Journal of Radio & Audio Media

ISSN: 1937-6529 (Print) 1937-6537 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hjrs20

Alternative Feminist Media on the Airwaves: Radio

and Women's Music
Erika Engstrom Ph.D.
To cite this article: Erika Engstrom Ph.D. (2010) Alternative Feminist Media on the
Airwaves: Radio and Women's Music, Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 17:1, 18-32, DOI:
10.1080/19376521003719383
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19376521003719383

Published online: 10 May 2010.

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Alternative Feminist Media on the

Airwaves: Radio and Womens Music
Erika Engstrom
The author examines radio programs produced by women in the U.S. that
feature music by women. Womens music programming offers a variety of
music genres and presentation styles. Criteria of music selection also vary, with
some programs concentrating solely on womens contributions and musical
works, and others that play music by mixed-sex groups and even featuring
a male vocal. However, the commonality of all these programs lies in their
dedication to highlighting women artists and giving voice to those who would
otherwise not be heard. As media artifacts, womens music radio programs
offer multiple layers of feminist inquiry.
Historically in Western culture, a patriarchy of state and church systematically
excluded women from the realm of music, deeming them incapable of writing and
performing most forms of the art (Savage, 2003). Even at the beginning of the 20th
century, women performing music in public was considered scandalous; women
were considered too weak or not intelligent enough to play many instruments
(Lueck, 1992; Savage, 2003). Despite the actual diversity of their roles in music, especially in the world of popular music, women mostly were remembered as singers
(Lueck, 1992). This exclusion of women from taking full part in the musical world reflected the subordination of women in all realms of Western culture (Savage, 2003).
The female voice in popular music is no longer excluded; indeed, numerous
scholars in the fields of musicology, mass media, and popular culture have examined
women-created music, in terms of composition, lyrics, and the qualities of the
female voice (Becker, 1990; Bernstein, 2004; Burns & Lafrance, 2002; Cook & Tsou,
1994; Dunn & Jones, 1994; Hawkins, 1996; Jones, 1999; Savage, 2003). Similarly,
the genre of womens music, which grew out of the folk music and womens
movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s, has been studied in terms of its
historical importance and significance as an artistic form of feminism (Lont, 1997;
Mosbacher, 2002; Petersen, 1987; Sandstrom, 2005; Scovill, 1981; Tilchen, 1984).
In the current study, I examine the feminist content of radio programs in the
United States dedicated to providing an outlet exclusively for the female voice.
Erika Engstrom (Ph.D., University of Florida, 1991) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research focuses on gender and broadcasting.
2010 Broadcast Education Association
DOI: 10.1080/19376521003719383

Journal of Radio & Audio Media 17(1), 2010, pp. 1832

ISSN: 1937-6529 print/1937-6537 online

18

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

19

Aired on public radio stations, these unique media offer listeners music created
and performed by women usually not heard on mainstream radio. Hosted and
programmed by women and featuring music written from a female perspective,
they serve as examples of alternative feminist media, defined as those media which
seek to express and celebrate viewpoints of specific groups of women (Steiner,
1992, p. 123).
These programs not only provide a platform for the presentation of all genres of
music performed and written by women, but also serve as a venue for the women
who bring that music to the airwaves to enlighten listeners about the contributions
of women to society in general. In this sense, these programs exemplify a dual path
for the progress for women in radio: one for female voices in music and another for
the female voice of the announcer.
In the current study, I build upon past research on women-created music and its
presence on radio (Engstrom, 2008), and historical research on women working in
radio (Carter, 2004; Cramer, 2007; Ganzert, 2003; Halper, 2001; Johnson, 2004;
Mitchell, 2000), by examining how womens music radio programs align with
characteristics of feminist alternative media as defined by Steiner (1992). Following
a general description of womens music programs, I analyze their feminist aspects
in terms of song selection and non-musical content. I then discuss the significance
of these programs as alternative feminist media and offer suggestions for future
research.

