An Examination of Mainstream Media’s Treatment of Female Guitarists

Abstract

The music press in the United States has historically underrepresented and marginalized female guitarists, perpetuating and reinforcing the masculinization of the electric guitar in rock music culture. This study uses quantitive and textual analysis to examine gendered media representations of 43 influential female guitarists in 10 mainstream newspapers and music magazines from 1959 to 2023. For the 744 articles analyzed, the findings provide evidence to support the erasure of female guitarists, especially Black women, in the music press. The study then analyzes how these media representations highlight women’s femininity, appearance, and sexuality to deny them credibility, thus reproducing sexist gender stereotypes of electric guitar and excluding women from greatness in rock music.