“The Feminine Critique” #TBT

Since it’s quoted in today’s New York Times review of Jessica Hopper’s book, for today’s Throw-Back Thursday, I’m posting “The Feminine Critique,” the 1992 Village Voice article that became the launching pad for Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap, the collection Ann Powers and I coedited 20 years ago. Back then, the Times paid it no attention whatsoever. Today, Dwight Garner highlights it as “an excellent anthology.” Ah, the life of a pioneer. At least this work is being honored while Ann and I are still alive. Sometimes, survival is the best strategy. I’m posting the slightly rewritten version that was the intro to the book.

Feminine Critique

RSW in NYT

Dwight Garner nicely cites Rock She Wrote — even quoting Karen Durbin from my “The Feminine Critique” intro — in his New York Times review of Jessica Hopper’s book. You know, maybe it’s time for Ann Powers and I to put this collection back into print ….

“Musical Gender Gap”

In 1985 I was a junior at Brown University, and already, I was aware of the rockcrit chauvinist establishment. I don’t actually remember my feminist consciousness being so raised, but recently, I received documentary evidence. In an application for an internship at the Providence Journal, I wrote, “My experience has taught me that it is very difficult to break into any aspect of the music business, particularly for a woman.” Tony Lioce, the Pro Jo‘s former music critic, recently sent me a copy of this application (I can’t believe he’s been carting it around all these years)! I got the job, and in fact, Lioce and other editors at the ProJo were extremely helpful in my effort to get “a foothold in bridging the musical gender gap.”

Check out the application here — you can see the seedlings of “The Feminine Critique” and Rock She Wrote:

Pro Jo application