Via a recent interview with Rolling Stone, rocker Joan Jett spoke to dealing with sexism and that folks complaining about the past sexism associated with hair metal bands need to “chill out.”
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will be hitting the road soon with none other than Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Poison. Given hair metal’s history of sexism, Joan Jett was asked to comment on said history and touring with bands associated with that genre of music.
While Jett spoke to how gross sexism is, she also said that folks need to “chill out” when it comes to the music.
Joan Jett talking sexism in hair metal
“[Sexism]’s very prevalent, all over rock & roll. Look, all I can do as the woman I am is go out there and show an alternative view and do it my way. If I had to weed out every band you thought was problematic, I mean, there wouldn’t be very many left. And I think everyone’s being a little … Chill out, it’s music.”
After providing that statement, Jett is then asked whether she thinks the rock genre has become more progressive (since the ’80s). This is her response:
“That’s a good question. The bands I listened to weren’t necessarily at all misogynistic, but I’m talking about guys like Fugazi. I would say [it’s] probably not as misogynistic [now], just because of their openness to getting criticized about it, because you get creamed online and people seem to care about that. That doesn’t mean that it changes who they are, so maybe that’s dangerous. It goes underground. But I think things are changing.”
What are your thoughts on what Joan Jett has to say on hair metal and sexism? Do you think she has a fair point?
Joan Jett’s tour with Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and Poison kicks off in June. Will you be attending?
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Words by: Michael Pementel