Guest blog by Izzy Fincher
Ask the average person to name a famous guitarist, and the answer is often a man. Jimi Hendrix. Eric Clapton. Eddie Van Halen.
But, what about the guitar goddesses and heroines like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Godmother of Rock’n’Roll,” and Lady Bo, “The First Lady of Guitar”? Why have they and other influential women been erased from rock’n’roll history?
A recent study published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies examines how female guitarists have been marginalized and underrepresented in 10 mainstream news outlets from 1959 to 2023. The study features 43 influential women, including Memphis Minnie, Elizabeth Cotten, Poison Ivy, St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Bonnie Raitt, and Joni Mitchell.
Since the early 20th century, the electric guitar has become a symbol of masculinity in American culture, an old boys club that excludes women.
For example, Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” list from 2015 only includes two women in the ranking: Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt.
Guitar World has only featured women on the cover of seven issues since 1980.
The findings of this study illustrate the erasure of female guitarists over six decades. 16.3% of the women didn’t appear in a single article, and 46% were mentioned in fewer than 10 articles.
In particular, Black women received even less press coverage: 27.9% of the women featured are Black, yet they were only featured in 10.6% of the articles analyzed.
Furthermore, when women are featured in coverage, they are denied credibility and portrayed as less authentic and talented than their male counterparts. Coverage focuses on their appearance, sexuality, and personal lives, highlighting their gender rather than their musical talent. Thus, the mainstream music press reproduces the sexist stereotypes of electric guitar and excludes women from greatness in rock music.
To address the lack of representation, the music press needs to feature more female guitarists, especially women of color. After all, these pioneering women and their contributions to rock’n’roll history deserve to be recognized and celebrated.
Read the full study at the University of California Press.