Womens Music
During the 1970s, the music at FM rock stations became increasingly male; if there
was a musical backlash to the womens movement, it showed up in lyrics of
rock songs which portrayed women as villains who could not be trusted and who
caused men endless trouble (Halper, 2001). In contrast, the folk music movement
emphasized social protest and peace, and provided a creative means to address
issues of gender through music. Jones (1999), in her study of the songs of folk/protest
singer Peggy Seeger (who viewed her own work as resistance to gender oppression),
described womens music as a political performance in practice (p. 218).
Womens music began as a response to the patriarchal structure of the music
business and created an alternative culture that essentially ignored patriarchy rather
than confronting it (Lont, 1997). It created a space where women musicians, songwriters, and performersoften one and the samecould make music outside the
mainstream music and radio industries (Mosbacher, 2002). The womens music
movement especially addressed the absence of women in key performance and production roles within the popular music industry. While radio listeners certainly could
hear womens voices on popular music radio, the emphasis on real womens experiences and perspectives became the focus of the womens music genre (Lont, 1997).
Strictly speaking, womens music was not considered such if it was recorded
on a major label. Independent womens music record labels such as Olivia Records,

20

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

founded in 1975, served as a venue where women could create this type of music
outside a patriarchal industry (Petersen, 1987). Womens music festivals became
major venues for this genre, and created a cultural and physical space where women
could gather free from gender constraints (Mosbacher, 2002). In terms of its womencentered foundation, Tilchen (1984) noted that womens music also became the
most commercially successful and perhaps most spiritually unifying aspect of lesbian feminism (p. 287). However, since a significant aspect of womens music was
that it was not of the mainstream, womens record labels could not compete with the
marketing dollars and promotional efforts of major labels (Lont, 1997; Savage, 2003).
Early womens music artists included Peggy Seeger, Odetta, Malvina Reynolds,
Cris Williamson, Holly Near, Meg Christian, Linda Tillery, Rhiannon, and Sweet
Honey in the Rock; womens music radio programs continue to play their music
some 30 years later. The artists who created womens music were also able to
explore musical alternatives by speaking to women from a perspective not usually
found in the Top 40. The role models these artists provided had an impact on innumerable women, whether or not they went on to play womens music themselves
(Gaar, 1992, p. 164). Female singer-songwriters who found mainstream success in
the 1990s included k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls, and Melissa Etheridge.
They carried on, and continue to carry on, the tradition of womens music (Savage,
2003).
Womens music/music by women radio programs began airing in the mid-1970s,
although ascertaining the first of these is difficult, given the lack of definitive historical documentation of this type of radio genre. The program Something About the
Women on Tufts Universitys WMFO-FM in Medford, Massachusetts, was founded
in 1973 (Allaire, 2004); its Web site states it has been on the air since 1975,
and may just be the longest-running womens music radio show in the United
States : : : maybe even the world! (Something About the Women, 2005). Amazon
Country on WPKN-FM, Philadelphia, was founded in 1974 (Amazon Country,
2008). Women in Music, founded by Martha Oelman in October 1975, aired until
March 2002 on WYSO-FM, Antioch Universitys radio station in Yellow Springs,
Ohio (P. Conine, personal communication, March 17, 2009). Her Infinite Variety
on WORT-FM, Madison, Wisconsin, originated around the same time. Womanotes
on KBCS-FM, Bellevue, Washington, has been on the air since the mid-1970s as
well. To illustrate the longevity of womens music programs, as of 2009, Linda
Wilson had hosted WomanSong on KKFI-FM, Kansas City, Missouri, for 21 years,
Gerrie Blake of Womens Voices on KUNV-FM, Las Vegas, Nevada, had been on
the air for 20 years, and Pamela Smith had hosted Amazon Radio on WPKN-FM,
New Haven Connecticut, for 19 years.

