Let’s see if Oscars can honor women artists better than Grammys did
The 2018 Grammys were a source of much criticism. As usual, some viewers were upset because the artists they were rooting for didn’t win, but this year there was an obvious absence of women winning Grammys.
The only woman to win a major award was Alessia Cara winning Best New Artist, an award that came with backlash from fans who thought there were newer artists who were more deserving.
The Grammys president Neil Portnow said denied that women were being snubbed and said that they just need to “step up” in the future.
The imbalance in the Grammys reflects a bigger problem in the music industry in general. A study by Rolling Stone found that only 22.4% of the 600 performers on Billboard’s Hot 100 between 2012 and 2017 were women.
With the Oscars approaching on Mar. 4, it will be interesting to see whether they too have a similar divide in gender as the Grammys. Since the award show started in 1928 until 2014, only 16% of nominees were women. Greta Gerwig is the 5th woman ever nominated for best director for Lady Bird.
The best way to get rid of this imbalance is to encourage and support girls that are pursuing careers in music and film. Buy their work. Support what they produce. Challenge those who say “step up” by challenging them to see what is unique about female artists.
Liv Larsen is a Feature editor on RubicOnline. This is her fourth year on staff. She has been staying busy during the pandemic by watching (too many) movies,...