Dani Deahl Examines the Lack of Female DJs in EDM in Her Inspiring Tedx Talk

Dani kicked off her Tedx Talk with a peek into how she was raised, in a creatively supportive household by parents who even fought a $10,000 ticket she received throwing her first warehouse rave in Chicago. As Deahl continued to follow her dreams she started realizing how truly few female DJs there were in the industry and sought to understand why these statistics existed.

So the research began, and Dani’s results were as followed:

1. There are not enough female role models in EDM.

Which is true there may not be enough, but they are they’re still out there. Dani did a Google search for “female DJ” and voila, a profile on 10 well respected female DJs in .01 seconds. So finding female role models in electronic music could not be the answer.

2. There is no sexism in EDM.

Clearly not the reason either. Deahl testified to being inappropriately touched in the DJ booth, accused of sleeping with promoters for gigs, and even in preparation for her Tedx Talk criticized of pursuing a feminist agenda. So yes, as much as we like to turn a blind eye to it, sexism does exit in electronic music.

3. Women are not interested in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) related fields.

As much as the art of DJing appears to be a series of calculated fist pumps and exploding champagne bottles, it’s actually a rigorous and in-depth labor of art and science combined. This third point can hardly be considered exclusive to the culture of EDM. It has been a persistent idea that continues to be disproved again and again to be unrelated to gender but more so attributed to societal influences.

The verdict?

If we as women in our own field don’t believe that women are on equal footing, where are we? If we believe that somehow we are separate, different, and segregated because of what we’re interested and our abilities, then we’re fulfilling a prophecy of being marginalized and overlooked.

There is no magical solution that will enact change overnight. Females in this industry have been laying the ground work since as early as 1970, with Annie Nightingale at BBC Radio 1. In a short and simple statement, Annie shared her advice for young women wanting to pursue a career in electronic music.

It’s up to you guys to not conform to gender stereotypes. It’s up to you guys to be strong enough to recognize that this is an illusion and to act differently.

Deahl encourages women to not be afraid to explore their interest, despite discouragement from society or because it’s fleeting from the societal norm. Be persistent in exploring your curiosity. Don’t be scared to ask questions. There will be a lot of “no’s,” but it only takes one “yes” to make it all worth it.

There has been an overwhelming response since Deahl’s Tedx Talk aired, both good and bad, but at least the conversation is happening. Dani reflected on her speech in a comment to WRR.

In my speech I talk about how I never encountered these stereotypes and became interested because everyone else continued to bring it up over and over again. Even though I wasn’t experiencing roadblocks because of my gender, I couldn’t ignore the fact that it was an issue for so many other people, something I saw even more clearly once I did research. The amount of letters I’ve gotten from both men and women who spoke about inner fears and how my speech inspired them has been humbling. Even artists like Aryay, Meaux Green and even DJ Heather (one of the original Superjane members) have all reached out saying they really loved the message.

The energy sparked in viewers, even as a bystander has been moving to watch come forward.

Thank you for inspiring me to further my career in learning, and trying to produce music…your speech was empowering! Dani Deahl, I’d love it if you would show me were I should begin.

Both my friend and I have had this dream to create music and DJ for quite some time now, but something has been holding us back.. I’d say fear.. Fear of the industry. I just wanna say thanks! Your speech gave us the courage to just bite the dust and go into it and follow the dream.

But with most call for change comes ignorance and backlash as well. One Reddit user bluntly criticized Deahl’s speech regarding “all that crap about gender stereotypes, and children toy sections,” and was “amazed that she didn’t mention gender pay gap.”

Deahl continues to defer these negative comments to the whole point that she intended to make with her thesis.

I don’t see how examining truisms in our society is a bad thing when there are correlations that have been proven. If the goal is for everyone to feel and be empowered and to have equal opportunity, then I’m interested in figuring out how to make that happen and why it’s not happening now. Feminism is not a bad thing. I am not anti-male, I’m pro everyone, and I think it’s more interesting to examine the cause then to talk about the symptoms.

Connect with: Dani Deahl
https://www.facebook.com/DJDaniDeahl
https://twitter.com/danideahl
https://soundcloud.com/dani-1

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