Our good friends at Bristol University Feminist Society recently put on a non-misogynistic club night at Basement 45, ‘Boobie Nights’ – an apt pun of the 90’s disco film. This was their third sell-out instalment of the night, encouraging the need to eradicate sexism from current music culture. Just looking at the ‘Boobie Nights’ event page on Facebook shows exactly what the night intended to achieve: “CELEBRATING NON-MISOGYNISTIC, SEX POSITIVE MUSIC”.
It is perhaps inevitable that this sexism filters down through music to the general public. The club has been notoriously linked to a Lad Culture that similarly sees women in terms of their sexuality. The culture’s penchant for alcohol and the anonymity of the club have been manipulated as excuses for sexual harassment. It seems that current music is synonymous for female sexualisation as harassment has also been excused by the dress-sense of female party-goers.
‘Boobie Nights’ aims to dispel the dichotomy between feminism and music. The night’s acts heavily featured women DJs with FemSoc Vice President Jess Sartenaer even taking the stage under the name Sart Attack. It was great that ‘Boobie Nights’ applauded both the talents of female music artists and the lyrical female figure. Shanti Celeste, the headliner, was an obvious highlight. The female DJ started out in the industry handing out flyers for local night Just Jack. 4 years later, Shanti is heavily embedded in Bristol’s dance community. She gigs at Fabric, has a spot on NTS Radio, runs her own night Housework and co-runs label BRSTL. It is clear that Shanti is an example of female power in music; her set only further proved her techno talent.
The night was fun, boogying and a massive success. So, it only begs the question, why is there sexism in music? If nights can be just as disco-fantastic and full of laughs as every other night, what’s stopping equality reaching the dance-floor?
Photo credit: Becky Stanczyk