Ani DiFranco:  Challenging Dominant Ideologies One Lyric at a Time

by Julie Engel

BIO:  Julie Engel graduates from the University of Idaho in Spring 2005 with her degree from the Department of English.

Non-white-male people of the world have been forced to challenge dominant forces since the beginning of time.  This resistance has been met by emotional and physical pain, but this pain was worth it to each resistor.  Without the rise of feminism in the 1970’s, women may still be seen as June Cleavers and be expected to perform all the household duties.  Even though men still see women in this way, the rise of feminism allowed them to say no to the mold that they were expected to fit.  This resistance against housewife syndrome was important for the future of gender equality.  Feminists have more than one dominant class to challenge; the patriarchal and capitalist ideologies that control our country are outdated and need to be changed.  There are many women who may resist dominant ideologies without acting to change them.  Ani DiFranco is different from that—she has risen up from a struggling young artist to the successful woman that she is today.  DiFranco does not respect the corporate music world and she also constantly challenges men in dominant positions through her music.  Her lyrics always have something to say, and more often than not she is inspiring listeners to challenge these ideologies as well.  Ani DiFranco has become successful despite the music industry and uses her music to challenge patriarichal and capitalist ideologies.  Whether women are inspired to leave abusive husbands or to start singing in bars on weekends, she is an inspiration to every woman who listens.

Musical Beginnings

Ani DiFranco began her career at age nine singing in Buffalo to anyone who would listen.  She wrote her first song when she was fourteen and moved out on her own when she was fifteen.  By the time she produced her first album at age twenty she had written almost 100 songs.  In 1991, she created Righteous Babe Records and began touring religiously.  For an independent artist, Ani has received four Grammy nominations, produced fifteen albums, had one of her albums go gold and was named one of VH1’s “100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.” (Kidd). She is a singer like none other, an individual who has been labeled throughout her career.  On this issue of labeling, Ani DiFranco said “when I was 18 and putting out my first album, I would read in the paper ‘Angry, militant, man-hating, puppy-eating, hairy, chick rock singer!  Hide your children’” (Gardner).  Even though Ani may come off as all of those generalizations at times, it is unfortunate that these labels are necessary to justify a radical chick.  It is easy to say all of those words without thinking about who Ani really is.  She goes on to say, “men are taught to be aggressive and stand up for themselves, I think women are taught to be nurturing and understanding.  But within every sweet, smiling woman, there’s someone who’s pissed off on a certain level” (Gardner).  If it was a man on the stage singing angrily it would be fine, but since a woman is singing about men and challenging their way of life she is seen as an angry feminist. 

Even the perception of what being a feminist means is blurred; there are different levels of feminism, but most men perceive a threatening woman as a feminist and then dismiss her as such.  DiFranco also has her take on feminism:  “feminism is a word, like any other word … it angers me that people pretend that feminism is a term that applies only to a small group of women.  OK, here’s my definition of feminism:  a concept that most people believe in, but few admit to” (Johnson).  In American society feminism is not perceived as a good ideal because men can’t handle the challenge brought on by strong women.  These gender perceptions are frustrating and contribute to the music that DiFranco writes. 

DiFranco has continued to be successful even though she has done it all on her own.  She has a different way of looking at life, she desires change and has devoted her life to activism and resistance.  She continues to amaze the music industry with her success and believes that “gender definitions are an imposition.  I grew up in a world where I assumed that women can make noise, and that noise should be put on a shelf right next to the noise that men make” (Deitz).  Through her music she inspires others to raise their voice as well, to challenge the repressing forces around them and not hold anything back.  She has constantly refused record deals because she understands the system of the corporate structure. DiFranco sees through the hype:  “I just don’t think that you can say something meaningful within the corporate music structure.  And I know that I don’t want to be a part of that structure, I don’t want to support it, and I want to do everything I can to actively challenge it on a daily basis” (Gillen).  Out of all the independent artists it seems like Ani is the most successful in actively challenging the corporate music industry and never falling for the corporate carrot.  She is a true revolutionary who does not eventually fold under the pressure because the pressure makes her stronger.