Feminist Alternative Media

Steiner (1992) described the content of womens media as dealing with gender
issues buried, ignored, or distorted in mainstream media (p. 123). Oppositional

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

21

and resistant in both its product and process, womens media provide a means by
which women, through communication, can challenge the dominant culture. In this
way, one can view it as counterhegemonic, or at least as acknowledging and calling
attention to patriarchal hegemony.
In general, alternative feminist media are not profit motivated; they exclude
mainstream newspapers, magazines, television, and radio that target women for
marketing purposes (Steiner, 1992). Music can serve as a form of alternative feminist
media as well. For example, Steiner cited womens music artist Holly Nears Redwood Records in particular as an example of the profits versus politics dichotomy
faced by these alternatives to patriarchal society.
From the late 1960s through today, radio programs with a feminist viewpoint
mainly aired on alternative or publicly owned FM stations. These serve as examples
of what Carter (2004) termed the second access model of radio, in which stations
devote a portion of airtime to women-centered programs (p. 169). The first access
model is based on liberal feminism, wherein women enter the male-dominated
broadcast industry, while in the third access model a stations entire format features
women-only content. During the early 1970s, stations that aired feminist programs
tended to be FM, had lower market saturation, and smaller audiences (Carter, 2004).
Programs within the second access model existed as regularly scheduled programs
using station equipment but independent of a stations direct control.
In terms of feminist theory, programming in the second access model serves as
an example of radical feminism, a form of feminism propounding that womens
failure to advance is a consequence of categorization of women as inferior to men
on the basis of gender (Carter, 2004, p. 169). Womens music as an artistic genre
also serves as an example of radical feminism, as it creates a space where women
can escape patriarchal systems, such as the U.S. music industry and society in
general. Radical feminism argues that women must create, at least initially, their
own media environments where they can learn to speak freely and openly in their
own language (Steeves, 1987, p. 122). As a media environment, womens radio
programs provide a means of resisting hegemony in the form of male-dominated
mainstream radio (specifically, FM radio featuring rock, album rock, and other
musical formats) and the music industry as a whole. Thus, the womens music/music
by women shows described here that originate locally on public, nonprofit FM radio
stations (as opposed to mainstream, commercial entities) not only serve as feminist
alternative media, but also radical feminist alternative media. While the musical
content of these programs can contain mainstream recordings and work by popular
artists, several program hosts mentioned the notion of alternative as being essential
to their shows and stations.

Program Specifics
Feminist-related content of regularly scheduled womens music radio programs
on the air in 2008 and originating at the local level served as the focus of the

22

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

current study. As far as I ascertained, 20 programs comprised the population of

locally produced radio programs that featured women-only music in the US.1 The
list of programs in Appendix A must be qualified as exploratory and incomplete,
due to its reliance on Web-available information and my ability to listen to the
programs either through live online streaming or broadcasts during early 2008. For
this analysis, I used information posted on station Web sites, program playlists, the
content of the programs themselves, and personal correspondence with 16 program
hosts who replied to my requests for information during March and April 2008.

Host-Programmers
Women host and program all 20 radio programs discussed here. I use the term
host-programmer and host interchangeably. With the exception of Michaela Majoun, host of The Womens Music Hour on WXPN-FM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
all are volunteers, with real life occupations. These include careers related to the
music or entertainment industry, such as concert promotions and film and television
production, and those unrelated to music, such as clinical social worker, director
of cultural tourism, stay-at-home mother, and textbook company employee.
Several hosts, such as Her Infinite Varietys Sue Goldwomon, Amazon Radios
Pamela Smith, and Linda Wilson of KKFI-FMs Womansong, have worked or still
work in the womens music industry in some capacity. Host-programmers also are
highly educated, with degrees in subjects such as psychology, early childhood
education, communication arts, English, French, international political economy,
music industry, and African American studies. All had some kind of prior experience
with public radio, either as listeners, answering phones during fundraising events,
or as deejays while in college.

