A modestly-dressed Yuja Wang (well, more than usual) in a publicity shot for her Rachmaninoff/Prokofiev concerto album.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/817TAVJuEQL._SL1500_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/817TAVJuEQL._SL1500_.jpg
Sexualisation of women in the classical music industry
Time and time again people have certainly opined on the presentation of female performers, wether it be Yuja Wang's dress, Lara St. John's CD covers or Anne Sofie Mutter's pose (recently those violinists were pointed out in the worst cd covers thread). Each of these cases, according to different people, have come down to a general conclusion that sexist inclinations of today have influenced their physical appearance (on varying levels). Even on this site there have been debates as to modesty on stage, the importance of appearance, wether women should conduct an orchestra and so on, which all end up boiling down to the same (if not a similar) debate.
What say you, TC, on the topic of sexualisation of women in the classical music industry?
What say you, TC, on the topic of sexualisation of women in the classical music industry?
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OTOH, I've spent plenty on babes over the years. Fast women and slow ponies, story of my misspent life.I can honestly say I haven't spent one cent on music because I thought the performer was a babe.
Ha, I was going to ask that! But didn't.But then, what would 'Walt Whitman' know about women anyway? ;D
Oddly, it wasn't a successful strategy for that famous "great" composer, Beethoven.It will always happen. Almost all song in the natural world is exclusively for the purpose of reproduction. It is easy and effective to appeal to the inner layers of the brain. (this is not by all means a justification)
I think I can safely assure you that just about *all* album covers are about marketing. If sex is not the draw, then it's something else -- the attractions of class, exclusiveness, or whatever -- to which a portion of the target market is "susceptible." I don't know that the use of sex is more cynical than any other approach....the cynical bid for dollars by appeal to the susceptible...
Well, if you're not gonna put Yuja Wang in a burka, I guess that's OK.What does freedom of choice have to do with good taste? Except that we're all free to carry our poor taste to the furthest extreme?
Well, I watch a LOT of porn, and believe me, this cover doesn't come *close* to qualifying! But never mind, I'll keep looking.I wouldn't know, myself. Do you watch much porn?
Bach: "Look at the covers! Disgraceful! Here, give all those CDs to me so I can put them in my bedroom, well away from the children."I am sure J.S. Bach would be horrified to know that his name is on these lewd CD covers. It really is disrespectful of Bach.
Children: "But Papa, you don't have a CD player in there."
Bach: "Never you mind. Now back to your studies. I'll take care of this."
We certainly repress plenty today! Would you like me to list ten things we can't even talk about in this forum? In fact, I wouldn't because even the listing would draw an infraction (at least).Do you honestly believe we're better off now as a society then in the days of "repression", when some things were left to the imagination?
Who was it around here who used to talk about the rhetorical device of "hurling elephants"? Actually I remember quite well who it was......Let's just not confuse Ozzie and Harriet vs the Kardashians with throwing acid on school age girls.
CD covers are not primarily designed to represent "the music or the artist with dignity." They are designed to attract the attention, and to make people select the CD and buy it. Newcomers to capitalism may be surprised, or even dismayed, by this.At what point would you say of a cd cover: "this is no longer representing the music or the artist with dignity - this is just cynical and sleazy marketing"
That's quite true. One of the first rules of advertising is communication: What exactly is this product, and what are its benefits to you? But in CM we're absolutely dealing with commodities, products in the last stage of the life cycle. Everybody know all that stuff already. The message necessarily grows more shrill. A crowded marketplace.Actually I believe that long-term sales depend to a degree on the packaging representing the material fairly closely.
Probably true, though I feel my precious bodily fluids itching. Makes me squirm.Rampant libertarianism has destroyed the moral fabric of our society. Censorship can be a force of good if applied correctly.
I will propose censorship, but not just of CD covers. "Any musical innovation is full of danger to the whole state, and ought to be prohibited . . . when modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them." --Aristotle
Confucius agreed: "I care not who makes the laws of a state, just let me write its songs."
These guys were no dummies.
Confucius agreed: "I care not who makes the laws of a state, just let me write its songs."
These guys were no dummies.
Some things are rightfully found offensive -- namely, the things that offend me. To the extent that others are offended by other things, those are obviously ignorant, loutish prejudices. The quality of any individual is determined by the extent that their prejudices agree with my own. Quit a simple thing, really!So, in a reductio ad absurdum: What about the right of people not to be offended by people that are squeamishly offended by everything?
It was sort of self-liquidating.I vaguely recall The Celibacy Movement causing a ripple or two. That over?
I think we're split between the Spartans and the Athenians. Uh...who won that one? Can't remember.
But Dr. Mike is right, of course. License breeds weakness, always has. Unfortunately, the cure is worse than the disease.
But Dr. Mike is right, of course. License breeds weakness, always has. Unfortunately, the cure is worse than the disease.
That's silly. I'm speaking (of course) of what society finds acceptable within its everyday environment. The world has always had plenty of lascivious people, before and after the renaissance. And will continue to do so, I think.Yeah, those lascivious Renaissance Italian bankers, explorers, and merchants sure were weak.
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