Respected LadyLand - Vilified

On this episode of the Respected LadyLand Radio Project I tell the stories of how 20 different musical women were at one point unfairly vilified in the press or ostracized in society.  I felt people might find it interesting (especially younger folks who may not have been around when some of this happened) to highlight the fact that even musical women who today are considered uncontroversial icons, were at one point vilified to sell magazines and books.

Today these things happen on social media, and it's a lot easier for lies & manipulations to get traction. I've found that increasingly disturbing, as it seems we've learned zero lessons about the harm this behavior causes.

This episode was inspired by a few things:

1) Observing the denigration of a few renowned women after they passed away. Because it's apparently more important to be hypercritical of mistakes they made in their youth rather than appreciating the mountains they helped move in the name of social progress.

2) Watching hours of old recently posted interviews with Dolly Parton on youtube.  It's QUITE an eye opener to see how she was consistently mistreated by tv show hosts.

3) Recalling the unwarranted vilification of women I know, in their jobs, in "the scene", and in the gossip circles.

4) And finally, I hope the overall messages in this episode will be seen as positive.  But you'll have to listen to decide for yourself.