Musical Styles
In that women artists create every style of music, womens music on the radio
naturally reflects a wide range of genres. For example, on WMFO-FMs Something
About the Women, host Laurie Young has played opera featuring female vocals.
Sue Goldwomon of WORT-FMs Her Infinite Variety includes recorded and live
in-studio interviews and spoken-word recordings. She plays all styles of music that
feature womens voices: At one time or another, youll hear them all (personal
communication, March 18, 2008).
On the March 16, 2008 edition of Womens Windows on WERU-FM, Blue Hill,
Maine, host Linda Washburn featured instrumental symphonic works performed
by women, including selections by the Beijing Ensemble of National Music and
Twelve Girls Band, as well as a bluegrass/Chinese folk music fusion arrangement
by banjo musician and composer Abigail Washburn. As an example of the wide
range of musical styles these programs offer, co-host AJ (Ann Julia) Browder of
Sirens Muse, WPVM-FM, Ashville, North Carolina, plays the listenable realm of

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

23

any genre, including pop, blues, jazz, folk, country, rock, electronica, and world
music (personal communication, March 11, 2008).
While variety describes these programs in general, some are more specific regarding musical genres. For example, Linda Wilson of KKFI-FMs WomanSong
plays mostly folk, jazz, and ballads. Host Ellen Stanley of Womenfolk on KFAIFM, Minneapolis, Minnesota, described her show as featuring folk and acoustic
music by women, including bluegrass, gospel, worldbeat, blues and Americana,
and political songs, ballads, and fun songs (personal communication, March 26,
2008). Kay Allen of World Woman on KOPN-FM, Columbia, Missouri, brings more
of a folk, bluegrass, country, Americana feel, but added she also plays music from
artists in the rock genre, such as Patti Smith, Exene Cervenka, and Annie Lennox
(personal communication, March 20, 2008).
Amazon Radio host Pamela Smith described her program as primarily in the
singer-songwriter genre, mostly folk or folk rock, but any genre as long as the
music is about womens interests (personal communication, March 24, 2008). Wild
Woman Radio on WNHU-FM, New Haven, Connecticut, hosted by Sarah Cornelius,
features everything except country. Cornelius described her show as rock music
that happens to be female and nouveau womens music; she recently began playing
dance music with an eye toward feminist song lyrics (personal communication,
March 22, 2008). Chick Habit on WEVL-FM, Memphis, Tennessee, based on my
listening, also stays within the rock vein, by featuring alternative punk/rock music
by women.

Playlists and Artists

Playlists reflect a wide array of women artists. These include singer-songwriters of
the 1970s and the present day, such as Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading,
Ani DiFranco, Joan Osborne, Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, Tracy Chapman,
and Beth Orton. Contemporary womens artists include Patty Larkin, Dar Williams,
Kaki King, the Waifs, Emmas Revolution, Shelby Lynne, Christine Lavin, Nanci
Griffith, Tift Merritt, Erica Wheeler, Libby Roderick, Pamela Means, Holly Cole, the
Ditty Bops, and the Canadian groups the McGarrigle Sisters and the Wyrd Sisters.
Womens music programs also may include songs by mainstream female artists
such as Carole King, Natalie Merchant, Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Linda
Ronstadt, and Sheryl Crow. Female jazz artists include Billie Holiday, Nina Simone,
Sara Vaughn, and the Virginia Mayhew Septet, among many others.
The inclusion of older music by women, especially those from the original
womens music genre, is important to several host-programmers, many of whom
experienced the womens music movement in some way. For example, co-host Jane
Edwards of Something About the Women was personally influenced by womens
music artists such as Meg Christian, Holly Near, Ferron, and Cris Williamson during
early adulthood, and pays homage to them by playing their music: I play a cut or
two from these womens music pioneers when I host (personal communication,

24

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

March 21, 2008). The incorporation of past women artists not just from the womens
music genre also serves as an important means of honoring womens musical
contributions. Kay Allen of World Woman noted specifically that she likes to pull
out the vinyl, because we must not forget the voices of women who have gone
before (personal communication, March 20, 2008).
Regarding on-air material, host-programmers work mostly on their own, and
tap into their local or wider national music scenes, rather than other womens
radio programs. However, Sara Cornelius of Wild Woman Radio on WNHU-FM
mentioned she had some contact with other womens music host-programmers,
notably those of WPKNs Amazon Radio and WEVL-FMs Chick Habit (personal
communication, March 22, 2008). The community radio nature of stations that
air womens music programs allows local musicians greater access to have their
work aired. Providing listeners with new music they might not or would never hear
anywhere else serves as a main goal for host-programmers. For example, Diana
Gold of WomanSong on WMPG-FM in Portland, Maine, plays music by mainstream
and non-mainstream women musicians and vocalists: Introducing my listeners to
women who are pursuing their musical career on their own/producing indie work
or with a small label is my ideal (personal communication, March 23, 2008).

