Pop-Culture | Posted by Brian C on 06/12/2011

Support Women Artists Sunday: Amanda Palmer

Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer (born 30 April 1976) is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls. She has since started a successful solo career, and is also one half of the Evelyn Evelyn duo.

Palmer was born in New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital, and grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts. She attended Lexington High School, where she was involved in the drama department, and attended Wesleyan University where she was a member of the Eclectic Society. She staged performances based on work by the Legendary Pink Dots, an early influence. She then formed the Shadowbox Collective, devoted to street theatre and putting on theatrical shows. Palmer is married to writer Neil Gaiman.

At a Halloween party …

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Awareness, Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Robin S on 07/17/2009

The Music Industry and It’s Best Friend, Sexism

Despite my passion for music, I doubt I could ever succeed in the music business. My reasons for this are very simple: I am overweight, I don’t wear makeup and I don’t keep up with current trends, and I wouldn’t change these things if I was told that I needed to in order to be marketable.

Sexism in the music industry can be seen in a lot of ways—lyrics that objectify women, women being seen as sluts if they sing about being promiscuous while men are seen as “just doing what guys do”, female musicians being held to higher standards of male musicians, etc. Amanda Palmer, for instance, is an artist who has faced the beast we call sexism with Roadrunner Records, the label she was signed to. When the …

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