I am a young woman working in the indie music industry. I was attracted to this job and field mostly because I love music as purely as I’ve ever loved anything. Many of my favorite artists and labels seem to promote progressive social ideas which are generally underrepresented, and I imagined that the industry would be set up to reflect and reinforce those ideals accordingly.
Instead, I found that the industry was a place just as shadowy as the real world (usually more so). I’ve been the victim of sexual harassment and assault on multiple occasions, in multiple cities and with multiple men. Some of them hardly knew me, others knew me well. Some of them work closely with me and continue to do so, others don’t. Regardless of the scenario, I often feel unsafe in the spaces in which I conduct professional work. When bringing these issues to my colleagues, particularly male ones, they usually voiced support but demonstrated clear ignorance in both word and action about how they could verifiably help. Most all of the time, the need to maintain relationships with powerful people in the industry outweighed the need to address a “minor” incident. And when I shared my own stories with other ladies, I was shocked how commonplace, sometimes even expected, these scenarios were.
In light of several brave women coming forward and outing repeated offenders by name - and the outpouring of other women victimized by the same creeps but hitherto quiet about their experiences - I thought women could use an outlet to anonymously share their experiences and find support in each other without the risk of straining relationships, individually or corporately. Just as students at universities have taken naming & shaming into their own hands when school policies for sexual violence fall short of justice, I believe women can reclaim power from this inarguably patriarchal industry and let their voices be heard - without jeopardizing their jobs or companies.
I invite women to “ask” me with their experiences, anonymously. I will not edit out details like names or roles if they are shared. Men know they can wield their influence to silence us in offices and at concerts, but it’s time we used the safe space of the online world to make the real world a little bit safer too.
