When Women’s Musical Activism is Motivated by an Activist Musician

Abstract

In order to better understand connections between music, healing from trauma, and feminism, in the summer of 2009 I began interviewing and observing women who were fans of the musician Tori Amos. One outcome of this research was the large percentage of women who identified as a feminist and acknowledged that their feminism was influenced by Amos’ displays of feminism in her music and artistic expression. Further, many of the women found themselves motivated to action because they were inspired by Amos’ lyrics, live shows (which are as many parts feminist activism as they are rock shows), and Amos’ work with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN). Because most fan-based scholarship presents women as the “fanatical” fan, studies which examine female fans and the links between activism, music, and art are rare. A result of this is limited portrayal of women in popular culture. This article serves attempts to challenge this portrait and serves as a call for further research in order to present a more clear definition of a female fan.