Comments on: What Rock and Roll Really Means http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-and-inclusion/what-rock-and-roll-really-means/ DiversityInc: Diversity and the Bottom Line Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:40:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Anonymous http://www.diversityinc.com/diversity-and-inclusion/what-rock-and-roll-really-means/comment-page-1/#comment-1497 Anonymous Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:45:08 +0000 #comment-1497 I adore the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and appreciate the way the curators tell the history of American music coming from so many diverse people and places. The one area of diversity they need to keep working on is the perception and presentation of the contributions of female artists.

For example, there is an exhibit coming up dedicated to women in rock called “Girls on Film.” I have two problems with that: one is that they’re referencing a Duran Duran song (and the band had no female members … and for what it’s worth the video featured a lot of scantily clad models who weren’t exactly rock-and-rollers); and two, these aren’t girls: they’re women. Their contributions are diminished when the focus shifts from their music – or their adulthood – toward them being eye candy.

Another couple of examples: the lobby monitors feature Michelle Phillips commenting about Cass Elliot watching the induction ceremony from heaven “in a size 4″ dress … so the viewer remembers the artist less for her music and more for her size. Also, Bonnie Raitt’s clip in the induction montage has her telling a little girl that she got into music “so I could meet boys” – which could very well be true but couldn’t we have a quote from her about her music?

I look forward to bringing my daughters back to the museum and finding even more to explore about a subject I’m really passionate about so they’ll be inspired – and included – in the experience as girls and women.

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