From the very first moment I discovered Transviolet in 2016, I was completely enamored with frontwoman, Sarah McTaggart. A certain fiery confidence and brimming energy radiates off of her, pouring into every live performance and song, making Transviolet a primary force within the industry.
McTaggart is no stranger to utilizing her platform by voicing her opinions on various topics she feels passionate about, making her a powerful young artist destined to inspire change, not only within the music industry but with women in general. We asked her to share what inspires her to be a female musician in a male-dominated industry, the sexism she has faced and how to overcome any obstacles standing in your way in this TDL exclusive guest blog. Needless to say, she delivered and we are excited to kick off our Women’s History Month coverage with Sarah at the forefront on this International Women’s Day!
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I’ve been very inspired by strong female voices like Madame Gandhi and Pussy Riot. We need more females to stand up and be the most authentic versions of themselves. I was mediating the other day, and my initial mantra was “I am creative.” I asked myself what does that mean? What is the simplest version of that? And I came to the conclusion that the most elegant version of “I am creative” was “I am free.” So that has been my mantra for this year. I am free. I intend to express myself fearlessly and freely.
I’m very lucky to be in a band with three guys, Mike, Judah and Jon, who truly value my opinions and perspectives. I’ve gotten used to being heard and respected, so it’s always a shock when someone from the outside behaves differently. The worst of it for me has come from outside producers/A&R’s/head of network music departments underestimating my participation in creating our music, or trying to water down my message into some fun sized version of feminism.
I’ve had a producer assume I did nothing at all, asking one of the guys what a song is about conceptually, when actually I write all the lyrics. Or worse, I’ve been in a session where I had voiced an idea, it was initially ignored, until one of the guys said the same thing moments later, and then it was good idea. Recently, I was in a session, pitching a concept for a song, and a guy literally interrupts me to say, “It should be about what it’s like to be a woman.” I was completely speechless.
However, the most toxic, and dangerously subtle incarnations of sexism I’ve experienced, comes from higher up. For example, I wrote this song called “Undo,” that we will be releasing very soon. It’s about having the world try and pick you apart, but already being so fucked up and self-critical that there’s nothing left to be picked apart – the first line being, “I always find the most creative ways to destroy myself, yeah I can tear me down better than anybody else, I don’t need your help.” The irony of a few older white dudes in A&R and TV network music departments telling me to change/remove entire sections of the song was apparently lost on them. Which, I personally got a kick out of, but it also made me feel very sad.
I’m so sick of old white guys trying to assert themselves into my work. I think there are very few purely female perspectives out there, and it really rubs me the wrong way when anyone, nonetheless, some out of touch old dude tries to water down mine. Do we really need more echoes of you and your experience bouncing around in the stratosphere?
We need more female voices, talking about their experiences, unadulterated by anything else. How can we, as women, ever feel like we are not alone in our experiences if the female perspective is constantly tainted by the male perspective? I would ask that our male allies in this industry, who I’m sure do not intend harm, to be respectful of the female perspectives shared. Even if it’s something that does not resonate with you personally, give it a chance to find it’s way out into the world without fucking with it. And women, be you. Spend time getting to know what that means and then do it fearlessly. Don’t let anyone contain you.
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