Feminist Aspects: Woman-Positive Music

Womens music as a movement and genre originally reflected a radical feminist
viewpoint. Today, however, the degree to which womens music radio programs
reflect this form of feminism varies. The focus on the female voice inherently
emphasizes a feminist perspective, with implementation of this criterion varying
from program to program, and even from host to host of the same program. For
example, Something About the Women, hosted by a collective of five women,
has no written criteria but the music for the most part should include a woman
artist. I would say that we all try to stay away from songs that are misogynistic
or degrading to women, noted co-host Sue Edelman (personal communication,
March 21, 2008). Edelman will play music by groups that include both males and
females, like the B52s, but only songs whose lead vocal is female. Fellow co-host
Laurie Young noted, My only guidelinefemale by birth or by choice (personal
communication, April 28, 2008).
In addition to focusing on women vocalists, Womanotes host Tracey Wickersham puts the spotlight on women writers, composers, and musicians. Other hostprogrammers follow a similar approach by including male voices either as back
up or in duets, if the lead vocals are by women. Sarah Cornelius of Wild Woman
Radio enjoys hearing women artists cover songs written by men without changes in
pronouns, such as Joan Jetts cover of Crimson and Clover.2 On the March 20,
2008 airing of The Eclectic Woman on WTJU-FM, Charlottesville, Virginia, host
Robyn Kells played world music selections with both male and female vocals.
Michaela Majoun of The Womens Music Hour noted her program is a time

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

25

for women to shine, but includes music by bands with male participants (personal communication, April 1, 2008). The inclusion of the occasional male voice
also characterizes the programming approach of Sirens Muse, with its man-of-thehour selection and songs by mixed-sex groups, such as the Canadian pop group
Stars.
Regarding the feminist aspects of textual content, when introducing or back
announcing songs, Sue Goldwomon of Her Infinite Variety makes it a point to always
tell listeners about womens contributions to the recordings she airs. Additionally,
all the music she plays must have a woman-positive point of view: If its not
saying something positive about women, I wont play it (personal communication,
March 18, 2008). When hosting WomanSong, Linda Wilson demonstrates a similar
emphasis, by using specific terms such as womanist, woman-centered, and
music telling stories of womens lives to describe her program to listeners. Regarding lyrics, she noted, I dont consciously think about whether or not [a song]
is feminist in nature. If it is negative in any way towards women, I probably wont
play it (personal communication, March 20, 2008). AJ Browder of Sirens Muse
takes a similar approach to her programming selections: If a song has lyrics that are
obviously anti-feminist in nature, I would be turned off (personal communication,
March 11, 2008).
Some programs forward a more overt feminist aspect. Hosts also might include
news announcements of events related to womens issues. For example, The
Womens Show on WMNF-FM, Tampa, Florida, features a mixture of womens
music and feminist commentary. The March 19, 2008 edition of Womanotes with
Tracey Wickersham included public service announcements for a concert by the
Seattle Womens Choir and for a presentation on advertising and women by noted
media researcher Jean Kilbourne. I found other examples of feminist editorial content
on the March 20, 2008 edition of Women the 3rd Decade on KRCL-FM in Salt Lake
City, Utah, when host-programmer Babs DeLay read news stories related to womens
health issues, and when Linda Washburn read an essay on the effects of NAFTA
(North American Free Trade Agreement) on women in Texas during the March 16,
2008 airing of Womens Windows.
Especially notable is the feminist approach of Sue Goldwomon of Her Infinite
Variety. In addition to announcing womens contributions to the recordings she
plays, Goldwomon includes announcements for community events not limited to
just those concerning womens issues. These may include fundraisers for peace
groups and presentations on a variety of social causes. I want women to see the
connections, she said. A lot of what I do is deliberately political in nature
(personal communication, March 18, 2008).
In sum, womens music program hosts manifest feminism by highlighting the work
of women artists, playing songs with lyrics that empower women, and excluding
any songs that contain negative messages about women, such as violence toward or
bad treatment of women. While some programs, such as The Womens Show, and
hosts, such as Sue Goldwomon of Her Infinite Variety, have a decidedly feminist
agenda in both music and editorial content, several hosts see their programs as

