Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by hmaxwell 1069 days ago
Sorry if this is insensitive but; what are "we" supposed to do to have more women write songs? People are so quick to point out male dominated professions, but what exactly is the purpose of pointing it out - what does the author intend to accomplish?
3 comments

The most progressive way to solve it would be for more male song writers to identify as females and publish songs under theix new names.
I don't think the author is trying to spur you to action. Like most articles, it's meant to make you think.
Seems to me that the author doesn't approve of how men are currently behaving, and so they probably want them to change, right?

> but it actually suggests something more vital: you cannot talk about the history of music without talking about men actively limiting the musical activities that women were allowed to participate in, sometimes via physical or sexual violence.

> men have continually tried to define what is appropriate for women to do in music. When you listen to women who have worked in the industry, you’ll see that these attitudes have persisted.

Make me think about what? I want to listen to good music and don't give a diddly damn if it came from an X or a Y chromosome.
Well, I think it's quite interesting on its own. I don't really think about songwriters when I listen to music, if I'm honest, but this particular fact does interest me.

Is it because there are fewer women songwriters? Is songwriting mostly dominated by a few superstars? Is it because women write specific kinds of songs?

Lots of follow-ups I'm curious about. Just out of idle curiosity, not because of some war waging. Obviously the website does have some strange things like "Women only get to write x% of songs". We're in an incredibly democratized era for music so they can write and have someone perform whatever they want and put it on Spotify.

Discoverability is a problem, and I miss Amie.st that rewarded you for being early to recommend a good song.

Not to press the point too finely, but: you clicked on the link. If you don't care, then it's maybe worth not clicking on it. Responding to things that you don't care about with "I don't care" doesn't convey any useful or interesting information to anyone else.

I, for one, thought it was interesting. I like listening to good music too, and I wonder if I would be able to listen to more good music if more women were able to break into the professional music-making industry.

Sorry, you’re right perhaps I was being too flippant. What I meant to convey is: the information itself is interesting. But I can’t get past the whole agonizing about gender thing. If I’m to be lectured about gender inequality (whatever that is), and indeed the article doesn’t press that fact explicitly but it still feels pervasive throughout, then at least do me the courtesy of answering what a single individual like myself should be compelled to DO.

Simply informing me that women don’t write many top hits, by itself, is sorta like… “Ight, and?”

But you are correct. Perhaps I’m projecting a bit in my reflection here. I guess I just wanted to article to be more actionable if it was committed to being whiny.

s/think/click/.

FTFY.

You are supposed to go on liking what you like. You don’t have to like what other people tell you you should like instead.