Female DJs

men see it as a fantastic opportunity to pick up women 😉

Great Question Dr Gre :);
I may have further thoughts after thinking about this for longer;
But my initial thoughts are these;
1: Women Choose to Prioritise when it comes to Pregnancy and Children; and these will (in Most Cases) Always be their Priority
2: Women Lack Confidence in their Abilities to Succeed; and Dressing Up and Dancing are things they learn Early in life; so being Out on the ‘Floor’ in the Crowd is something they feel ‘Comfortable’ with; where the thought of being ‘Behind The Decks’ and ‘Failing’ would be a Catastrophic Event; and something to be Avoided rather than Cherised;
3. It is So Hard not to be Sexist here; but as in Football and Snooker; DJ’ing is Mainly a Male Orientated Profession; and unless a Female has a Contact in the Music Industry or is Encouraged or Set Up by another Female DJ; it is Incredibly Hard to be taken Seriously; in my Own Case I had to ‘Make It’ with my Remixes before I was taken Seriously as a DJ/Producer;
4: And I think I could add a statement that could be seen as Silly or Rational and Reasonable; it just depends who is reading it;
But Many Females are not into ‘Fiddling With Knobs’ or have the Patience to Learn How to ‘Use’ Equipment; I Personally Love the Aesthetics of Mixers; Controllers; Software; and get Incredible Satisfaction from pulling off a Successful Transition; as I am Certain that All Male DJ’s Appreciate; but; to finish off; there are (in Most Cases) More Female Mid-Wives than Males; so again I feel that the Issue regarding ‘Priorities’ is Relevant 🙂

fullenglishpint, post: 655 wrote: Trying…..so…..hard……not…….to……make……innuendo……

OK, punched the wall, better now.

😀

From where I stand, I see a lot more female DJs out there now, and they can land gigs even more easily than men in many cases. Lord knows how many promoters and club owners have personally told me how they long for a hot looking female resident DJ who can play well…so they have the eye candy in the booth.

Plus women can hold “all girl DJ” nights and not be called sexist…unlike if men do .

The reality is that in the past, DJing was not totally seen as a glamorous thing, but more a “geek” thing. The A/V club guy who decided to spin records, etc. Yes we see visions of the guy in the booth being worshiped, but I really didn’t see this get “mainstream” until the mid-90s. Before that, many DJs in the clubs more seemed like rock band roadies who quit the biz or are on a break from touring. Yes, since the explosion of house music we saw this stereotype broken, but only in the party scene and the smaller scene. I do recall that up into the mid-90s, the DJ industry wasn’t yet overrun with the music industry mentality of marketing.

I agree with Emma in that many girls simply don’t bother with DJing because they might prioritize career or even just “looking hot” and “finding a rich boyfriend”. Lord knows most of the women I’ve encountered in the club scene generally valued how they looked and how many men wanted them over anything else. Even the more “popular” guys more cared about making big money and buying VIP services to thus impress women into sleeping with them. DJs were more the high school nerds who had plenty of free time and were into technology. Even the most hardened DJs from the ghetto I’ve met were very geeky in nature.

Now we have a lot of female DJs and I notice they can get bigger much easier because of the scarcity and marketability of a female DJ. Why I think the top headliners are mainly men is more in how much the industry is holding on to the past. You look at the DJ Mag Top 20 and it’s many guys who are much older and have been in those top spots for a while…so there isn’t much new blood breaking into that.

I wouldn’t be surprised when I hit my 50s or 60s that we’ll see even more female DJs and even at least one in the top 10.

Oh man. I was a total nerd in my youth. Thick glasses, braces in grade school, obese, socially inept.

The club scene changed me.

This is a great question.. most of my responses have been laid out by a few of you and I do love Emma’s input.
Oddly enough, just socially, alot of girls have come up to me or engaged convo around the ins and outs and learning the basics of DJing. So, unless theyre just that type of girl, I sense the stigma slowly breaking.. especially in an industry where ‘sex sells’ :rolleyes:

Completely agree, Emma. While I would love to get pointers and how-to’s from a DJ known for their style and influence, rather than just their image I can see my self, too, borrowing from their style- even if it’s just a failsafe.
But learning on your own, taking hints her-and-there and developing your own style definitely separates you from those that only want to DJ for the limelight. It also gives you a bit more pride and sincerity in your approach and people recognize that to a crazy extent- thus giving you more credibility and fans who love your work for you.. not because it reminds them of DJ blah-blah 🙂

Emma Partnow, post: 652 wrote: Great Question Dr Gre :);
I may have further thoughts after thinking about this for longer;
But my initial thoughts are these;…
3. It is So Hard not to be Sexist here; but as in Football and Snooker; DJ’ing is Mainly a Male Orientated Profession; and unless a Female has a Contact in the Music Industry or is Encouraged or Set Up by another Female DJ; it is Incredibly Hard to be taken Seriously; in my Own Case I had to ‘Make It’ with my Remixes before I was taken Seriously as a DJ/Producer;…

Bingo!
That, is probably the MAIN reason.