Patti Smith On Gender and Rock Music

I found this 2002 video of Patti Smith talking about gender and performance when I was poking around on YouTube the other day. I've had issues in the past with Patti Smith's aligning herself with men and her denouncement of feminism. I do largely admire her, and her influence on music in general, which is why it's so disappointing. Saying "I don't see gender" is akin to saying "I don't see race." It's always wrought with failure.

I get that in for her generation, there really weren't many examples of women playing guitar, playing rock music, which itself was still in its, if not infancy than adolescence. For a woman wanting to gain entrance into that club, it would make sense to align oneself with men. But what she's saying here is a little simplistic -- and at the same time coming from a woman who has a great deal of agency and respect in her field, though I don't entirely disagree with her. I do wish she had acknowledged that the reason why critics and fans alike prefix women artists with, er, the prefix is that male is the default.

Yeah, maybe there are more women now playing guitar, writing their own songs, but women are generally still thought of as pop stars while men are "artists."