Gender and Country Music

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the various gendered messages currently being sent by country music artists. It reviews and analyzes top country music songs and notes that the review illustrates the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business. The paper further notes that the analysis provided in the paper supports the claim that country music is becoming more progressive in its portrayals of women even though the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central. The paper then relates that the primary, homogeneous all-prevailing theme in country music is that of love and provides an analysis of 12 songs that deal with various types of relational love and how men and women represented in these songs do or do not conform to stereotypical (dating) scripts. The lyrics to the 12 songs reviewed as well as list of the top 30 country music songs are appended to the paper.

From the Paper:

"A review of the current top 30 songs (See Appendix 13) illustrates well the fact that men continue to dominate the country music business (in this case 6 of the 30 top songs are by women = 5:1). Many of the specific songs reviewed in this analysis support the comments above about the progressive portrayals of women. Campbell (2006) suggests that "gender operates throughout the whole constellation of images, attitudes, and operations attendant to country music" (p. 217). Contemporary artists like Shania Twin, Faith Hill and Gretchen Wilson prove that the feminist movement has not passed country music by, but is rather making inroads within the "confines of this conservative industry and fan base" (p. 218). "Country music videos offer a space for contemporary female artists to more visually and openly challenge that which their predecessors challenged in their time - the traditional, confining gender roles that dominant American culture espouses" (Wilson, 2000, p. 290). But as the music videos will support, the clothing and body movements still emphasize women's sexuality as central."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Campbell, G.J. (2006). A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music. Journal of Southern History, Vol. 72 Issue 1, p216-219, 4p; (AN 19781722)
• Galliano, G. (2003). Gender - Crossing boundaries. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
• Koon, B. (2005). A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music. Alabama Review. 58 (3), p223-224, (AN 18236742).
• Martell, R.F. (1996). What mediates gender bias in work behavior ratings? Sex Roles, 35, 153-169.
• Moore, B. L. (2005). A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music. Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies. 36 (1) (AN 16711832).

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