Tonight I’ve been literally carried away watching some documentaries on groupies in the 60s/70s on YouTube… As I was browsing through some videos, I found some clips from Pamela Des Barres’ reading of her book Let’s Spend the Night Together (you can watch them here if you’re interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ppZCBKVsg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL ). I knew about her book I’m with the Band (that should be her first book, if I’m not mistaken) but never read it, although I’ve always been attracted by it for some mysterious reasons.
I had no idea her books literally corresponded to cheap erotic fiction with the variant of well-known rockstars as male protagonists. I indeed found it interesting under some aspects but it generally left me perplexed under many others: for whatever reasons (I blame you Cameron Crowe, you and the fantastic Penny Lane) I thought groupies back in the day were more about the music than having sex with rockstars for social climbing motifs. Apparently I was wrong: everything in Pamela Des Barres’ accounts is focused on how god/how bad the sex was with those people, "the guitarists with fast fingers" and all that stuff including some shallow comments on the “physical qualities” of the rockstars, seriously worthy of any cheap quality female oriented magazine.
Most of these groupies seemed to think to have had some influence on these people and elevated themselves to the state of "muses" (Cat Stevens dedicated one of his most romantic songs to his historic groupie apparently - then again, this makes me pose the question “are romantic songs necessarily speaking the truth?”). Isn’t this far from considering groupies’ position as empowering for women? They were chasing rockstars only because of their “high” status in society and slept with them, regardless of their personality, which is rarely mentioned in the epic accounts of their wild adventures. And again, is going to bed with them a way of exerting power over them? When people blame them to have been considered mere objects by the men who had sex with them, they reply saying that they have had the power of choosing who to sleep with, therefore they were in complete control of the situation. According to groupies, they are not used by rockstars and instead they claim to be the ones using them. Basically, "I reduce myself as an object on purpose and I'm proud of it", empowering indeed.
I definitely want to put my hands on Pamela Des Barres’ books, just to have a clearer idea about them, but what seriously left me disappointed is the poor content of the comments on the rockstars and the attribution of “qualities” to the different groupies simply identified by the persons they slept with.
I honestly found it mortifying, as a woman and as a music lover. But then again, I would never pursue that kind of lifestyle in any moment or situation, past future and present. Just as I don’t judge people by their careers/jobs/"position in society", I don’t believe musicians are a “different breed” as Pamela Des Barres writes.
On the contrary I believe in the power of music and how music itself makes me feel, all the emotions attached to it, the power it has to make me feel in a certain way, regardless of the physical or personal “qualities” of who is writing it.
Or maybe I am the one who should stop reducing everything to "feelings".
Monday, 13 June 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011
I'm still here.
Haven't updated this blog in a while - sorry!
So here are some updates.
Last night (well, 2 nights ago as it's past midnight) I took some photos of The Kills and S.C.U.M for The Leeds Guide, and you can find them at the usual place (just click on the photo).
They've been really good, though I was a bit concerned with the outcome as we weren't allowed in the pit and could shoot only during the first 3 songs... Too much pressure really, made me shoot 200photos in a row and literally watched the first bit of the gig through the lens of my camera.
Thanksfully tomorrow is the day of my last exam for my second year, so I can enjoy a bit of freetime and why not, get developed loads of filmrolls that I have stored up during this stressful exam period.
x
Sunday, 13 February 2011
women
Today in Italy, women (and hopefully even men) will be demonstrating in honour of Women, the real women, against the horrible way in which women are portrayed by the media and generally in everyday life.
I think Italy can be easily considered one of the countries with the worse tv channels, which all seem to treat women like passive objects of sexual desire.
It does not matter what time you turn on the tv, and which channel you are watching, there will most certainly be a half-naked woman with a beautiful body, dancing, laughing, giggling, stimulating in some way men's erotic fantasies or just simply smiling to offensive statements made by the male anchor, without uttering a single word.
Many interesting documentaries have been made to denounce this degradation of the women's body in the media, but unfortunately things seem only to be worse and worse, especially in Italy.
I still remember the first time I came back to Italy after my first 4 months of living in Leeds for Christmas holidays: as I stepped out of the Orio al Serio airport in Bergamo I was impressed by the huge advertising of Tim (an Italian phone company), hanging just on the other side of the road and showing Belen Rodriguez (model, actress, most admired female flesh in Italy nowadays I think) wearing a tiny bikini with just Santa's hat on, in an unequivocal position.
I thought that that was exactly what was happening in Italy, so all the tourists coming to Italy for the first time could taste already an example of how women are represented in the country.
Unfortunately, this is a bigger problem than the simplistic representations of bodies and nudity, it is in fact, I think, a social problem. As my mum once said after revisiting a quote from Marx, “Tv is the new opium of the people”.
What men and women think of this represenation and how do they act? It is known that television is an influential means of communication and the decay of Italian television I think it is particularly relevant nowadays in the way women act and even think.
The message is clear: use your body to obtain what you want, or even better, use your body to obtain what the others want from you. Use your image, focus on your appearance, sell yourself, create a new image of yourself, adhere to standard beauty canons sold to you by daytime television, accomplish your man. And here is the biggest problem of all, how women are psychologically influenced by men, how this image dictates a model to follow in order to be accepted in a society where women are reduced to mere sexual objects.
