BOOK REVIEWS
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by defining the problem that this work would also present a strong
Statement in terms o f how anyone could leam to Step out and resist being
sold a bill o f goods. The potential is there and alluded to, but since very
few women seem to overcome the heavy handed sense o f sex for sale in
rock and roll, the book gets very dark as it reminds us o f how gender bias
still holds women back in America as a whole.
The point made here is that the gatekeepers o f this process are in
control and are themselves controlled by a sense o f commodification and
social norms that dooms the idea o f a female rocker to that o f the short
lived life o f a sex kitten. The few examples o f female rockers who do
succeed on their own terms are those who leam to command how their
sexuality is used and this still leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. Dr. Lieb
also nicely addresses the difficulty academia has in trying to remain
scientific but also relevant in Contemporary culture.
She also brings to the fore the power the normalization o f the
notions by which girls themselves are taught to devalue themselves and
how loyalty to a generalized notion o f the female who is valued only by
the way she sells sex can ripple through a society and cripple it in many
ways.
The book provides a great arena for argument. You may not
agree with the conclusions, but you will want to join the debate after
reading it. Dr. Lieb leaves us with a pretty darkly deterministic view in
terms o f what can be done to change how women are valued for how
they look and ignored in terms o f what they can do. And unfortunately
it’s not hard to see how gender branding in the music industry is
reflective o f a fundamental ideological tendency that still shapes
American society as a whole even today.
K im Idol, U n iversity o f N ev a d a Las V eg a s