your man / And please say to me / You’ll let me hold your hand”?
Cosentino’s full letter is worth a read. Despite what your feelings about Dunham might be, I think it’s important that these stories are told and that these words are written down somewhere. I, personally, have my own qualms around writing about Dunham, but it’s important to keep in mind that she’s not the focus of the story here — Cosentino and her letter are.
What do you think? Do you have high hopes for change in the music industry?
(via Stereogum)
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Published: Feb 2, 2016 11:53 am