Janis Joplin Gender Roles

embraced her sexuality, and that specifically is what women we're drown to.The sexual liberation gave women back their self-worth and control. Even before the counterculture there were not many women who could make a statements the way that Janis Joplin could. Gender roles were the first of many standards that Janis would defy, and in turn she set an example that other women began to follow. Further more, Janis Joplin defied racial boundaries starting in her home town which had been very segregated between blacks and whites. When Janis began to pursue a music career, she adopted the southern blues sound that jumpstarted her passion for music. What that meant for the rest of the country was that cultures were becoming very intertwined and

According to Knight a contributor to The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: The 1960s. “By the standards of the South in the 1950s, it was unusual for a white girl to take an interest in ‘black music,’”(508) The reason why this is so compelling is because it happened during the civil rights movement, in which non-caucasian ethnicities, mostly black were protesting to be treated as equals in American.The country blues sound that Janis had created not only showed creative strength, but also created more support for the African american culture. To conservative America, this meant that the inner mixing of cultures within society was certain, and that the control that they once had would be

Whether it was rebellion, liberation, or changing an industry, Janis Joplin had a profound influence on the freedoms and opportunities that people have today. Many of the social norms of today where once the tabu acts that created disapproval during the counterculture. When Janis Joplin began challenging social norms it was to define who she was, and in return she set an example for others to define themselves as well. Women were expected to illustrate femininity and obedience, and in true Janis from she disregard gender roles and encourage women to take control of their image and sexuality. Janis Joplin turned the music industry into a women industry, and her rise to fame was proof that a women was a significant and irreplaceable part of society. By being different Janis Joplin was able to represent the population of people who had never experienced true