26

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

feminist in a general way. For example, Ellen Stanley of Womenfolk noted, My

show does not have a particular political bent or focus, but I play songs I and
my listeners like, which means they tend to be feminist and generally progressive
(personal communication, March 26, 2008). Similarly, Wild Woman Radios Sara
Cornelius pointed out that the music created by women or featuring a womans
voice may or may not contain explicitly feminist lyrics, but still carries a presence
with it (personal communication, March 22, 2008).
Diversity beyond gender serves as the hallmark of several womens music programs. For example, Amazon Country on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia, hosted and
produced by Debra DAlessandro, features the newest in lesbian music as well
as feminist classics. It specifically celebrates the diversity of the Womens Music
movement and showcases the roots and icons within this genre, as well as spotlighting new talent (Amazon Country, 2008). The description womens music for all
who color outside the lines, on Pamela Smiths Web site for Amazon Radio reflects
that her shows perspective is wider than just music about women. Her Web site
also includes the invitation: WANTED: Music by women, lesbians, gays, native
peoples, and others who are outside the lines, especially those outside the USA
(Amazon Radio, 2008). Illustrative of her inclusive approach, during the March 21,
2008 airing of Amazon Radio, Smith played Marrying You, a melodic ballad
about same-sex marriage from the 2004 album Down that Road by the female duo
Green and Root.
In addition to feminist and diversity aspects, whether implicit or overt, programs
may include protest songs. For example, on the March 21, 2008 edition of The
Womens Music Hour, host Michaela Majoun played Laura Nyros 1969 song
Save the Country. On her March 16, 2008 show, KUNV-FM Womens Voices
host-programmer Gerrie Blake played the Burns Sisters Bands 2006 protest song
Bring Them Home, which advocates supporting U.S. troops by bringing them
home. These examples further demonstrate how womens music programs on public
radio stations provide an outlet for alternative, politically themed music not usually
considered for commercial airplay.

Discussion
Music is powerful and full of magic, observed Linda Wilson of KKFI-FMs
WomanSong (personal communication, March 20, 2008). The power and magic
of womens music to communicate a feminist message, create awareness about
womens issues, or simply to exist as an alternative to the dominant culture holds
much potential for making real change. Lyrics that reflect feminist ideas become
another form of a pluralistic feminist canon, and increase the accessibility of feminism (Becker, 1990). Given that womens literal and metaphorical voices historically
have been excluded from music as well as the radio industry, I contend that the
mere act of obtaining and reviewing music by women, producing a program, and
then presenting it on the air constitutes a tangible performance of feminism.

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

27

Although womens music originally targeted women, radio allows its feminist
message to reach a wider audience. In addition, host-programmers look for music
with high listenability, creating an even greater potential for the pro-woman theme
of this music to make an impact on listeners, especially men. Indeed, several hostprogrammers reported that many of their on-air phone calls were mostly from male
listeners. In this sense, womens music radio programs expand the definition of
feminist alternative media by including male listeners and, in some programs, male
vocals in songs. The combination of the openness of access provided by community,
non-profit radio and the high degree of ear appeal of the music presented on
these programs further underscores the power of womens music radio program to
promote feminist ideals.
As feminist alternative media, womens music radio programs highlight the contributions of women to the art form of music as well as their contributions to the
medium of radio. By extension, these specialized forms of broadcasting offer the
women who program and host them a means by which they also contribute to feminist progress. For example, Tracey Wickersham of KBCS-FMs Womanotes was too
young to experience the womens music movement during the 1970s, but had heard
womens music in college. It resonated with her then, and now, in her role as host
of Womanotes, she has an outlet for bringing women-created music to the airwaves:
My philosophy is that there are still thousands of women artists from all over
the globe that have something to sayand art to expressand that there are still
stereotypes, market pressures, male-dominated business models, cultural traditions
and other forces that still limit the channels available to them to reach an audience.
I consider the way I program the show now to be an expansion of the original
concept of womens music (personal communication, March 29, 2008).

