Free Essays on Gender Issue in Music

Issue of November 12, 1997 Rock & Roll: Does it influence teens’ behavior? (Continuation of article) Male- vs. female-appeal music From conversations with their friends and acquaintances, Roberts and Christenson have concluded that most adults generally think of adolescent music as all the same. Most don't seem aware of the astonishing increase in music genres and subgenres since they were young. Billboard now reports on more than 20 music charts, and the annual Grammy awards recognize 80 music categories. Yet even the industry does not recognize as much fragmentation as youthful consumers when they are asked about their music preferences. This diversity and selectivity are important, the authors say, because the "symbolic environment" of genres varies and adolescent preferences are linked to both individual and group identity. "A kid whose tastes run to rap artists such as Coolio or NWA probably thinks of himself in different terms and associates with a different peer group than one who prefers the pop sound of Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson." American adolescents perceive a cluster of music grounded in the racial origin of performers, they say, and also combine into one group various music types of British origin, such as punk, new wave and reggae. They also recognize "classic" rock of the '60s and '70s as a category, heavy metal, American hard rock, Christian music (inc... Free Essays on Gender Issue in Music Free Essays on Gender Issue in Music Issue of November 12, 1997 Rock & Roll: Does it influence teens’ behavior? (Continuation of article) Male- vs. female-appeal music From conversations with their friends and acquaintances, Roberts and Christenson have concluded that most adults generally think of adolescent music as all the same. Most don't seem aware of the astonishing increase in music genres and subgenres since they were young. Billboard now reports on more than 20 music charts, and the annual Grammy awards recognize 80 music categories. Yet even the industry does not recognize as much fragmentation as youthful consumers when they are asked about their music preferences. This diversity and selectivity are important, the authors say, because the "symbolic environment" of genres varies and adolescent preferences are linked to both individual and group identity. "A kid whose tastes run to rap artists such as Coolio or NWA probably thinks of himself in different terms and associates with a different peer group than one who prefers the pop sound of Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson." American adolescents perceive a cluster of music grounded in the racial origin of performers, they say, and also combine into one group various music types of British origin, such as punk, new wave and reggae. They also recognize "classic" rock of the '60s and '70s as a category, heavy metal, American hard rock, Christian music (inc...