Challenging Dominant Ideologies

The road to financial success has not been easy for DiFranco because she constantly had to answer to her fans and to dominant ideologies.  Being a musician is hard enough with corporate support; without it, most musicians will never make money.  Ani feels as though the music industry is stifling:

I don’t believe in the major label system.  I don’t think it’s conducive to art, and I think it hurts more musicians than it helps.  Probably one-tenth of one percent of the people who get record deals actually get the big push.  On the other hand, if you like playing music, there’s nothing wrong with an open mic night, or a gig at a coffeehouse or corner bar.  They’re not very glamorous, but those places are where real music happens.  I think MTV if full of commercials and bars are full of music. (Sharken)

That is why Ani is so intriguing—what makes her a step above the rest of the independent artists?  The only answer is her music, her ability to touch every listener in every crowd at every concert.  The inspiration to challenge dominant ideologies is important for women to hear, even if they have to go out of their way to find it.  Popular radio stations are still controlled by the corporate music industry and it is hard to find music that challenges its ideals.  DiFranco is constantly reinforcing her beliefs through her music and enjoys questioning forces of evil.  She has triumphed in the music world despite corporate agendas and no radio airplay.  She is a force to be reckoned with and will continue reveling corporate structures.

Corporate Ideologies

The reason mainstream radio dismisses Difranco could be because she actively questions the ideologies and corporations that feed the radio machine.  Her lyrics threaten the music industry, which in turn could inspire others to do the same.  In “Make Them Apologize,” Ani questions dominant ideologies that control corporate America.  She sings, “I’m breaking strings/ and other things/ playing hard/ no I’m not on the rag/ but I’m not on the run/ I am matching the big boys/ one for one/ and I must admit/ I’m having myself some fun.”  As an independent woman in the music industry, Ani has struggled for acceptance from the masses.  She enjoys challenging these men who use stereotypical excuses for her anger.  Men see anger in women as a sign of PMS, not of anger towards their insolence.  

For DiFranco, rebelling against these men with her lyrics is what she does best.  She will not sit back and allow these men to go unchallenged.  Men need to realize that women have just as much to offer as other men; DiFranco does this in her chorus, “because the music business/ is still run by men/ like every business/ and everything/ but we can sing like a sonofabitch/ make them twitch around their eyes/ make them apologize.”  In realizing that men still run everything, Ani uses her voice to combat them.  Men will continue to sit on their high horse until they are pushed off by a fed-up female.  DiFranco is the most fed-up female in the music business and she uses her anger to challenge the music industry.   

DiFranco furthers this argument in “Blood in the Boardroom.”  This song is an examination of male dominance in the workplace.  She is outnumbered in this corporate boardroom and she seeks to find another female on the floor; the only other female is the secretary.  Even though the workplace has been diversified over the years, there is a perception of the female secretary and male big-wigs.  DiFranco questions this perception through her lyrics:  “these business men got the money/ they got the instruments of death/ but I can make life/ I can make breath/ sitting in the boardroom/ the I’m-so-bored room/ listening to the suits talk about their world/ I didn’t really have much to say/ the whole time I was there/ so I just left a big brown bloodstain/ on their white chair.”  In the end, women have all the power because we are the future of the world.  Women may be doomed in the corporate work structure, but it doesn’t mean that women can’t be powerful.  It is unfortunate that it takes a lot more for a businesswoman to prove herself than it does a businessman, but that’s not to say that it is impossible for women to rise up and become powerful.  For a woman like Ani, it is hard for her to conceptualize the working mind of the businessman; she is bored because their ideals do not match up to her own.  As the men talk about their world, Ani is searching for something to say to relate.  The point is that she will never relate and the only statement she can make is to leave her womanly mark in the boardroom.

