In a recent interview with The Rolling Stone, U2 frontman Bono said modern music has become too “girly” and that there’s no longer room for male rage. Firstly, what ‘In The Name Of Love’ is he on about? That’s sexist and stupid. He clearly hasn’t looked out for, or listened very hard to any new music. Secondly, this is the man who Glamour named as one of their ‘Women Of The Year’ in 2016 - we should’ve stopped paying attention to him the moment he was awarded this title.
Unfortunately, it seems men in the music industry - and the entertainment industry in general - can say or do whatever they like with minimal (if any) consequences. Bono’s sexist comment can be laughed off, but it’s much harder to dismiss the harrowing accusations of rape and abuse from Crystal Castles’ Alice Glass about her former band mate Ethan Kath, or to ignore Kesha’s high profile court case against her alleged abuser and former Sony employee Dr Luke. These men have been protected by an industry that remains silent and complicit in the face of sexual assault, and I am bored and exhausted of waiting for the industry to take responsibility and apologise to the women it has continuously ignored and disappointed.
That’s one of the reasons why Get In Her Ears has been a lifeline for me, and the other two women (Mari & Tash) who have built the brand from the ground up. Through a combination of frustration, foresight, and ferocious love for new music; we have created a radio show, live night, and website dedicated to promoting and supporting women in music. We want to show the industry that female musicians continue to work and perform just as fiercely and skillfully as their male counterparts, and that female fans are equally as committed to pushing these girls and women to the front.
We’re “girly” in the sense that we use fuschia pink in our logo and heart emojis in our tweets - but we don’t separate femininity from being female. Just because we like pink, doesn’t mean we don’t see red when we read stupid comments from privileged white men, who have outdated opinions. We built Get In Her Ears to counteract this patriarchal ear ache, and offer female fans and musicians a place to read, discuss, and perform music without the fear of being judged as inferior. For us, it’s not just journalism: it’s activism.
Get In Her Ears is for the girls who mimic the hairstyles, clothes, make-up and attitudes of their favourite front-women, because it gives them courage and a sense of belonging.
Get In Her Ears for the girls with the ambition and appetite of Hole’s Courtney Love, and the ethics and energy of Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna.
Get In Her Ears is for everyone, but when I’m writing: I’m thinking of those Grrrls.
Oh, and Bono, if you’re looking for female rage, check out Petrol Girls. They’re so “girly” they’ll probably turn your eyebrows in to pink feather boas...