Rock Against Sexism (RAS) was a political and cultural movement dedicated to promoting women in music, and challenging

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

in the

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

community, pop culture and in the world at large. It was primarily a part of the punk rock music and arts scene. RAS began in the UK in 1978, and by the mid-1980s also had a presence in North America. It was strongly inspired and influenced by

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

and the two movements had many of the same participants. Note: Original essay that mentions RAR and RAS is from April, 1979. In the UK, it began amid controversy when rock and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

shows hired bands that some participants in the scene felt were

misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

, and amid growing complaints that women musicians were expected to "flaunt their bodies, both in performances and adverts". This resulted in community discussions of sexism in music and art, which were not always taken seriously by the established music press. However, prominent Rock Against Racism organizers saw RAS as a "sister-organisation" and the two groups supported each other. In the US, Rock Against Sexism, centered in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, was an activist group of "artists, musicians, and others who sought to fight sexism and heterosexism in rock culture by promoting women musicians and alternatives to mainstream rock music." They sponsored local punk shows and radio shows; they published a

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

, organized protests and marched together as a contingent in larger events such as Boston and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to s ...

. The group hosted a monthly dance party at a local gay bar, and hosted benefits for the

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

activist group ACT UP.

Legacy

Rock Against Sexism, in both the UK and US, promoted punk rock,

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, art installations, and other community events by women and members of the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

community. In the US, the Boston chapter held music workshops for women wanting to learn to play and start bands; "RAS prefigured the riot grrrl movement, giving women more access to punk subculture." Both movements challenged

heterosexism Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of female–male sexuality and relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that heterosexua ...

, homophobia,

and elitism, while confronting stereotypes of women and LGBT people.

References

External links

*
The Women's Liberation Music Archive
- Feminist music-making in the UK and Ireland in the 1970s and 80s'': features Rock Against Sexism materials including pages from the RAS magazine, ‘Drastic Measures’, songs, event flyers, badges, and photos of bands. {{Punk rock Feminist art organizations in the United States Feminist art organizations Feminist organisations in the United Kingdom Music and politics Musical advocacy groups Political movements Punk rock festivals Rock festivals in the United Kingdom Social movements Sexism Women's festivals

Legacy

See also

Related lists

References

External links