This avocation originates in a deep affinity for womens music and women in general by host-programmers. In a real sense, these programs thus serve as educational
platforms that bring alternative forms of music and a woman-centered perspective
to the airwaves. Pam Conine, a public school teacher and former co-host of WYSOFMs Women in Music, which went off the air in 2002, summarized the educational
purpose of womens music radio programs: I was able to help maintain a public
airspacea weekly outletfor the preservation of womens voices in music and
culture (personal communication, March 17, 2009).
While womens media will not significantly change mainstream media institutions, observed Steiner (1992), they do offer a serious critique of dominant media
structures and present a challenge and model for oppositional media (p. 140).
However, incorporation into the mainstream of popular music would allow womencreated music, and its feminist message, to reach an even wider audience. The
recent success of the soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning 2007 film Juno
gives Sirens Muses co-host AJ Browder hope (personal communication, March 11,
2008). Amazon Radios Pamela Smith added that the music she plays should be
mainstreamed, but is not commercial enough, as mainstream programming is often
based on economics rather than quality (personal communication, March 24, 2008).

28

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

For Sue Goldwomon of Her Infinite Variety, the music featured on womens music
radio programs, especially music that is politically progressive and positive about
women, serves only to benefit society: It would be nothing but positive. It could
do nothing but good (personal communication, March 18, 2008).
Womens music radio programs are in danger of disappearing without receiving
the recognition they deserve, given the financial pressures faced by public radio,
coupled with an overall decrease in locally produced programming as noted by
Hilliard and Keith (2005). The cancellation of several long-running womens music
programs illustrates the fragile nature of public broadcasting. These include WYSOFMs Women in Music, a popular show with strong underwriting support (Batz,
2002; Chiddister, 2002; P. Conine, personal communication, 2009), and KRCL-FMs
Women the 3rd Decade, which ended its run in early 2008 due to station format
changes (B. DeLay, personal communication, March 20, 2008). WPVM-FMs Sirens
Muse went off the air in May 2009 due to changes by station management, just before this article went to press. Host AJ Browder reported that it would return in some
form once she found a suitable venue (personal communication, May 27, 2009).
Examples of other womens music programs no longer on the air for one reason or
another include Suffragette Station (KTHU-FM, Honolulu, Hawaii), which ran from
1999 through 2006 (Suffragette Station, n.d.). Another womens music program,
Estrogen Nation (WRFL-FM, Lexington, Kentucky), went off the air indefinitely in
2004 (Estrogen Nation, n.d.).
In addition to documenting and preserving the history of the womens music
genre, future researchers could examine the content of contemporary music that
carries on the legacy of the womens music movement. Just as feminist perspectives
appear in past examinations of popular music and lyrics (Becker, 1990; Endres,
1989; Gordon, 2004, 2005; Hawkins, 1996; Mercer-Taylor, 1998), the feminist
aspects of more recent song lyrics by and about women could be examined to
see how they reflect cultural change regarding gender. Regarding the history of
women in radio, a more detailed study of host-programmers backgrounds and
experiences that led them to become broadcasters of this specialized genre serves
as an additional research path.

Coda
However small in number today, the significance of womens music radio programs
that continue the tradition started during the feminist and folk movements of the 1960s
and 70s lies in the ability of these programs to use music to enlighten listeners about
the underlying egalitarian message of feminism. Feminism is communicated through
not only lyrics but also by the very fact that women are producing and performing
their own music, thus normalizing the idea that women can and do create music. In
this sense, these programs, whatever their reach or audience size, serve as examples
of alternative feminist media that hold the potential to educate listeners and make a
difference in how they view women in music and, by extension, women in general.

