Arts & Culture
Women of Rock – An Ode to Divergence
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Upon rock legend Stevie Nicks’ recent SNL performance, watching her familiar prowess in layers of black chiffon, I became acutely aware of the divergence between her identities — female and rockstar. In the ’60s and ’70s, societal standards largely placed women on a periphery: While making inroads in the workforce, they primarily occupied subordinate positions. To be a musician however, much less a rockstar, required absolute authority to take up space and roar into the microphone, regardless of the microphone feedback that followed. Grooming, dating and eventually dumping young groupies was commonplace for the male rockstar — just look at John Oates, Elvis and Steven Tyler. With a bit of alcohol, debauchery and womanizing became another privilege of stardom, a given, left untouched until brave women began to speak up decades later.