Finding the Rhythm

Where are all the women?

June 24, 2009 at 12:38 pm Leave a comment

Last week, as I was sort of assessing the Denver DJ scene online (long story for another blog post), I stumbled across Sonic Kiss. They’re a collective of female DJs here, and while I’ve not heard or seen them, I thought it was cool they… Existed.

It’s possible that I just don’t get out enough, but it did get me wondering… Where are all the women? Dance music seems to be dominated by men. Obviously they’re out there, as Sonic Kiss demonstrates. And I recently met a new friend, Jessica, who’s a DJ as well (although I’ve not heard her yet). But it’s clear that the DJ scene is way disproportionately dominated by the guys.

It happens on the production side, too. Denise Gurney, better known as Twisted Dee, is the only female dance producer / remixer that I’m personally aware of. There are tons of female vocalists in dance music, and there are probably more female producers that I’ve just not come across. But considering just how much music I listen to in a week’s time, the fact I can name only one is pretty telling.

There are a whole lot of areas where I think we could use more female influence, and one of them is dance music. This isn’t the time or the venue to get into a discussion about the genders, but I think it’s fair to say that men and women typically bring something a little different to any particular table, as do people of different cultures, lifestyles, and so forth. To me, that’s the most important part of diversity to start with… Fairness is important, yes, but whatever we’re talking about—a business, an industry, whatever—benefits from the differing perspectives perhaps more than the individuals involved benefit from the level playing field.

But I digress.

Hey ladies… Wanna be a DJ? Wanna produce dance music? Get your girly selves in here, because while I don’t have issues with the guys, we need you, too.

Entry filed under: Dance Music Industry. Tags: Sonic Kiss, Twisted Dee.