DiFranco also combats the whole of media corporations.  The media is influential to everyone because America is exposed to media every day.  The six o’clock news loves violence, but some right-wing radicals believe that the artist is to blame for violence and murder.  They believe that hearing lyrics about violence is enough to push easily-influenced children over the edge.  DiFranco understands this problem and comments on it in “To The Teeth”:

Are we really going to sleep through another century/ while the rich profit off our blood?/ True, it may take some doing/ To see this undoing done/ But in my humble opinion/ here’s what I suggest we do:/ open fire on Hollywood/ open fire on MTV/ open fire on NBC, CBS, and ABC/ open fire on the NRA/ and all the lies they told us on the way/ open fire on each weapons manufacturer/ while he’s giving head/ to some republican senator.

“Open fire” is a metaphor for verbally challenging these media moguls.  All of these corporations have complete influence in the media world, and this influence is used to make money.  As the NRA and weapons manufactures make guns look necessary, there are many young Americans who now have access to assault weapons.  This is a problem because the blame often is put onto someone else and never on the real problem of gun control.  DiFranco believes that “we need to stop demonizing the point man.  Behind every gun-flailing rapper, behind every violent record, there is a huge corporate record company with a lot of nice, pleasant white guys in suits who live in the suburbs…they’re the ones who are promoting, selling, and making countless amounts of dollars off of violent messages.” (Kidd)  This is the point of opening fire on these corporations because behind the artist who takes the blame are CEO’s who never feel as though they have done anything wrong.  The target is never the parents or these corporations but the person who is pressured to perform and be a certain person.  Marilyn Manson has an image to uphold, and the pressure to be “Marilyn Manson” comes from the record companies wanting him to be a certain thing.  It is these companies who are at fault, but it is much easier to question one band than it is to challenge a media-dominant company. 

American Ideologies

DiFranco also questions American ideologies through her music.  Even though corporate and American ideologies go hand in hand most of the time, the lyrics in these songs target the state of the union.  Democracy is what our country was founded upon, the notion that the people’s voice will always be important and heard.  DiFranco feels as though our country has lost its roots, a feeling that rings true more every day.  She says, “I think we’ve gotten so far away from the idea of democracy and so deep into the reality of capitalism that the lie of America just doesn’t float anymore” (Kidd).  The majority of Americans are not part of the capitalistic structure, but these companies decide elections with their party contributions.  The line between democracy and capitalism in blurred, and this blurring has caused many to question our current government.  Is the government’s agenda based on what the people want or what their pockets want?  With the Patriot Act in one corner and the First Amendment in the other, the American voice has to fight to win over government control.  Luckily, musicians like Ani DiFranco continue to question the government through their music.

This fall DiFranco set out on the “Vote Dammit” tour to the swing states.  In the background flashed facts about elections and the government.  This bold statement didn’t sway the vote, but her statement is unique.  Any corporate signed artist would never be able to do a tour like Ani did because these corporations are tied to the campaign trail somehow.  The idea of lost democracy and raising our voice are central to DiFranco’s ideals and she explores them often in her music.  In “Your Next Bold Move,” she sings about the state of America: 

coming of age during the plague/ of Reagan and Bush/ watching capitalism gun down democracy/ it had this funny effect on me/ … what a waste of thumbs that are opposable/ the make machines that are disposable/ and sell them to seagulls flying in circles/ around one big right wing/ yes, the left wing was broken long ago/ by the slingshot of Cointelpro/ and now it’s so hard to have faith in anything/ especially your next bold move.

DiFranco’s bold move is her life’s work, Michael Moore’s bold move was Fahrenheit 9-11, and she is challenging listeners to find what their next bold move will be.  For the American people who don’t have faith in the current government, the only thing to have faith in is their next bold move against government agendas. 

The reference to Cointelpro (counterintelligence program) is an examination of the loss of left wing ideals and democracy.  Cointelpro was an organization in which the FBI investigated groups who seemed like a threat to the government.  Some of these agencies included the Communist Party, Black Liberation groups, the American Indian Movement, and the New Left.  The FBI used different means to investigate these groups, means in which civil liberties were challenged and taken away.  Some of the investigations included infiltration, intimidation, framing, and even murder.  This invasion of privacy and the loss of first amendment rights was a problem for each group they targeted.  The New Left was a movement in the sixties in which many college students demonstrated anti-war sentiment.  Some specific groups that were targeted were Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (Wikipedia).  Somehow the government thought these ideas were too radical and sought individuals out who were in violation.  Since the FBI didn’t have criteria for those who threatened the government, it was easy for them to target specific groups and individuals.  This loss of freedom continues today with bills like the Patriot Act.  DiFranco uses this reference to demonstrate how the left wing has been targeted and silenced through government agencies and agendas.

