After reading "All Shook up," I was surprised to have learn that Rock 'n' roll was a product of a variety of music from different ethnic groups, especially black secular music. I've never been a fan of Rock 'n' Roll, but I recall one of my close friends appreciating the music when we were in high school. Other students would make fun of her and ask "why do you listen to white music? Black people don't listen to that junk." With that being said, I was also impressed with chapter 3. In this chapter, Altschuler demonstrates how Rock 'n' roll played a major role in reinforcing societies traditional views on gender roles. He mentions how in Rock 'n' roll songs, women were often idealized by being referred to as baby. They were presented as men property, submissive, subservient and dependent upon men. He claims, "women were the subjects of songs, and the objects of affection, jealousy and betrayal. They did not sing Rock 'n' Roll songs; men sang about them (86)." Today, people dispute how contemporary music such as rap and r&b continue degrade and explotate women. However, no one ever dispute how Rock 'n' Roll singers such as Elvis and Bill Haley refer to women as object. Based on "All Shook Up," Is Rock 'n' Roll responsible for shaping the way women are portrayed and represented in contemporary music today?
Here is a song by Bill Haley mentioned by Altschuler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuW3UCgoBbM
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Is rock 'n' roll responsible? Well, I'm not sure we could go that far. Should it be held accountable for propagating misogynistic messages? Most definitely. But as far as responsibility is concerned, I think the way women were portrayed in rock 'n' roll was more a product of the culture that gave rise to rock 'n' roll, not something that defined the genre. I think that the fact that 'new' forms of music, such as rap, are also criticized for this indicates that we still have a lot of work to do in achieving gender equality. However, progress has been made, in that now rock and even rap are open to female artists, even though they are not equally represented.
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