Adam Clayton: Sexist bass comments

[Bleat]

Adam Clayton possibly somewhere last week demonstrating his position of being "the man" in the band, wearing his best sparkly top and trousers playing his signature bass finished in an eye catching lilac glitter effect. His matching handbag is behind his back just out of shot. 

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I'm far more offended by the existence of Bono.

Totally reasonable & justifiable 

[Stub Mandrel]

It's more interesting than his basslines 😉

[Kev]

5 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

NME Reports that Adam Clayton has been criticised for comments he made about the bass in a Phil Lynot doc.

 

Clayton: One thing you need to know about the bass is it’s that big, heavy thing that hangs down between your legs

Clayton: The bass is this secret weapon. It’s where the power comes from. It looks in a groove with the drum kit – the drums and the bass gives you that nice, kind of sexy wiggle of the hips. And then all the other kind of girly stuff sits on top, but we are the men of the band

 

Indie artist Nadine Shah responded: “Adam Clayton is a f***ing spenk. My ‘girly stuff’ 5h1ts on what you do.”

 

Can't seem to get a link to the NME page.

 

 

 

I don't know who Nadine Shah is, but I don't understand her response from the point of view of thinking he was meaning to be sexist against female musicians.  He isn't attacking female musicians in the slightest, he is just using a rather dated/childish form of sexism to describe less beefy part of the music.  I don't get the need for a personal attack.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Kev

[EBS_freak]

3 minutes ago, Kev said:

 

I don't know who Nadine Shah is, but I don't understand her response from the point of view of thinking he was meaning to be sexist against female musicians.  He isn't attacking female musicians in the slightest, he is just using a rather dated/childish form of sexism to describe less beefy part of the music.  I don't get the need for a personal attack.

Are you female, Kev?

[EBS_freak]

36 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

It's more interesting than his basslines 😉

This thread is more interesting than his basslines to be fair.

[cheddatom]

It's old fashioned to describe some traits as manly, and others as girly. It used to be normal, but now it's frowned upon for perpetuating gender stereotypes. It seems fair enough to challenge that?

[Baloney Balderdash]

1 hour ago, cheddatom said:

It's old fashioned to describe some traits as manly, and others as girly. It used to be normal, but now it's frowned upon for perpetuating gender stereotypes. It seems fair enough to challenge that?

No need to challenge anything with something that has been the unchallenged norm for centuries, as far as I am concerned.

 

In my opinion that is in fact not challenging at all really but rather regressing to conformity.

Edited December 6, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[cheddatom]

Just now, Baloney Balderdash said:

No need to challenge anything with something that has been the norm and unchallenged for centuries, as far as I am concerned.

But then women wouldn't be able to vote!

[Silvia Bluejay]

1 minute ago, cheddatom said:

It's old fashioned to describe some traits as manly, and others as girly. It used to be normal, but now it's frowned upon for perpetuating gender stereotypes. It seems fair enough to challenge that?

If we agree that describing something as 'gay' has a pejorative connotation (which I believe it has), then describing something as 'girly' is in the same category. At least in the eyes of this particular woman.

At the same time, this particular woman knows that many famous people deliberately try to shock or at least be controversial because it gets them talked about and clicked on. So ther're usually best ignored, unless what they say is seriously outrageous.

[Japhet]

3 hours ago, lowdown said:

 

More than that...It's NME news..!!

 

Talking of Spenk. Adam's f***ing Spenk account is defiantly bigger.

 

"Nadine Shah net worth is approximately $1.5 Million".

"Adam Clayton net worth is approximately $400 Million".

 

 

 

 

So you're saying that size matters. I'm so offended by this that I'll now have to lie in a darkened room for several months (on full pay naturally), until I hopefully get over it. Otherwise I'll have to try to live with it for the rest of my life. Am I being over sensitive?

[cheddatom]

4 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

If we agree that describing something as 'gay' has a pejorative connotation (which I believe it has), then describing something as 'girly' is in the same category. At least in the eyes of this particular woman.

At the same time, this particular woman knows that many famous people deliberately try to shock or at least be controversial because it gets them talked about and clicked on. So ther're usually best ignored, unless what they say is seriously outrageous.

Maybe her language leaves something to be desired, but it's still fair enough to challenge the sexism. The click-bait BS journalism is annoying, but in this instance it's got a bunch of bass players talking about whether or not it's OK to talk about "manly bass" and "girly guitar", which can only be a good thing

[Doctor J]

 

[EBS_freak]

I do find these conversations interesting.

Twitter is full of it - I tend to keep off there nowadays. All these people that say that they haven't got a problem with women, there's no misogyny - go appoint a woman as England mens football manager and just watch the fireworks. Adam Clayton probably hasn't got a problem with women - but his conversation - and the normalisation of it, is fuelling the thoughts and influencing the next generation to think that this is OK.

[Thunderbird]

6 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

NME Reports that Adam Clayton has been criticised for comments he made about the bass in a Phil Lynot doc.