DiFranco’s most radical song to date is “Self Evident,” inspired by the World Trade Center disaster.  In this poem/song she examines the flaws of the government and challenges listeners to look closely at the corruption around them.  The song is spoken, which has an effect of immediacy and resonance.  She says,

cuz take away our playstations/ and we are a third world nation/ under the thumb of some blue blood royal son/ who stole the oval office and that phony election/ I mean it don’t take a weatherman/ to look around and see the weather/ Jeb said he’d deliver Florida, folks/ and boy did he ever/ and we hold these truths to be self evident:  #1 George W. Bush is not president/ #2 America is not a true democracy/ #3 the media is not fooling me.

Even though her message here is self evident, there is boldness to it that no other artist has been balsy enough to do.  She is actively defying the highest form of government and she is asking listeners to do the same.  This statement is bold because she is questioning the state of America and exploring the touchy subject of 9-11.  For those to the left, this poem is a theme song for revolution.  It asks listeners to actively think about what is happening to our country.  This is what DiFranco does best—she understands how to push buttons in just the right way to inspire change. 

Patriarchal Ideologies             

Ani DiFranco is not the typical chick rocker—she owns her own label, refuses the radio industry, and flings her dreadlocks proudly when performing on stage.  She is a powerful woman, one who uses her music to comment on social and female injustices.  Her voice is throaty and it resonates with listeners long after the song is over.  There are women in this world that fall into male dominance and don’t know how to pull themselves up again; DiFranco understands this and writes lyrics that inspire women to climb out of their patriarchal hole.  The emotional and physical abuse of women will continue if strong women don’t speak up and step out.  DiFranco is this woman and she uses her music to empower women to want change. 

“Out of Range” is about falling into the cycle of physical abuse and making the same mistakes as generations before have done.  These women don’t want to stay, but the fear instilled in them by their significant other is strong enough to make them stay.  In these situations women can never win; if they stay, the abuse will continue, if they leave, they might become victims of even worse abuse.  Either choice is terrible for the woman, but she still has to make a choice to stay or go.  In “Out of Range” DiFranco sings, “just the thought of our bed/makes me crumble like the plaster when you punched the wall beside my head/and I try to draw the line/but it ends up running down the middle of me most of the time/baby I love you that’s why I’m leaving/ there’s just no talking to you and there’s no pleasing you/and I care enough that I’m mad.”  Most women in these situations do try to draw the line, but trying to make a decision to stay or go is too hard because even though the abuse continues, the love is still there.  When DiFranco talks about the line running down the middle, this is a comment on how difficult it is to leave the person you love, and also the difficulty of choosing to stay or go.  After she sets up the abusive relationship, she uses three lines to empower abused women.  These women do love their abuser, but DiFranco points out that love is the reason to leave.  It is more to love yourself and leave than it is to stay and continue to love a man who obviously doesn’t love you.  

The lyrics above are only part of DiFranco’s comment on abuse—she also comments on falling into cycles that generations before have already done.  She sings, “I was locked into being my mother’s daughter/I was just eating bread and water thinking nothing ever changes/and I was shocked to see the mistakes of each generation/will just fade like a radio station if you drive out of range.”  Difranco is using “out of range” as a metaphor for ignoring women of the past and the abuse they suffered.  If women don’t learn from generations before, then the cycle of abuse will continue without fail.  The only way to avoid abuse is to fight back, to refuse black eyes and fat lips by leaving.  Women for generations have endured abuse, and new generations are told that love is not a reason to stay.  In this song, DiFranco makes it alright to leave because it is never alright to endure abuse from anyone.

