Hey, hey!

As I have mentioned before, the niche of mine which I’m focusing on this semester is music, particularly that within pop punk or emo type subculture. 

Part of the research for this project is meant to be observing – but I don’t know how to articulate when I am no longer observing. I live with this idea that music is a hobby and a personality trait if you’re into it strong enough. Some evidence of observing is the way so many artists released music around when this project picked up – insanely helpful. This formulated my need to have everything in one place and create a playlist, which wasn’t something I originally intended. 

An important discussion particularly within this genre is the lack of diversity and misogyny for decades. While I have firsthand experiences and knowledge from living through this community, this led to me taking on readings. This was helpful for this project because I know, ultimately, with my work I want to be a part of that shift that is finally starting to happen. I’ve touched on it, I’ve centred Women, Non-Binary and POC in my work and always will. 

“It’s essential to disrupt these narratives and hold White men accountable if we want to fight racism and sexism in our communities…To these men and boys, you are not a whole, unique person — You are A Thing and He Wants You. You are the Manic Pixie Dream Girl to their brooding, sensitive loner…The misogyny in pop punk ranges from idolizing women to wishing actual physical violence on to them…”

Not just from observing, but engaging, I came to the realisation that this to me is a lot more than just a project. I create this content outside of Uni, I enjoy doing so, and creating relationships with people working within the same line and artists became relevant quickly. Not just for this project but my future – which this DA has given me a moment to think about. This contributes to my ideas of ethics. 

Persona is an incredibly important aspect in this project, but so is authenticity. I don’t just say I like some bands music if I don’t – even if I know it can get me engagement. This is somewhat because I am honest about if I even like something and because I care about my persona being authentic to me. I don’t present myself as a part of the aesthetics, the communities, the live shows for anything other than enjoyment and that is the key with this project. I make good content that I’m happy with, I meet new industry people, and it doesn’t get impacted by fake love, a fake persona.  

REFERENCES

Berkland, D. (n.d.). Androcentrism and misogyny in late twentieth century rock music. Core.Ac.Uk. Retrieved October 13, 2021, from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145050367.pdf

de Boise, S. (2020). Music and misogyny: a content analysis of misogynistic, antifeminist forums. Popular Music, 39(3–4), 459–481.

Fosbraey, G., & Puckey, N. (2021). Misogyny, toxic masculinity, and heteronormativity in post-2000 popular music. Springer Nature.

West, E. (2015, August 27). “where is your boy tonight?”: Misogyny in pop punk. Athena Talks. https://medium.com/athena-talks/where-is-your-boy-tonight-misogyny-in-pop-punk-669eccedc811