Zappa.com

I dunno, but are there any women on the board? <br>Not to be sexist or so, or not trying to get a date here (oh no), but it just crossed my mind: there seem to be a lot more male Zappa fans than female.<br>Maybe that's a general law for all music. I dunno.<br><br>So the question is:<br><br>Are you female and/or do you know any female zappa-fans in your surroundings?  Any thoughts about music & gender?

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bananarama

...i'm here.<br>

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bzzz!

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Close your eyes and visualize a glockenspiel(*,*)

<br>[quote author=ZF link=board=general&num=1034556402&start=0#1 date=10/14/02 at 01:22:57]<br>To read all about this topic, u should go to:<br>Randamonium and then to "What's a girl like u doing in a place like this?"<br><br>[/quote]<br><br>seems after reading that thread there are but very few.  nevertheless, no one seems to give an explanation. <br>maybe most girls are just not into music in the same manner as most man. or does that sound stupid? <br>BUT WHY? anyone?

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bananarama

I don't know, but I can't believe that women are less into music at all. Perhaps they're less inclined to discuss all the little details on Internet boards like we do here, and just enjoy the music. I'm a regular poster on other music boards, and the men vastly outnumber the women there too. <br><br>Actually, I know a girl who's somewhat of an FZ fanatic, and some of her favorite FZ songs are 'Catholic Girls' and 'Fembot in a wet T shirt'. Go figure..

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"When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone in the air. You can never capture it again." -- Eric Dolphy

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Can't speak for all women but my girlfriend for one thinks posting on message boards is a stupid waste of time.

recently i saw mike keneally and nobody in the crowd seemed to believe that a girl (not guitar player) could know mike keneally, FZ and steve vai at the same time! they thought i was an alien...weird anyway. i felt...observed.  8)

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bzzz!

[quote author=Ronnys_Noomies link=board=general&num=1034556402&start=0#7 date=10/14/02 at 06:09:04]<br>Women have been marginalized into country music, soft rock, folk, and lighter stuff, in terms of marketing geniuses and music business types. The harder rock and more intense interesting music is still the male domain, unfortunately. It's released by companies run by men, marketed to men, generally made for men, etc. How many powerful women are there in music, compared to men? This is a cultural/societal issue, don't you think? There are exceptions all over the place, but I really think it's about sexism and cultural indoctrination, not ability to appreciated good music. <br>[/quote]<br>I tend to agree with you fully. But nonetheless, could it be also like a "genetic" difference.  I think both factors are at work here: a social problem & some basic differences in hardware...<br><br>[quote author=Ronnys_Noomies link=board=general&num=1034556402&start=0#7 date=10/14/02 at 06:09:04]<br>Also, with FZ, you have the problem of totally offensive and juvenile lyrics, which don't exactly invite women to feel included. Please don't write to defend the lyrics...I'm not criticizing them. But, I do know several women who just can't get past them.<br>[/quote]<br>The exemple of Studebaker shows at least one exception, and besides, this argument overlooks a bit that also some male listeners might be upset by some of Zappa's lyrics, so it doesn't really explain the discrepantion. But it is also a factor, a minor one in my beliefs, but nonetheless a factor.<br><br>Other factors?<br>

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bananarama

Well I'm here.  I've been listening to Zappa since '86 and have nearly 60 official FZ releases and a decent handful of boots.<br><br>I'm also a rabid Mike Keneally fan and have had the pleasure of seeing MK play 3 times in the last two years and an even greater fortune of hanging out with him all three shows.  <br><br>Female fans are out there, they're just less in numbers than men.  But some of us do get it... ;D

>>Female fans are out there, they're just less in numbers than men.  But some of us do get it...  <<<br>it's true !!!

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bzzz!

i'm here as well, i'm certainly not offended by lyrical content. and this whole thing about genetics...i dunno. also, that women like things to be in harmony so that's why we may not be so appreciative of polyrhytms---honey, if we can be multi-orgasmic,i think we can enjoy more than one rhythm goin' on at the same time, doncha think? please.

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One two, buckle my shoe!

I'm not buying the whole 'genetic differences' argument. First of all, a lot of men also can't stomach the statistical density of FZ music, could they have some sort of genetic 'defect' too? Not very likely. <br><br>And almost every type of music appeals only to a specialized audience: Backstreet Boys albums are only being bought by teenage girls, Limp Bizkit-albums are being bought by adolescent boys, classical concerts are being visited by an elite public, heavy metal probably isn't very popular with black teenagers and likewise, FZ music also appeals to a specialized audience. Those differences in taste cannot be explained by genetic make-up, that's just highly unlikely. <br><br>Social factors resulting in a preference for a certain type of music are a lot more plausible. Noticed how many FZ fans here play an instrument themselves? I dont think that's a  coincidence, but it indicates that people with some experience in playing an instrument probably can appreciate the music more easily.

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"When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone in the air. You can never capture it again." -- Eric Dolphy

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Well, I never said that the ability to play an instrument was necessary to enjoy his music. Not at all. I'm just guessing that a significantly large percentage of the FZ fan base has some musical skills, suggesting that it's easier to get into his music when you have some sort of insight in musical theory. At least, almost all the FZ fans I know in real life (that's only a couple of people btw) are (amateur) musicians themselves.<br><br>And about FZ appealing to a specialized audience, well.. I don't want to come off sounding elitist, but it's safe to say that his music doesn't exactly appeal to the lowest common denominator.

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"When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone in the air. You can never capture it again." -- Eric Dolphy

http://www.frappr.com/frankzappaforum - FZ Forum World Map