Women like Ani DiFranco are often labeled as “angry feminists.”  This little phrase is loaded with connotations and sterotpyes that people embody.  Women who can take care of themselves are seen as a threat, and these women understand what the patriarchy thinks about them.  Difranco explores strong women in “Not a Pretty Girl.”  She sings,

I ain’t no damsel in distress/ and I don’t need to be rescued/ so put me down punk/ maybe you’d prefer a maiden fair/ isn’t there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere/ I am not an angry girl/ but it seems like I’ve got everyone fooled/ every time I say something they find hard to hear/ they chalk it up to my anger/ and never to their own fear.

From start to finish this song questions perceptions of strong women and challenges men who see women as fragile.  The last two lines explain perfectly why people generalize—it’s because they don’t want to admit to their own fear of the truth.  The truth is what Ani speaks in every song, and these songs will be hard to accept for some.  For those who embody her lyrics, we treat her words like theme songs for life and revolution.   

Ani DiFranco is an inspiration to all women because she has combated corporate dominance and has still made a name for herself.  She is the woman to look up to, a woman who sings and writes with a combination of brains and beauty.  She believes that “we’ve gone beyond limited perceptions of sexism and so we should move beyond the language and perspective of the corporate patriarchy” (Songwriter).  This belief is at the core of every song that she writes, whether it is about revolution or love.  Even so, every song has something good to say because her lyrics are always poetically righteous.  Ani DiFranco is the righteous babe of the music industry and every woman should listen to feel empowered.

The Importance of Fan Culture

Without her large fan base, Ani DiFranco would not be able to continue in the music industry.  For independent artists, the fan base is essential to survival in the corporate music web.  Signed artists have an advantage because they have the ability to get their name out there; for DiFranco, the only way to get her name out there is to tour constantly.  Throughout the years Ani has slowly built her fan base through constant touring and advertising at those concerts.  She began playing very small shows with a few CD’s to sell, but now she plays sold-out shows in larger arenas with a whole merchandise booth.  The reasons people enjoy Ani are many, and she understands what it takes to inspire listeners through her music.  Even with little radio airplay and no corporate support DiFranco has conquered the music industry, but it is her fans that have pushed her into the arena of success.  Every artist needs fans to survive, but for an artist like Ani DiFranco it takes a dedicated fan base to keep her afloat. 

Most musical artists enjoy being on stage, but some are in the business for more than just the pleasure of performing (show me the money?).  Ani DiFranco is different—she believes in music for music’s sake.  This idea is fleeting from most popular artists; fame and fortune soon become their sole reason for performing.  DiFranco enjoys performing and uses her music as a release, a group therapy session on stage.  She writes her music for herself as a way to cope with everyday life; this approach to lyrics allows listeners that same release.  As DiFranco eases her mind with words, the audience is also influenced by these words and takes pleasure in emotional release.  DiFranco understands this “because I’m a young woman who sings about my life and attempts to empower or inspire myself through my music, other young women get vicariously empowered or inspired by it” (Hamilton).  Ani has been performing since the early 1990’s, and as she purges her soul the fan base grows.  Every music lover takes pleasure in music, but it takes a special performer to take pleasure in independently kicking ass in the music industry.

The concert experience demonstrates the utopian feeling of audience and artist together, a community of people who feel the same way and are desperate for answers.  Audience pleasure is important to artists because their success relies mainly on popularity.  For DiFranco, this audience attitude is more important; as an independent artist, her worth is determined by touring and audience pleasure.  Any DiFranco fan has different reasons to love her—her powerful lyrics, her bisexuality, or her revolutionary attitude all factor into her overall appeal.  These personality traits allow underrepresented people feel like a part of something worthwhile.    Even though there are different reasons fans love Ani DiFranco, they are all brought together for a few hours to create a community.  At Ani concerts, every facet of Utopia is represented—the emotional and audio energy created by each audience member, an abundance of songs to appeal to everyone, the intensity of singing and dancing together, and the combination of these creates the concert community. 

