In 2015, a radio consultant said that women in country music are not the lettuce in the salad, but the tomatoes — they should be “sprinkled” on the playlist and not played back-to-back. This opinion sparked public debate and outrage, spawning a controversy labelled “Tomato-gate.”
It also caught the attention of uOttawa Professor Jada Watson, whose research focuses on country music and geography, as well as issues of identity, gender, class and the environment.
She explores the use of digital tools to study the cultural ecology of country music. Her work sheds light on inclusion and diversity in this musical genre. It is also facilitating a fact-based debate about discrimination in the country music industry.
Watson’s numbers paint a disturbing picture. She dug deep into thousands of data records revealing that over an 18-year period, the ratio of songs by female artists played on country music radio had dropped by 66%.
“Women have been made to feel that their songs are not viable, that their songs are not hits and that their audience is not interested in listening to their voices,” says Watson. She adds that, aside from the impact of reduced airplay on female artists themselves, “the broader impact is culturally damaging. It’s not hard to visualize a scenario where radio listeners might presume that there are only a handful of women participating in the genre. A generation of girls do not see themselves in country music, and this is affecting the choices they make.”
In October 2019, Professor Watson took part in an event called “Looking for Tomatoes through Digital Humanities,” a callback to the events surrounding Tomato-gate, hosted by the University of Ottawa’s Women in Innovation networking group.
uOttawa’s Women in Innovation was formed one year ago, when a group of 15 women banded together to create a networking and knowledge sharing platform for women in the University STEM community and their male advocates, so they could increase awareness and foster opportunities opportunities.
Originally focused on women in STEM, the group quickly decided to embrace STEAM and include the arts.“Looking for Tomatoes through Digital Humanities,” sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprises, was the first of a series of upcoming events.
Fixing the cultural ecosystem
In her talk last October, Watson said that “like in the natural world, the ecological issues are detectable through decimated vegetation and the absence of wildlife. Similarly, cultural-ecological issues are rather visible through the weekly popularity charts. The decreasing presence of women in the country radio has left men unchallenged in this ecosystem.”
Watson pointed to the impact of “rewilding,” as seen in the U.S.’s Yellowstone National Park, where the reintroduction of wolves regenerated the struggling ecosystem. “I see the current country format radio culture as a natural environment in need of re-cultivation,” she said, adding that music industry trends can be reversed if more women and mixed male/female ensembles are introduced to radio programming.
Upcoming networking lunch
Opportunities for networking with Women in Innovation and their allies continue into 2020 with a brown bag networking lunch on February 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in Tabaret Hall, Room 083 (Senate).
Participants will be invited to introduce themselves and discuss any exciting projects or initiatives they may be involved in. To register, volunteer, ask any questions or suggest future speakers or events, email Diana Wittmann at [email protected]. You can also join the Women in Innovation LinkedIn group.