“Feels like the end of the world
But it’s only the beginning of it all
Forget the things that you’ve heard
Been a survivor since I began to crawl”
From “Black Vultures” by Halestorm
What’s up Hardcore Humans! On this week’s episode of The Hardcore Humanism Podcast, we talk with Lzzy Hale – founding member, guitarist and singer-songwriter of the rock band Halestorm. Halestorm has been playing hard hitting rock music for the last twenty years, earning a Grammy Award in 2012 for Hard Rock/Metal performance for their song “Love Bites,” and snagging another Grammy nomination in 2018 for Rock Performance for their song “Uncomfortable.” And now Hale is breaking out into television by being a judge on a new music competition show called No Cover.
Which brings us to the focus of the conversation, which is how Hale understood and coped with marginalization. Marginalization can be defined as a group of people who are treated as though they are insignificant or trivial in a given sociocultural context. And Hale has faced down the history of marginalization that women experience in the music industry. Anecdotal evidence of women facing sexism and discrimination in music has been mounting for years. But now research is starting to quantify the problem. For example, one recent study of country music stations found that only 13-15% of records played were by female or female-male ensembles between the years 2000 and 2018. Research examining gender bias in the Australian music industry found similar trends, with female artists earning less money for their songs. Further, the percentage of songs played on the radio by female solo artists (21%) was much lower than the percentage played by male artists (52%).
Unfortunately, the evidence is overwhelming that what we witness with women in music is just part of the bigger societal trend of marginalization of women in society. Recent studies indicate pervasive income inequality in the United States, with women only earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes for the same job. And studies suggest that over half of women in the workforce face some form of sexual harassment during their careers. Bias against women is pervasive across many areas of life, including healthcare and housing. As an example, women presenting with acute coronary symptoms are significantly less likely than men to receive appropriate treatment. Further, women appear to pay more for mortgages than men.
And marginalization through this type of bias and discrimination can have significant mental health consequences. For example, one prospective 5-year study of 279 women who experienced intimate partner violence examined the link between marginalization and mental health. Results found that marginalization predicted higher levels of distress, including depression, anxiety and trauma symptoms. Similarly, one cross sectional study of 2,956 women found that perceived discrimination was associated with increased risk for depression, lower life satisfaction and poorer self-rated health.
The prevalence and potential damage of marginalization of women in the form of bias and discrimination is severe and demands attention and change. This is why it is so important when people like Hale step up and share their story of how they have confronted and overcome this type of bias. Hale will be taking this fight to a bigger stage when she hosts the 2021 She Rocks Awards that celebrate the achievement of women in the music industry. And during our conversation she discusses how she is determined to take her experience and use it to inform and empower all people who feel marginalized so that they can cope with bias and discrimination.
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
