The Spice Girls brought the idea of “girl power” with them when they kicked up a fuss in the music industry back in the late 1990s. They were talking about empowering females yet were dressed like hussies, hypocrisy much? The term “girl power” actually came from a Welsh band named Helen Love but was made popular by teen duo Shampoo. The notion of “girl power” between the three bands seems to be quite difficult.

The idea of it all seems to have somewhat died, and let’s be honest now- it’s how it was going to end up. The mixed messages sent can only cause confusion, I mean, surely wearing a Union Jack excuse for a dress and holding up the peace sign whilst shouting “GIRL POWER!!!” is not going to empower females, if anything it will cause embarrassment.In rap music some are under the misconception that women have no chance of being successful within that genre, but there have been a fair amount from the 80s to now that are just as good as the guys.

The most well known female rapper is Lil’ Kim and is the only female rapper to have ever been awarded 5 mics for an album review in The Source Magazine. Although she wears next to nothing, she has influenced a vast majority of female rappers that are around today with her message which pretty much reads as, “whatever the guys can do- I can do just as well” and fair play to her.Rap music is heavily dominated by men, but on the business side Missy Elliott is one to be respected. She has written and produced classic tracks for herself, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, and Mary J Blige to name but a few. She is also the only female rapper to have six albums certified as platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). Will there ever be another female rapper to have achieved that? Let’s hope so because there are loads out there with an insane amount of talent.

Within R&B there are a whole bunch of successful and powerful females, from Aretha to Alicia Keys- this is the one genre that seems to be the most welcoming towards successful women- or just women in general. The Supremes set a high standard for female groups which was embraced by TLC and Destiny’s Child (which are the world’s best-selling group of all time). Beyoncé Knowles (lead singer from Destiny’s Child) is quite possibly one of the most respected and powerful woman in the music industry today. She’s a singer, producer, song-writer, fashion designer- you name it, and she has probably done it. In 2001 she won the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award, and is the second female ever to have done this.

Joan Marie Larkin aka Joan Jett, one of the most influential females in rock music and a fantastic guitarist of course. She has shared stages with some of the biggest names in rock and still does to this day. In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed her at number 87 in their list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time. Joan was one of two females in the list, the other was Joni Mitchell who was placed at number 72.

Women like Debbie Harry and Chrissie Hynde are two icons in this genre- not just for the music they helped create but for the way they delivered it- and the timing too. Moving to the early 90s, and Garbage came on the scene, a successful yet underrated band. If they split up, I probably would cry like a baby and throw some kind of silly tantrum. You know what it’s like to adore a band so much it hurts.

There was a time when it’d just be men who would get on a stage and bare their soul and pour their heart out. Now, we have strong females such as Cat Power (words cannot express how beautiful her music is), Kaki King, India Arie, Bat For Lashes (most definitely robbed at the Mercury Music Awards last year) and Amy Winehouse.Yes, you can say whatever you wish about Amy Winehouse but she has one of the strongest voices in the UK. I just want to make her a cup of tea and tell her everything will be alright. But alas, I can’t do that.

If musicians want to be taken seriously then being half naked or lip synching all the time is not really going to gain any respect- you’ll just be laughed at and the 15 minutes of fame will quickly disappear. Musicians just don’t last as long as they used to, and it’s a shame.

Without taking gender into consideration, not many of the bands/singers around now will have an impact like Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Janet Jackson or Billy Bragg. Maybe it’s the way they are managed and promoted now? Who knows.All I know is this, there are enough female fronted bands to compete with male fronted bands. So stop selling out and start speaking up- but not like the Spice Girls. Oh no no no. Girl Power was a misleading idea that turned into a marketing strategy, and the Riot Grrl Movement should have lasted longer than it did.

Thank goodness we have Gossip to keep the DIY work ethic alive. When they perform live it is just like watching your friends band rehearse in a garage. It’s beautiful, honest and raw. I could be biased because I love that band a hell of a lot, but hey- you know it’s true.There are enough male fronted bands that have made history, it’s about time female fronted bands came forth and make history. Or, we could all come together over tea and biscuits to make sexism in the music industry history.