Music Sexism Debate Erupts Over New Australian Book

A book that examines the underground music swell in Australia has prompted a fiery social media debate about sexism and under-representation of women in the music industry.

Noises In My Head: Voices From The Ugly Australian Underground by former guitarist for disbanded Brisbane outfit Slug Guts Jimi Kritzler was launched earlier this month, but the discussion has gone well beyond the 50-bands (including The Drones, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Straight Arrows and Royal Headache) mentioned in the 500-page coffee table book.

In a public Facebook post, Melbourne musician Pikelet – real name Evelyn Morris – kicked off the debate, saying she wants to see a book focused on female voices.

“I'm gonna publish a book called tastes of Melbourne women underground,” she wrote. “So tired of male back-patting and exclusion of anything vaguely 'feminine' in subculture. We get it. You think you're all awesome and we're all just kinda average. Unless we sound like you. Ladies of Melbourne... Let's please reject this culture.”

Morris told theMusic.com.au today that she was surprised at how far the conversation had travelled.

The post has since gone viral, attracting 450 comments in under a day at the time of this article. The vast majority expressed support for Morris, with many offering to lend their effort to a project dedicated to highlighting women in underground music.

“I post things like that all the time, periodically anyway, because it's always on my mind,” she told theMusic. “When there's a target, I guess, something that people can specifically react to it easy to articulate what it is that feels wrong. So much of what people say when they trying to say when they express feminist ideas, it can be shot down easily because it's not tangible.”

She said her original frustration with the book was the introduction to True Radical Miracle, a now defunct band she played drums for. “And just because it had a male frontman it was given a male title… I put ten years of my life into that band… I didn't appreciate it being skimmed over.”

In the post's comments she wrote, “It's not about men vs women, it's about everyone getting a fair go rather than audiences have a predisposed bias directed towards one half of the population based on mistakes throughout history.”

As the discussion developed she added, “Perpetuating a myth that men are somehow superior is unfair and not very kind and it makes it very hard for women to get started in music and therefore there's a continually smaller uptake into the music realm by young women.

"When the vast majority of the male participants also seem unwilling or unaware it also means that we're constantly getting silently more and more undermined and consequently constantly dropping out of the game also unless we figure out amongst ourselves how to take part and not let the feelings of inadequacy overshadow our practices.”

Kritzler himself felt compelled to defend his book and offered his own voice to the debate.

“I usually would never dare to enter an internet debate but I wanted to add only one thought and that is your argument devalues the contributions to the book I wrote, Noise In My Head, by women like Sarah Spencer (Blank Realm), Jonnine Standish (HTRK), Nisa Venerosa (Fabulous Diamonds), Sarah Davis (Whores), Emma Ramsay and Anna John (Holy Balm), Jenny Branagan (NUN) amongst other women in Kitchens Floor, The Drones, Hits, UV Race, Deaf Wish, Chrome Dome, New War, Dick Diver, Panel of Judges, Garbage and the Flowers, Twerps, St Helens, Naked on the Vague, Songs, Straight Arrows and Circle Pit.

“To paint me as a misogynist for writing a subjective book on Australian bands from my own perspective is somewhat thoughtless. If I did exclude some of your friends' bands or your own projects this decision did not come down to gender but simply that I didn't either like the band or there were space constraints.

“I could only do fifty bands and at 500 pages I think the book captures something special (you may disagree)…I thoroughly agree a book on Australian music from a female perspective would be really interesting however this is obviously not the book I intended to write or could ever write.”

On True Radical Miracle he said, “My description of True Radical Miracle is simply my perspective on the band having seen the band play many times over the years.”

Morris, who said to theMusic “The book sparked this discussion, but the book itself is not a bad thing… Everything that [Kritzler] contributed has been helpful,” is now hopeful that something positive can come from the debate, something tangible.

“At the moment its just initial discussion, I guess when I made that post I wasn't serious about it but given that people are willing to help and there's a need for it I may as well.”

We recently spoke to author Jimi Kritzler about the book - read the interview here.