“Why women shouldn’t make music”: Misogynistic hatred towards all-female bands is spreading through TikTok

In a video posted by the BBC on their TikTok page, Wet Leg are seen performing at the Radio 1 Big Weekend with their debut single ‘Chaise Longue’. “Would you like your muffin buttered? Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?” they sing to an audience of young women mouthing all the words and looking up at the stage, wide-eyed and dancing. But if you move away from the IRL performances and the adoring audience, and stumble upon any of their appearances in the digital realm, notably TikTok, that reception seems to change. 

The indie rock duo from the Isle of Wight catapulted to fame for their deadpan lyricism and knack for witty one-liners to a catchy tunes with songs like ‘Wet Dream’, ‘Oh No’ and ‘Ur Mum’, but have been met with raised eyebrows since their time on stage. As one reviewer from The Guardian puts it, people aren’t used to indie rock being so witty and sexy. But, if the all-female band is able to amass an impressive 2 million monthly listeners in a matter of months, then why does TikTok make it feel like they have more enemies than they do fans?  

Despite Wet Leg’s successes, such as playing Glastonbury, and the announcement they will be supporting Harry Styles on his 2023 European Love On Tour dates, there is unwavering backlash to their music online. Comments on TikTok include: “[they are] music for people who don’t like music”, or “like ‘Parklife’ but really shit’”, and “exactly why women shouldn’t make music”.

Rallying to support the band, one user commented on a BBC video of them performing: “So many people in the comments with unbuttered muffins”. Essentially what they’re saying is, if Wet Leg’s music has to be explained, you’re not meant to get it. However, is this online response to the band’s music just another product of the opinionated cesspit that TikTok can be, or does it go further than that — could this string of online hate for their music be rooted in misogyny? 

Thousands of users across TikTok are tearing down female talent for daring to delve into indie rock, and what has historically been a male-dominated genre. There are rarely comments questioning the authenticity or purpose of any other male alternative band in the industry, hence why a new wave of women wryly talking about a skewed fantasy surrounding men and harnessing their femininity to push back is causing such a stir. 

Battling the claims from digital trolls of “bleeding ears” and “IQs dropping rapidly”, fans of Wet Leg are taking a stand against the comments. “If some British indie boy came out with this you people hating would eat it up,” said one user, with other fans showing similar support. Another common insult that has been hurled at Wet Leg is that they are an “industry plant”. The term industry plant refers to a young artist who has been signed to a major label, and hasn’t had the time to establish their artistic identity. They are typically funded to create an image rather than to build off talent, and the phrase seems problematic in itself as the arguments for and against cannot garner substantial evidence. 

Let’s, for just a moment, try and understand why some (often male) listeners may want to trash a band like Wet Leg. Sure, it isn’t hard to work out that their lyrics aren’t meant to be revolutionary. They slew out a tune teeming with clever one-liners and an odd cottage-core meets indie rock quality. It also has to be acknowledged that TikTok is a breeding ground for judgement, as men on the app can also be attacked — the most prominent example being the user @heyitsnogood, whose voice prompted a string of hate in regards to his song covers. However, there is a significant difference in standards of commenting hate, with no sight of a question as to whether men shouldn’t be allowed to make music, and if, say, 24.8 million views made him an industry plant. 

In one video, alt-rock band Crawlers also jump to Wet Leg’s defence, explaining how the internet has now taken a buzzword and ran with it. With three female members of their own, they add that clearly, people aren’t aware that Wet Leg has been a band for years and “signed to an independent label Domino”. They conclude the video saying: “as someone in a band who’s been falsely accused of being an industry plant, I’m going to call it out. Because I’m done.”

Unfortunately, the contempt doesn’t just stop on Wet Leg’s digital doorstep. The issue is widespread across the alternative female-led band side of TikTok. Cardiff-based band ‘Panic Shack’ are already facing similar issues after being filmed on BBC Introducing for the first time performing their new song ‘The Ick’. “Music video is amazing unfortunately”, one person says, and another fears for “what else may be growing in the lab that spawned this and Wet Leg”. The band have since used their whole TikTok to fire back, with quippy comments echoing their influences of Riot Grrrl and early punk, claiming it is really true that they are actually “too thick for poetry and nuance” and their music in fact “took 10 minutes… You should have a go.”

With lyrics to shock, offend and downright confuse, the music isn’t necessarily to everyone’s taste, but it is something the industry needs. There has never been a better time to be a female musician with sharp wit. This is more than girls who are angry, they are releasing a generation’s frustration onto paper. Wet Leg has been highly praised from Florence Welch to Dave Grohl, and Panic Shack’s audience have called their music “songs for cool girls, if you don’t get it then leave”. So those not understanding aren’t necessarily the audience, and perhaps the backlash is a testament as to why the industry needs this sound. Bands that came before survived and started a movement; Bikini Kill said it best in The Riot Grrrl Manifesto: “Because we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or turned against us via the internalisation of sexism”.