 

Clayton: One thing you need to know about the bass is it’s that big, heavy thing that hangs down between your legs

Clayton: The bass is this secret weapon. It’s where the power comes from. It looks in a groove with the drum kit – the drums and the bass gives you that nice, kind of sexy wiggle of the hips. And then all the other kind of girly stuff sits on top, but we are the men of the band

 

Indie artist Nadine Shah responded: “Adam Clayton is a f***ing spenk. My ‘girly stuff’ 5h1ts on what you do.”

 

Can't seem to get a link to the NME page.

 

 

But he's still a multi millionaire and I've never heard of her

Don't see anything sexist in his comments I'm sure they were light hearted 

I'm not even a Clayton or u2 fan

Edited December 6, 2021 by Thunderbird

[Thunderbird]

43 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

If we agree that describing something as 'gay' has a pejorative connotation (which I believe it has), then describing something as 'girly' is in the same category. At least in the eyes of this particular woman.

At the same time, this particular woman knows that many famous people deliberately try to shock or at least be controversial because it gets them talked about and clicked on. So ther're usually best ignored, unless what they say is seriously outrageous.

Gay was always a reference to a homosexual or happy mood but now it seems to mean several things for the younger generation as do many words nowadays 

[adamg67]

It's not that hard to imagine that if you are, have been, or identify as a "girl", then hearing the adjective "girly" used in a usually derogatory way, at the very least meaning lightweight or weak, might start wearing a bit thin. It reads like Mr Clayton was chucking that kind old fashioned and insulting use of the word around without thinking about it.

 

For anyone who struggles with that concept, try imagining that throughout your time as a bass player, whenever anyone heard something that sounded a bit out of tune or discordant, they said "ooh, that was a bit bassy". I'm assuming that hasn't already happened to you, if it has then something else is going on 🙂 .

 

[TimR]

I thought men could now be seen as a bit girly as well nowadays. Not sure why being a man is positive and being a girl is negative. Even in this situation. Isn't  a man being a man and a girl being a girl something that should be celebrated anymore?

 

I have no problem with girls being manly or girls being girly. Or men being girly or manly. But I do know what manly and girly mean. 

 

Gender stereotypes are just that. Stereotypes. 

 

Music is all about sex anyway. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by TimR

[SteveXFR]

5 hours ago, BreadBin said:

I'd far rather listen to Ms Shah's music than Adam Clayton's frankly.

 

I agree despite not knowing what her music sounds like. I just dislike US and hold them responsible for Coldplay 

[adamg67]

1 minute ago, TimR said:

I thought men could now be seen as a bit girly as well nowadays. Not sure why being a man is positive and being a girl is negative. Even in this situation. Isn't  a man being a man and a girl being a girl something that should be celebrated anymore?

 

I have no problem with girls being manly or girls being girly. Or men being girly or manly. But I do know what manly and girly mean. 

 

Gender stereotypes are just that. Stereotypes. 

 

Music is all about sex anyway. 

 

I think the point (that's already been made) is that girly is not used to mean "like a young female person", which could mean a whole range of things, it has a set of associations and connotations from the way it has been used in the past. Words come to mean what people use them to mean.

[Japhet]

32 minutes ago, adamg67 said:

It's not that hard to imagine that if you are, have been, or identify as a "girl", then hearing the adjective "girly" used in a usually derogatory way, at the very least meaning lightweight or weak, might start wearing a bit thin. It reads like Mr Clayton was chucking that kind old fashioned and insulting use of the word around without thinking about it.

 

For anyone who struggles with that concept, try imagining that throughout your time as a bass player, whenever anyone heard something that sounded a bit out of tune or discordant, they said "ooh, that was a bit bassy". I'm assuming that hasn't already happened to you, if it has then something else is going on 🙂 .

 

 

I assume he was using the word 'girly' to denote the higher pitch of the guitar as opposed to the lower pitch of the bass. I didn't get any inference of it being inferior in any way. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough to be offended.

[TimR]

6 minutes ago, adamg67 said:

 

I think the point (that's already been made) is that girly is not used to mean "like a young female person", which could mean a whole range of things, it has a set of associations and connotations from the way it has been used in the past. Words come to mean what people use them to mean.

 

Except that was exactly what he meant. 

[oldslapper]

Why are people stating that the person in question “challenged” Adam Clayton’s stupid stereotyping comments?

Is posting vile abuse now the “challenge” for the hard of thinking? 
I hate this world more each day. 
The person got their publicity, well done them. 
 

[Kev]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Are you female, Kev?

No, I identify as male.  Why do you ask?

[la bam]

Gees..... unfortunately most will miss the point of the article. It is to blatantly create clickbait, earn money via links and advertising and promote one or two people, who I genuinely think couldnt give a hoot what the opinions stated in the article are, despite what the article says. They just want to be associated with the link for other purposes.

 

It's a modern day way of getting money and exposure. Unfortunately its usually at the expense of others. It's sad things come to this all the time nowadays.