There is no industry where feminist women are not needed. However, the media, music and art space are areas where feminist women must be intentional about. This is because the media is a pivotal place where ideas about women’s bodies and lives take center stage and become normalised.
To get a better understanding about why feminist women are needed in the media, music and art space, Urban Woman Magazine asked some women to share their thoughts.
Read their responses below.
Doris
Happy to talk about this subject. I’m an entertainment lawyer, but before that, I’m a consumer of music and a fan of many beautiful women and girl groups in the industry. One thing is consistent in a lot of the stories, coming up, and that’s sexual harassment.
From producers to execs, men seem to want a piece of them, before granting access to opportunities. If we had more feminist women in entertainment, especially in the rooms that matter, a lot will change. Why feminist women? Because a pick me is not different from a degenerate man. They will turn a blind eye, to keep the show going.
When we have feminist women in these spaces, women can feel safer during recording, negotiations, etc. A feminist lawyer or manager will fight for you better than the regular person who would tell you not to challenge the system and just take what you’re given.
Hyeladzira
Project manager here.
Half the time I work events, I am the only woman, or the only woman in a position of power. It’s very draining.
And when you have women, it’s in positions that don’t particularly hold a lot of weight (I am trying to avoid saying irrelevant because there’s actually no irrelevant position in an event or the industry).
The effect is that you end up not having a lot of representation and say, and by extension not enough people fighting for the rights of women. You bring up women specific issues and there’s not enough evidence to back it up or people to support you and then the rooms become smaller and smaller and entry because harder for women, and this is not just for backstage but onstage too.
For example, every time I am on a project team, I always question why there’s no woman or it’s too few women, and most times the answer is “We didn’t think about it that way”.
We need more women to call women’s names and to stand for their rights primarily before we even talk about the advantage of numbers.
DB
I just want to talk about my experience in the industry. I’ve worked as an actor and model and I left the industry due to the sexual harassment. Dem go wan fuck you tire just to give you roles. It made me leave the industry as I said earlier.
Once, I landed a role in a movie and the director came in and was like it’s me he wants and I should come to his hotel. I was like huhn? Excuse me?
Omo e get one time wey dem say make I come for modeling casting. Dem say na bikini shoot. I reach there na so dem say make I dey strip wear the bikini. Omo before I knew it, hands were on me.
From showing me how to pose to touching my private parts lol. And I was just 14/15 then. Lol.
Nathalie Wemambu
I believe women; especially feminists should be in the the IP, talent management, music project management and related fields for the following reasons:
They bring fresh ideas, strong teamwork, and a more nuanced understanding of people’s feelings. This helps create better songs, fairer deals for artists, and careers that last longer.
When women are in charge or helping run things, companies often make more money and keep good staff happier.
In my experience, female managers and team members are great at supporting artists and building safe, trusting teams.
More women at the top also means the music world better matches today’s fans — including the growing number of women who stream songs every day.
In short, including women makes the whole industry more creative, fairer, successful long term and enjoyable for everyone.
Angel Nduka-Nwosu is a writer, journalist and editor. She moonlights occasionally as a podcaster on As Angel Was Sayin’. Catch her on all socials @asangelwassayin.