Moving to England I immediately noticed many differences in the way women are treated other than in Italy. Although I have met even here men treating women as idiots (but I guess that is just how the world goes on, right?), I must say women here are generally much more respected (for example, it is very rare that someone in the streets whistles at you like if you were a dog) and women themselves appear to be more emancipated.
And I was especially reflecting on this point lately, emancipation and independence. How many women choose to follow their ideals in spite of others'? In spite of their boyfriends', husbands or even families?
When I decided to move to Leeds it was not easy, I kept thinking that this would have involved living miles away from everyone I knew. But this turned out to be the best decision I have ever made. I did what I really wanted, for my future, I thought of myself, of my future.
I have to say thanks to my mum for this, she is the most wonderful example of woman I could possibly think of. She is incredibly strong and passionate in everything she does and she went through every kind of situation all the times only by herself. And now she is finally living her own life, the life she chose to live, counting only on her great ability to solve things and on her intelligence. She is the most independent person I have ever known, she could do anything, and she taught me about the importance of counting on yourself and learning how to solve problems and situations alone.
She is the one who constantly gives me hope for women, and although it is easy for me to say that as she is my mother, I really wish more women had her strength in doing things.
I wish women could understand that being respected and equality is not gained by acting like men, but following your own ideals, thinking of what is best for your future and that the main aim in life is not getting married and having children.
Women in society seem to have a prescribed role of mothers and housewives, and many women are convinced of reaching their lives' stability by having a husband to count on. All of that (children, motherhood, etc) are just consequences that happen in life, and should not be considered as the main aims in one's life.
I think Italy can be easily considered one of the countries with the worse tv channels, which all seem to treat women like passive objects of sexual desire.
It does not matter what time you turn on the tv, and which channel you are watching, there will most certainly be a half-naked woman with a beautiful body, dancing, laughing, giggling, stimulating in some way men's erotic fantasies or just simply smiling to offensive statements made by the male anchor, without uttering a single word.
Many interesting documentaries have been made to denounce this degradation of the women's body in the media, but unfortunately things seem only to be worse and worse, especially in Italy.
I still remember the first time I came back to Italy after my first 4 months of living in Leeds for Christmas holidays: as I stepped out of the Orio al Serio airport in Bergamo I was impressed by the huge advertising of Tim (an Italian phone company), hanging just on the other side of the road and showing Belen Rodriguez (model, actress, most admired female flesh in Italy nowadays I think) wearing a tiny bikini with just Santa's hat on, in an unequivocal position.
I thought that that was exactly what was happening in Italy, so all the tourists coming to Italy for the first time could taste already an example of how women are represented in the country.
Unfortunately, this is a bigger problem than the simplistic representations of bodies and nudity, it is in fact, I think, a social problem. As my mum once said after revisiting a quote from Marx, “Tv is the new opium of the people”.
What men and women think of this represenation and how do they act? It is known that television is an influential means of communication and the decay of Italian television I think it is particularly relevant nowadays in the way women act and even think.
The message is clear: use your body to obtain what you want, or even better, use your body to obtain what the others want from you. Use your image, focus on your appearance, sell yourself, create a new image of yourself, adhere to standard beauty canons sold to you by daytime television, accomplish your man. And here is the biggest problem of all, how women are psychologically influenced by men, how this image dictates a model to follow in order to be accepted in a society where women are reduced to mere sexual objects.
Moving to England I immediately noticed many differences in the way women are treated other than in Italy. Although I have met even here men treating women as idiots (but I guess that is just how the world goes on, right?), I must say women here are generally much more respected (for example, it is very rare that someone in the streets whistles at you like if you were a dog) and women themselves appear to be more emancipated.
And I was especially reflecting on this point lately, emancipation and independence. How many women choose to follow their ideals in spite of others'? In spite of their boyfriends', husbands or even families?
When I decided to move to Leeds it was not easy, I kept thinking that this would have involved living miles away from everyone I knew. But this turned out to be the best decision I have ever made. I did what I really wanted, for my future, I thought of myself, of my future.
I have to say thanks to my mum for this, she is the most wonderful example of woman I could possibly think of. She is incredibly strong and passionate in everything she does and she went through every kind of situation all the times only by herself. And now she is finally living her own life, the life she chose to live, counting only on her great ability to solve things and on her intelligence. She is the most independent person I have ever known, she could do anything, and she taught me about the importance of counting on yourself and learning how to solve problems and situations alone.
She is the one who constantly gives me hope for women, and although it is easy for me to say that as she is my mother, I really wish more women had her strength in doing things.
I wish women could understand that being respected and equality is not gained by acting like men, but following your own ideals, thinking of what is best for your future and that the main aim in life is not getting married and having children.
Women in society seem to have a prescribed role of mothers and housewives, and many women are convinced of reaching their lives' stability by having a husband to count on. All of that (children, motherhood, etc) are just consequences that happen in life, and should not be considered as the main aims in one's life.
“To emancipate woman is to refuse to confine her to the relations she bears to man, not to deny them to her; let her have her independent existence and she will continue none the less to exist for him also: mutually recognising each other as subject, each will yet remain for the other an other.” Simone De Beauvoir, The Second Sex
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