Women in Electronic Music: Lilith Unfair and Gender Equality

Empowering Women in Electronic Music

It’s hard for women in male-dominated fields like electronic music to get an equal amount of respect, attention, and credit as their male counterparts—especially when their struggles are belittled and doubted by promoters, fans, and colleagues. Collectives like Discwoman and female:pressure (as well as countless solo activists) have attempted to balance this dynamic with all or mostly female lineups, which draw attention to the dearth of female names on global festival and club bills.

Lilith Unfair: Berlin’s Techno-Feminist Bonanza

The biggest such techno-feminist bonanza to take place in the world’s underground clubbing capital, Berlin, joins the cause with Lilith Unfair. This festival is devoted to promoting visibility for women in electronic music by stacking the program with women’s names (and one token dude, just to reverse the usual dynamic).

The lineup features some of the most famous female names in the business, including:

• Sophie: PC Music delegate
• Actress: Abstract techno producer
• Daphni: An alias of renowned indie-dance producer Caribou

Note: This is not to be confused with DAPHNE, the mythological naiad and namesake of Smart Bar’s 2015 female-fronted event series.

The Debate Over All-Female Lineups

Of course, not everyone agrees on the value and effectiveness of all or mostly female lineups. We’ve debated and considered the issue in an interview with The Black Madonna, a monologue from Berlin promoter Kaltès, and a sizeable feature on the topic with words from about a dozen other women who DJ, promote, and/or produce.

Advocating for Visibility and Respect

However, we think it’s hard for women in male-dominated fields like electronic music to get an equal amount of respect, attention, and credit as their male counterparts—especially when their struggles are belittled and doubted by promoters, fans, and colleagues. Collectives like Discwoman and female:pressure (as well as countless solo activists) have attempted to balance this dynamic with all or mostly female lineups, which draw attention to the dearth of female names on global festival and club bills.

Promoting Visibility in the Underground Capital

The biggest such techno-feminist bonanza to take place in the world’s underground clubbing capital, Berlin, joins the cause with Lilith Unfair, a festival devoted to promoting visibility for women in electronic music by stacking the program with women’s names (and one token dude, just to reverse the usual dynamic). The lineup features some of the most famous female names in the business, including PC Music delegate Sophie, abstract techno producer Actress, and Daphni, an alias of renowned indie-dance producer Caribou (no, not DAPHNE, the mythological naiad and namesake of Smart Bar’s 2015 female-fronted event series).

Perspectives on Industry Change

Of course, not everyone agrees on the value and effectiveness of all or mostly female lineups: we’ve debated and considered the issue in an interview with The Black Madonna, a monologue from Berlin promoter Kaltès, and a sizeable feature on the topic with words from about a dozen other women who DJ, promote, and/or produce. However, we think.