The girls backstage

A DEEPER LOOK INTO MUSIC GROUPIES FROM THE 1960S & BEYOND

By Gabrielle Gronewold, Culture Editor Illustrated by Riley August

The lights are dim, the music is loud and the girls are backstage. They’re cool and they’re groupies. The image of the girl backstage, a groupie, has become a notable and intriguing character within music culture. It’s a culture that has been largely backed by sexism, misogyny and outdated gender norms since the dawn of its time.

The groupie phenomena originated in the 1960’s counterculture of rock music.1 Since then the social identity has taken on a different significance and cultural strength, depending on both the generation and the person who is categorizing the slang term. By definition, a groupie is a “person, especially a young woman, who regularly follows a pop music group or other celebrity in the hope of meeting or getting to know them.”2 But repeatedly, the term groupie has been “treated like a punch line to a neverending joke that only the boys are in on.”3 In the 1969 cover of Rolling Stone, three influential male players in the music industry didn’t make the term seem very applaudable. In this story, the groupie narrative was shaped into a sexist, slander on all femalemusic fans.

Groupies were shaped into being “incredible name droppers,” treating “sex the same way an accountant treats

1 Gretchen Larsen, “It’s a man’s man’s man’s world: Music groupies and the othering of women in the world of rock,” Organization, 2017. 2 Oxford Dictionary, “Groupie,” Oxford Dictionary, 2020. 3 (Forrest 2010:135) his new Buick...as a status symbol.”4 And my personal favorite, “These groupies, you know — they’ve never got anything to say for themselves. They just hover about. You never meet one who’s got both a head and a body.”5 This image of the groupie is less than satisfactory. In fact it’s sexist and creates an inaccurate narrative from the male gaze. Powerful, industry-reputable sources, such as Rolling Stone, play a key role in shaping opinion and writing the undeniable, non negotiable story. Because of this, the slut-shamed, slandered image of the groupie has lived on for decades.6

Offensive groupie storylines didn’t necessarily deter individuals to take the bait on rock music. In fact, Pamela Des Barres, an influential, famous groupie, shared “from the first time I read about groupies in a 1969 Rolling Stone, I wanted to be one.”7 People, like Des Barres, “transformed ‘hanging out’ into a form of creative expression,” and made the groupie lifestyle “one of the rock era’s liveliest, unofficial conceptual art projects.” 8 When groupies themselves are able to reclaim their identity and story, we begin to see the image of the groupie

4 Jerry Hopkins, John Burks, Paul Nelson, “Groupies and Other Girls,” Rolling Stone, February 15, 1969. 5 Ibid. 6 Gretchen Larsen, “It’s a man’s man’s man’s world: Music groupies and the othering of women in the world of rock,” Organization, 2017. 7 Margret Moser, “Lust for Life: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Ex-Groupie,” Austin Chronicle. August 11, 200. 8 Ann Powers, “That Girl by the Stage, and Why She’s There,” New York Times, December 20, 1992.

redefined. These groupies were women with their own minds, stories and motives.

Not only was Des Barres a groupie, but in her day she was also an actress and musician. Today she is an author, magazine writer and writing teacher.9 The identity of this woman doesn’t start or end with her time as a music groupie, and to treat her as such is rooted in deep misogyny. The infamous 1969 Rolling Stones cover is slightly attributed to the larger life of groupies, stating how once young, hip, attractive and womanly Grateful Dead fans weren’t groupies any longer, but rather “somebody’s old lady.”10 These male-dominated conversations are purely just maledominated conversations, they have no real involvement or weight, compared to the lives and stories of past groupies themselves. Yet, the 1969 Rolling Stones cover was incredibly influential for painting the groupie picture.11 The male-domination we see back in the 1960s has not disappeared from the music industry today. The music press is still skewed in gender representation and perspectives.12 Unfortunately women are often discluded and when they are represented it is through “the male gaze, as a little more than a body.”13

9 “Pamela Des Barres,” Wikipedia, August 27, 2020. 10 Jerry Hopkins, John Burks, Paul Nelson, “Groupies and Other Girls,” Rolling Stone, February 15, 1969 11 Gretchen Larsen, “It’s a man’s man’s man’s world: Music groupies and the othering of women in the world of rock,” Organization, 2017. 12 (Elafros 2010) 13 (Davies, 2001) The rhetoric around groupies presents the very structure, hierarchies and practices that disclude women from the industry. If a female fan of music can only exist as a slut-shamed, narrow-minded groupie, how could we ever expect the industry to create fair, unbiased space for female creators and curators?

Female fans also played a critical role in the commercial success of the artists they worshiped. Studies show that 40% of women in the industry feel their colleagues have discredited their work and skills, 39% have experienced stereotyping and sexualization and 33% believe the industry is maledominated. On the artist side of the industry, only 22% of artists on the top 700 songs since 2012 were female and there is a baffling 1 woman to 4.8 male artist ratio.14 This research was found exactly 50 years after the ‘69 Rolling Stones cover and it seems the rhetoric and representation of women has not reflected this gap in time. Yet, female fans didn’t just sit there, they also played a critical role in the success of the music. Frank Zappa claimed in the ‘69 Rolling Stones article that groupies were incredibly influential on the market, saying “If you’re a hit with the groupies, you’ll sell 15,000 records in L.A. alone.”15 Not only were female fans key players in music’s success, but many groupies went on to make substantial waves in the business side of the industry as well. Previous groupies have gone on

14 Caitlyn, Kelley, “The Music Industry Had A Long Way To Go For Gender Equality,” Forbes, February 6, 2019. 15 Jerry Hopkins, John Burks, Paul Nelson, “Groupies and Other Girls,” Rolling Stone, February 15, 1969. to “professional roles, booking clubs, writing articles or working at record companies,” but those, “who play important roles in the survival of the music business, must always battle the groupie label.”16 For women to be respected, however, they don’t need to meet any standard of success. Female music fans, duped as groupies, had a right to prosper and engage in any lifestyle or action they may have chosen. What the groupie narrative misses out on is that both female fans and the artists themselves were active players in their stories. “The dark side of this freedom is a fraternalism under which women are viewed as sexual conquests rather than equal participants.”17 The liberation women felt during this time was coated in misogyny from social norms and expectations perpetuating this sexism groupie image. The problem with groupies isn’t that they were off their rockers and dismantling respectability. It’s that we live in a culture that celebrates men for their endeavors while shaming women for the same thing. The girls backstage are a phenomenal cultural image of female liberation and individuality. “Groupies embody the contradictions of rock’s sexual lure; they are elevated as muses and denigrated as whores.”18 The denigration of groupies discredits their influence on music, it’s success and culture. ■

16 Ann Powers, “That Girl by the Stage, and Why She’s There,” New York Times, December 20, 1992. 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid.