Chart Chicks and Gear Girls

Abstract

This chapter situates the voices of 1960s young women pop singers in a broader landscape of representations of young, white femininity and the historiography of 1960s British pop, Swinging London, and British girlhood. Drawing primarily on music magazines and fashion and entertainment magazines produced for young women in the 1960s (including titles such as Boyfriend, Fabulous, Honey, Mirabelle, and Petticoat) it shows how music was construed as a key element of modern, youthful, white femininity and self-expression. The chapter connects stories told about girl pop singers and popular narratives about young women seeking independence and shows how these stories are ultimately about attaining access to voice. These narratives about young women’s voices shaped music industry attitudes toward young women as consumers and producers of music, in turn shaping the kinds of musical opportunities that were available to girl and young woman singers.