With these experiences comes a price; as audience pleasure grows it has the opposite effect on performers.  Performer and audience pleasure should be the same at all times, but once there is pressure to perform certain songs or do certain things related to performance, the artist loses pleasure in it.  Jimi Hendrix created a stage show of smashing guitars and equipment.  Once the audience was accustomed to this, people demanded that he do it at every show.  Hendrix grew out of his smashing phase, and he was shunned by some who wanted to see him be “Hendrix.”  This example rings true for every performer; for DiFranco, audience members only demand that she sing the songs they want to hear.  To be “Ani,” the audience expects only her body, her guitar, and her dreads flying as she dances around the stage.

Musicians become role models for listeners through their actions and lyrics.  For DiFranco, the need to prove herself is more prevalent than a signed artist.  Ani does a good job at being herself, but even that comes at a price.  As her fan base grows, so does the publicity and fame that comes with the music industry.  In “Little Plastic Castle,” DiFranco sings about the pressure of fame:

people talk/ about my image/ like I come in two dimensions/ like lipstick is a sign of my declining mind/ like what I happen to be wearing/ the day that someone takes a picture/ is my new statement for all of womankind/ I wish they could see us now/ in leather bras and rubber shorts/ like some ridiculous new team uniform/ for some ridiculous new sport/ quick someone call the girl police/ and file a report.

She understands what it means to be part of the spotlight, a part of an elite group with all eyes on them.  This causes a problem for DiFranco because she does not want to answer to anyone.  There is a perception of who “Ani” is, and anything she does to combat that image is seen as a betrayal.  DiFranco is who she is, and this song demonstrates the perils of fame.  The public eye expects artists to be a certain person and act a certain way; for Difranco, this all-seeing eye is an invasion of privacy and a degradation of individuality.  The media will expose any eccentric act of famous individuals, and this desire for the bizarre comes from the public wanting to see celebrities at their most human.  These artists seem infallible and the media takes any glimpse at normality and runs with it.  This is a problem for DiFranco, and she combats it with lyrics like those in “Little Plastic Castle.”

Even though Ani only has to answer to herself, there are fans that take who she is and what she says personally.  It is known that Ani has a large lesbian fan base, and I think it is solely because she is someone those women can look up to and aspire to be.  When Ani began a relationship with a man, her lesbian followers felt betrayed:  “For them it was the destruction of a fantasy.  To them, my expression of love for a male person was the ultimate betrayal of my queer audience.  But I always have and still do consider myself queer.  To me, being queer isn’t who you’re sleeping with; it’s just an idea that sexuality isn’t gender based, that its love based” (Gardner).  The pressure to perform and be a certain person runs rampant in the music industry because fans are the road to fame.  This pressure may drive musicians crazy, but it seems like DiFranco has a strong idea about who she is—fans will never influence her to change.

Challenging dominant ideologies is never an easy road, but DiFranco has taken that road throughout her career.  Through her music she actively questions the world around her and inspires listeners to do the same.  Part activist-feminist-musician, Ani DiFranco continues her journey through the realm of the independent music world.  As one of the most successful independent artists of her time, she has overcome the corporate patriarchy and has done everything in her power to challenge it.  She sums it all up in an adaptation of the Serenity Prayer:  “We have the facility to judge each other by entirely different criteria than those imposed upon us by the superstructure of society.  We have a view which reaches beyond profit margins into poetry, and a vocabulary to articulate the difference” (Songwriter).  This is the mantra for Ani’s life and she embodies it every day.  Ani DiFranco is an anomaly in the music industry, she has done it all on her own and never looked back.  The fact that she will never be rich and doesn’t care is enough to make her unique in the corporate music structure.  For an artist to make music for music’s sake is unheard of, and DiFranco loves what she does on a daily basis.  For someone who has made her life work a constant challenge against dominant ideologies, Ani sure has accomplished everything she dreamed possible.  Her audience continues to grow and every person from any walk of life has something to learn from Ani; whether it is a business man, a lesbian, or an abused housewife, each person takes pleasure from the life and music of Ani DiFranco.