ness in relationships (“Treat Me Right”). More im-
portant, she dealt with subjects usually neglected by
male rock singers, such as child abuse (“Hell Is for
Children”). However, two songs by Lauper and Ma-
donna best illustrate how female artists of the de-
cade achieved thematic redress by tackling subjects
that males ignored or by taking a feminist tack on
those issues. In “Papa Don’t Preach,” Madonna sings
of teenage pregnancy without bathos or moralizing:
An unwed mother tells her father that she is preg-
nant, takes responsibility for her situation, and asserts
her right to make her own decision on the matter. In
the most famous song of the decade on gender is-
sues, Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” the
singer equates “fun” not with giddiness and good
times alone but with freedom and self-expression.
When she insists that, rather than be isolated by
male possessiveness, she wants “to be the one to walk
in the sun,” this anthemic song accomplishes what
good pop lyrics of any genre do—it states with sim-
ple eloquence a truth or feeling often obfuscated by
verbosity and cant in more sophisticated texts.
Impact The strides made by female rock musicians
in the 1980’s illustrate a technique women in West-
ern culture have often used to gain access to previ-
ously male-dominated venues. For example, in the
late 1700’s women in large numbers began to write
novels, a new genre lacking a tradition of sexism.
Likewise, in the 1800’s many women embraced Spir-
itualism as a means of claiming leading roles denied
them in mainstream religion, as the new movement
had no patriarchal tradition. In the 1980’s, women
similarly used two trends in rock that emerged in the
late 1970’s and early 1980’s: punk and synthpop (a
New Wave form of soft rock depending primarily on
electronic synthesizers for instrumentation). The
punk ethos questioned everything remotely tradi-
tional, even the young traditions of rock itself, in-
cluding sexism. Therefore, a woman becoming a
punk rock musician was not contradicting that ethos;
she was embodying it. Furthermore, both punk and
synthpop downplayed guitar pyrotechnics of the
sort practiced by Jimi Hendrix and instead fore-
grounded lyrics, melody, and vocals. This is not to
say that women were poor guitarists: Many of the fe-
male rock musicians of the 1980’s were excellent
guitarists or bassists. However, synthpop provided an
avenue into rock for women not interested in emu-
lating male idols of the past.
Further Reading
DeCurtis, Anthony, et al., eds.The Rolling Stone Album
Guide. New York: Random House, 1992. Of the
various editions of this very useful guide, this one
from the early 1990’s is best for research on artists
of the 1980’s.
Gaar, Gillian G.She’s a Rebel: The Histor y of Women in
Rock and Roll. Seattle: Seal Press, 1992. Excellent
history of women in pop music, with good cover-
age of the 1980’s.
Lewis, Lisa.Gender Politics and MTV: Voicing the Differ-
ence. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.
Thoughtful examination of the role of music vid-
eos and their effect on women in rock.
O’Dair, Barbara, ed.Trouble Girls: The Rolling Stone
Book of Women in Rock. New York: Random House,- Another good review of the role of women
in rock.
Reddington, Helen.The Lost Women of Rock Music: Fe-
male Musicians of the Punk Era. Brookfield, Vt.:
Ashgate, 2007. Though focusing on British rock-
ers, this insightful account also reveals how
women found ingress to the rock world through
punk.
Thomas Du Bose
See also Blondie; Cher; Go-Go’s, The; Heavy
metal; Lauper, Cyndi; Madonna; MTV; Music; Music
videos; New Wave music; Pop music; Turner, Tina.Women in the workforce
Definition Women employed or seeking
employment during a specific period
Changes in the gender of the workforce had a significant im-
pact on the culture of the later twentieth centur y, creating
new work ethics and new demands for goods and services.
During the 1980’s, women left their traditional roles as
full-time housewives and mothers to join the workforce in
unprecedented numbers.
The 1980’s began with the inauguration of newly
elected president Ronald Reagan and his lavish dis-
play of wealth in the attendant ceremonies. College
graduates were entering the workplace to fill presti-
gious office professions that offered high salaries.
These factors led to a demand for trendy and luxuri-
ous goods and a more affluent lifestyle, which in a
single household often depended on the earningThe Eighties in America Women in the workforce 1053