Girl bands are a distinct genre in the music world. However besides the obvious, how are they different? What makes them that distinct genre of music? I think everyone can agree that it is a wide genre with a vast number of different styles of music in it. As the name implies the single difference is the fact that there are “girls” in the band. Is it really fair for them to be separated like that? Furthermore this also comes with the commercialization of the music industry where not only music but an image is sold. Although it does happen with men, female performers are disproportionately sexualized more than men (although that is my opinion). There is always a dichotomy between the image and music in a girl bands and that dichotomy is different among bands. Some bands sell more of an image rather than their music and other bands do the opposite. Should this just be the artists’ prerogative? As far as sexualization goes it’s obvious from a marketing stand point. But should that be up to the performer(s)? And if the image of a pretty girl(s) is what sells, are we losing out on more talented musicians? I think this also brings in the question of the definition of a performer vs and artist… You can discuss the stigma between image and music in girl bands, or anything else that pertains to girl bands as a genre here!
