Sophia Michaels
Courtney Love is calling out the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for its lack of recognition of women and people of color. In her op-ed for The Guardian, she noted that women make up only 8% of inductees, while people of color are similarly underrepresented. Love argued that the Rock Hall is replicating the violence of structural racism and sexism that artists face in the music industry, and that it fails to properly honor what visionary women artists have created. She also pointed out that only nine of the 31 members on the nominating board are women.
This year’s nominees include a record number of women, such as Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryl Crow, and Meg White of The White Stripes. However, some of these women have been waiting for their turn for years.
Love believes that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame remains a moneymaker for inductees, and is a guarantee that their work won’t fade into obscurity. Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde shared her thoughts on the Rock Hall on Twitter, which Love retweeted. Hynde wrote that she doesn’t want to be associated with it, and that the board needs to be changed so women and people of color can “feed their kids.”