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

29

Appendix A
Womens Music Radio Programs
Program/Host

Station

Web Site

Amazon Country
Debra DAlessandro

WXPN-FM
Philadelphia, PA
University of
Pennsylvania

xpn.org
xpn.org/xpn-programs/amazon
-country

Amazon Radio
Pamela Smith

WPKN-FM
New Haven, CT
Community radio

www.wpkn.org
www.amazonradio.com

Chick Habit
Lea

WEVL-FM
Memphis, TN
Community radio

wevl.org
www.myspace.com/sirensmuse
wevl*

The Eclectic Woman

Rotating hosts

WTJU-FM
Charlottesville, VA
University of Virginia

wtju.net

Her Infinite Variety

Sue Goldwomon;
Rotating hosts

WORT-FM
Madison, WI
Community radio

www.wort-fm.org

Sirens Muse1
AJ Browder &
Susan Parker

WPVM-FM
Asheville, NC
Community radio

www.wpvm.org/sirensmuse1

Something About
the Women
Rotating hosts

WMFO-FM
Medford, MA
Tufts University

www.satwomen.com

Sophies Parlor
Rotating hosts

WPFW-FM
Washington, DC
Community radio

www.wpfw.org
sophiesparlor.blogspot.com

Wild Woman Radio

Sarah Cornelius

WNHU-FM
New Haven, CT
University of
New Haven

www.wnhu.net
www.myspace.com/wildwoman
radio

Womanotes
Tracey Wickersham

KBCS-FM
Bellevue, WA
Bellevue Community
College

kbcs.fm

(continued)

30

Journal of Radio & Audio Media/May 2010

Womens Music Radio Programs (Continued )

Program/Host

Station

Web Site

WomanSong
Linda Wilson

KKFI-FM
Kansas City, MO
Community radio

kkfi.org
kkfi.org/program.php?idD63

WomanSong
Diana Gold

WMPG-FM
Portland, ME
University of
Southern Maine

wmpg.org
www.myspace.com/womansong

Womenfolk
Ellen Stanley

KFAI-FM
Minneapolis, MN
Community radio

www.kfai.org
www.myspace.com/womenfolk
radio

Women on Wednesday
BR & rotating hosts

KMUD-FM
Eureka, CA
Community radio

kmud.org

Women the 3rd

Decade2
Babs DeLay

KRCL-FM
Salt Lake City, UT
Community radio

Womens Music Hour

Michaela Majoun

WXPN-FM
Philadelphia, PA
University of
Pennsylvania

xpn.org
xpn.org/xpn-programs/xpnmorning-show

The Womens Show

Arlene Engelhardt &
Mary Glenney

WMNF-FM
Tampa, FL
Community radio

www.wmnf.org
www.wmnf.org/programs/303

Womens Voices
Gerrie Blake

KUNV-FM
Las Vegas, NV
University of Nevada,
Las Vegas

kunv.unlv.edu

Womens Windows
Linda Washburn &
Magdalen

WERU-FM
Blue Hill, ME
Community radio

www.weru.org

World Woman
Kay Allen &
Leigh Lockhart

KOPN-FM
Columbia, MO
Community radio

kopn.org

Notes: 1 Off the air as of May 2009; web site still online as of June 2009. 2 Off the air as of
April 2008. *Chick Habit replaced Sirens Muse, which had previously aired on WEVL-FM.

Engstrom/ALTERNATIVE FEMINIST MEDIA ON THE AIRWAVES

31

Notes
1 Three Web sites listed womens music radio shows in early 2008: www.amazonradio.
com, www.offourbacks.org/RadioShows.htm, and www.creativefolk.com/radio.html. Talk-only
shows, syndicated programs, such as the public radio program Women in Music with Laney
Goodman, and those available only on the Internet were eliminated.
2 The performance of male-written songs using female pronouns, as examined by Mockus
(2006), provides an aspect of women and music that calls for additional attention.

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