I don't want to make it. I just want [to be seen for what I am]

[prophetic]

I've been having this persistent thought, and I wanted to share it, even though it may not be as much of a revelation to the rest of you as it was to me.

So, you remember when MCR's Desolation Row video first came out, and everyone in bandom was watching and discussing it?  One thing I remember from that time was us collectively realizing that it

Comments

[flourish]

I'm starting to rethink who I think this music belongs to and to let myself notice that it really does belong to teenage girls in a big way. I get to be part of their demographic when I listen to this music. And that's not a bad or a shameful demographic to be part of.

Yes yes yes. I'm really interested in the way fandom interacts with this stuff, and there's a lot to say about it, but what I'm mainly going to say is: yes, yes, yes!

[prophetic]

Yeah, dude, I can tell you think about this stuff. That's one of the things that makes me the most interested in your work. Go you! Keep thinking about it, and don't forget to tell us what you discover and conclude.

[tempore]

I want to print this out, blow it up, hang it on a wall and put arrows all around it. this this this this this

[prophetic]

Yay! Thanks! I'm glad you find some resonance in this

[tempore]

Yeah, I think in a lot of ways, seeing Buffy does color my experience of his work in a good way. And yeah, that bow hunter thing was hella creepy. I think, so far, that maybe that what I like about it is that he's not shying away from the idea of creating these "dolls," these whores--because that is what they are--as a commentary on the way society views young women. This idea that we have to create these idealized creatures that cater to the whims and needs of the men who buy them. (I'd like to note that so far, while it's primarily women, there are male dolls in the background.) Isn't that what we have done with women? Is that not, essentially, what our pop stars like Britney Spears are? So I definitely see it as social commentary

[prophetic]

1. I will read every Frank thing you send my way. I like how you like him. Do you have a delicious account or something where you keep this stuff?

2. That said, it's as much a "strength" or weakness that any other gender or major group has, you know? Especially in the sense of the fact that they are so often dismissed for the very things that they can then use to their advantage.

Yes, this. Nicely put, and especially how it works for every group. Word.

[prophetic]

Hey, thank you! I'm glad some of it resonated with you.

I TOTALLY feel you on the embarrassment of trying to explain one's bandom involvement; I have that too. But also, don't be too hard on yourself for feeling embarrassed--it's not like the connections between this music as teenage girl music and teenage girls as a generally not-respected demographic are imaginary. If someone in bandom didn't sense that social dynamic at work, at least on some level, I'd wonder why they were so clueless.

I'm happy my brain sorted things through a little and gave me something to think/feel about all this other than just cringing at being thought of as too teenaged. Now that I think of it, I don't think I'd expect anyone to sort it out at an entirely subconscious level.

[mandlebars]

Not much I can add.

I feel like I shouldn't have to defend why I like any band but when I say I like MCR I get these down right dirty looks. When I got into MCR I wasn't part of a 'scene' I was a lonely girl living isolated on an island posting on Fall Out Boy forums and listening to Taking Back Sunday. And whilst I agree some of us are down right insane, at the end of the day the fans shouldn't influence what a song or band mean to you.

[robjlea]

This is in no way as indepth as some other comments but it is what I think about when I think about 'rock' bands that draw a lot of female attention

[prophetic]

That's quite interesting about Def Leppard. Thanks for sharing it. And you're right, anyone who's smart will work with what's in front of them. Most musicians seem willing to truly respect and appreciate their fans, no matter who they are. And that's good.

I often try to keep the squeeing to a minimum too--for the same reasons, I think, that I don't want people to look down on me. But I get just as excited about music things as I used to. I was crazily, dreamily, incoherently excited when I got to see MCR play, and that was only last fall. *blushes* But also, for me at least, being excited like that is more authentic than acting like I don't care. I feel better when I can act as excited as I actually am. So I can totally relate to jumping around the apartment over concert tickets.

Thanks for stopping by!