# Do you tend to listen to music by artists of your same gender? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692 "2011-03-23T05:18:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/21 "2011-03-23T17:02:10Z")
I tend to prefer either tenors or altos. But I am definitely only for country by males–and only low-twang country. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/22 "2011-03-23T17:10:04Z")
Male here (if the username didn’t make it obvious). My music collection has predominantly male vocals, but that’s largely because the music I _buy_ tends to be stuff I want to learn and sing myself (since I’m a singer/performer). I do enjoy a lot of female singers, particularly those with very powerful voices (Ann Wilson of Heart, Pat Benatar, country singer Martina McBride, etc. And Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles’ voice makes my dick hard), or those whose singing has, for whatever reason, a profound emotional impact on me. In particular, there’s a Japanese singer named aiko — she doesn’t capitalize the name — who has a sweet, girlish voice, but she’s able to express the emotions of her songs so well that I can feel them even without being able to understand the words (she sings in Japanese, naturally). ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/23 "2011-03-23T17:17:45Z")
Unless you count Alice in Chains and Iron Maiden as female artists, I’d say at least 80% of my music collection is male. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/24 "2011-03-23T17:54:05Z")
I’m considering the question strictly in terms of vocalists; I often don’t know (and don’t particularly care about) the sex of the instrumentalists. My rock list probably leans slightly male; my impression is that there are more male vocalists in the genre, which sort of skews things. Outside of rock, everything leans toward female vocalists. I generally prefer women’s voices; my favorite singing voices tend to be something I’d describe as a husky contralto. Overall, though, I’d say the mix is pretty even. I’m a guy, for the record, so my answer to the title question is “no”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/25 "2011-03-23T17:57:55Z")
I prefer female jazz singers, and am probably more skewed to male rock singers, but only because there are more of them. I actually prefer female rockers with solid voices like Ani Defranco, Joan Jett and the Wilson sisters. ---
**Author:** ![turtledove\_river](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@turtledove\_river](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtledove_river)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/26 "2011-03-23T18:35:14Z")
No, I don’t listen to a lot of female singers, and it’s something I’ve been noticing for quite a while. I think it’s sad that the only female representation in my music collection is Shakira, really. ( I mean in CDs bought, not individual songs.) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/27 "2011-03-23T18:40:18Z")
Male, and the vast majority of the singers in my collection are women. As to why? I’m a huge fan of two artists - Kate Bush and Todd Rundgren. Kate is, to as great an extent possible, her own genre. She is a reference point for many female singer/songwriters who came after her, but it is hard to point out any of her references. Todd, on the other hand, is a musical magpie, sopping up influences and synthesizing them into his own music. My love of Kate’s music set me off on a search for other women who have been influenced by her - Tori Amos, Sarah MacLachlan - partly due to Kate’s lack of productivity. Todd, on the other hand, has caused me to explore his influences - Laura Nyro, etc. Musicians who have been influenced by Todd tend to be using 3rd hand influences, and it shows. His genius is in creating something unique from all of it. The main thing I notice in music is songwriting. A great song, poorly played, remains a great song. But a mediocre song is mediocre no matter how well played (which is my number one beef with Jazz). In my experience, women tend to be more interesting songwriters. ---
**Author:** ![Chapulin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chapulin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chapulin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/28 "2011-03-23T23:19:13Z")
Probably 90 percent of my groups are male vocals, and I’m a girl, so no. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/29 "2011-03-23T23:49:10Z")
Not hardly. I did a survey of my music collection a while back and realized that only 25% of my music has female vocalists. And if you look at [my monthly music recs](http://threateningloveletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Monthly%20Music%20Roundup) from the past 20 months, this still bears out. Don’t get me wrong, I like women’s voices too, but there just aren’t nearly as many women singing in the genres I like as men. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/30 "2011-03-23T23:51:09Z")
The majority of my library is modern rock, classic rock, and electronic. Aside from some occasional cameos and much of the soundtracks to Katamari Damacy, I only have one band on there with female vocals (Black Carl, an excellent indie funk rock band). ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/31 "2011-03-24T00:05:20Z")
I’m a male who listens almost exclusively to female vocalists. Females just sound better than males to me. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/32 "2011-03-24T00:09:41Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > I only have one band on there with female vocals (Black Carl, an excellent indie funk rock band). ::aside Do you think their song “Hussy” is from the POV of a vampire? /aside:: ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/33 "2011-03-24T00:09:52Z")
Yeah, I’ve never really thought about it but other than a few songs almost all the music I like are from guys, a lot of the music I like is angry or heavy and women singers come off as just bitchy. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/34 "2011-03-24T00:32:42Z")
I think my tracks are pretty evenly split, though off the top of my head my absolute favorite artists run more male. Interned at a rock radio station briefly in the late '90s. They told me they wouldn’t play two female artists (or bands with female vocalists) in a row. Not sure what they thought would happen if they did – some dude would think he’d tuned into Lady FM? They’d turn gay? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/35 "2011-03-24T01:13:43Z")
I am male. The vast majority of the singers I like are female. The ratio is at least 10-1 in the favor of the distaff gender. ---
**Author:** ![spymaniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@spymaniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spymaniac)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/36 "2011-03-24T01:37:44Z")
for me it depends on genre. when it comes to rnb/soul/jazz I can only listen to female vocals. listening to male vocals makes me cringe, in this context, regardless of how ‘good’ they are. I don’t know why… for any other genres, I have no real preference (I am a guy) > [@Carmady](#): > > Broadcast great band, I don’t know if you knew that unfortunately their lead singer Trish died a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/37 "2011-03-24T03:32:28Z")
Most of my favorite music is instrumentals, and I have no clue of the genders of the singers (probably mixed, in most cases, especially when you’ve got a full orchestra). For vocals, let’s see… I’ve got several albums of opera with mixed voices, a couple from a local Celtic band with both male and female singers (though my favorite tracks from them mostly feature the woman), three Enya albums, and one Tommy Makem. So overall, it favors women, but it’s probably not a statistically-significant sample. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/38 "2011-03-24T03:53:19Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I find it very difficult, if not irrelevant, to know the gender of a performer through their instrumental work. Also, the sex of the composer is not of any great interest to me. Maybe I misunderstood the intent of the OP, but the original comparison was to authors. It seems to me that if there are patterns of gender differences that are reflected in written words and thus a reader’s preferences, there should be similar differences reflected in written music, and instrumental work. I thought the question was an interesting attempt to get at that–though my own musical interests are so broad that I think they span most of the possible patterns. ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692/39 "2011-03-24T11:15:29Z")
I’m female and I massively favor male vocalists. Female vocals ruin a lot of otherwise good songs, IMO. However, I do enjoy some female vocals. Joanna Newsom, Beach House, Mazzy Star, and Regina Spektor to name a few. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-tend-to-listen-to-music-by-artists-of-your-same-gender/575692.md?page=1)