For ages, women have been sorting out several obstacles in order to go beyond their mere condition as mothers and subjugated wives to have the opportunity to participate in society in an active way. The role that the female gender occupies within society in present days is the result of significant and important social changes that occurred mainly throughout the 20th century. These changes have been expressed in music since this cultural element is directly connected to society and its particular historical moment. The music reflects how the role of women has changed from passive to active leading the womankind to achieve a new position in society, that of independent individuals capable of expressing their feelings and taking their own decisions.
The tango shows evidence that in the early 1940s women had a passive role. Broadly speaking, it is said that the tango is male chauvinist owing to the fact that the man’s role is “dominant” whilst the woman's role is "submissive." Yet, this submission is not mere poetry; it spots the social place of women at that time. According to Mirta Vázquez “The social place given to women depends on the subjectivity of the time. That is to say that the discourse in force determines its value.”[1] Feminist stereotypes were the results of the social conventions of that time: women had to be excellent mothers, exemplary housewives and had to “obey” their husbands. Women were unable to contradict their male companion and had to accept of course, their spouses’ decisions whether they agreed or disagreed, even in matters related to feelings. There is a certain tendency in tango lyrics to describe sentimental conflicts from a male point of view: abandonment, jealousy and deception. In this sense, it is the man who takes the decision to finish a relationship. The tango “Los Mareados” manifests this situation explicitly. A man says goodbye to a beautiful woman's love: […] “Hoy vas a entrar en mi pasado/ en el pasado de mi vida [...]”[2]
Because the “arrabal”[3] is harsh as well as a matter of “machos”, the man is determined to abandon his woman in spite of the fact that it is a painful farewell for him: “Cada cual tiene sus penas y nosotros las tenemos ... (18-19) …Tres cosas lleva mi alma herida: amor... pesar... dolor ..” (25-26)
The fact that they are drunk is just a way to justify ironically that the woman has no participation at all. Therefore, she "laughed so as not to cry": “Bebías y en el fragor del champán, loca, reías por no llorar” (4-6)
In such a male-dominated society, the woman had no option but to accept that the relationship had come to an end without questioning the reasons and without having the opportunity to express her thoughts and feelings in response to that decision, showing in this way, the passive role that the female gender had in society at that time.
Social changes, which derived from great events that occurred during the following thirty years, led women to gain an active role within society, which was manifested in music particularly at the end of the ‘70s. Second World War was a crucial moment for the female gender. Whilst men were enlisted in the army, women started working in specialized jobs and most of them decided to be part of the Women’s Army Corps as well. As they were paid in return for their services, women experimented a sense of independence and freedom for the first time. Feminist movements, that began in the 1960s and continued during the 1970s, took a prominent role, too. In addition, the Supreme Court's 1973 decision of Roe V. Wade that constitutionalized the right to an abortion brought the women's rights movement into the national political spotlight. Regarding education, from 1970 to 1979, the number of women enrolled in colleges increased sixty per cent. By 1979, for the first time in history, more women than men entered colleges in the United States. These events and the consequent social changes that they produced helped womankind to obtain a new social place, that of independent persons who participated actively in all matters: political, professional, financial and even sentimental. The hit “I Will Survive” released in October 1978, which was interpreted by Gloria Gaynor, highlights the new social position of women. The lyric of the song describes the female narrator's discovery of personal strength following an initially devastating breakup, delivered with increasing confidence. That self-confidence is the result of her new position, which demonstrates that even though she has suffered from abandonment, at present she has the sufficient strength to continue living her life becoming a new person: “I grew strong/I learned how to carry on… (7-8)…Now I hold my head up high and you see me somebody new…” (38-40)
Being a renewed human being, this woman manifests that she does not need a man in order to be successful in life for she can do so by her own. What is more, she is absolutely determined not to accept the man again: “Go on now go walk out the door/ just turn around now /'cause you're not welcome anymore…” (17-19)
It is said that the 1970s was the decade of women’s liberation for this song remained an anthem due to the fact that a considerable amount of women of that decade identified themselves with its lyrics.
Having women achieved an active role in the 20th century, and taking into consideration that music reflects this new position clearly, it could be said that the song “I Will Survive” is the answer to the tango “Los Mareados”. One can imagine that the man of the tango, who is now repentant for his decision, stands in front of the woman making an attempt to mend the situation. Soon, he discovers that she is not the same person. This woman, who had to fight against her own weaknesses in order to overcome her suffering, realizes that she had become strong and that she has the desire not to have a dominant man on her side. Consequently, it is she who decides to finish the relationship. “…and so you're back/from outer space … (9-10) … I'm not that chained up/little person still in love with you (41- 42) weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye you think I'd crumble/you think I'd lay down and die/Oh no, not I/I will survive” (19- 23)
Only an independent woman can provide such a response and this is the result of the new feminist stereotype that began in the 1970s and remains in the current century. Conversely, the woman of the early 1940s could never respond in this way owing to the fact that the stereotype of that age was that of an obedient person. One more time, the music accompanies this change indicating the new women’s position in society.
Music is considered a cultural element that is strongly connected to society and its function goes beyond the mere entertainment for not only does it reflect the social changes that occur in a particular period of time, but it also acts as the medium through which people –in this case women- express themselves. Throughout the decades, the female gender has been facing a double struggle: the social one, which has been imposed by a male society and the natural one related to the change in action that women chose in order to develop themselves as free individuals. In order to be placed in this new role, women had to undergo a hard transition from submissive to liberated human beigns with the music showing this change. Thus, it can be said that in order to analyze the role of women within society throughout time the music is undoubtedly the best element that can be used to demonstrate the significant womankind’s transformation.
[1] Vázquez, M. (n.d.). Las mujeres en el Tango. Retrieved from http://www.todotango.com/spanish/biblioteca/CRONICAS/las_mujeres.html
[2] The language used in tango lyrics is called Lunfardo, which is used by poets since the very creation of tango-song. Translation was avoided so as not to lose the real meaning of the message.
[3] Arrabal: Outlying
Written by Sandra Gavarri
