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Guitars For Girls  There appears to be a new niche that is slowly starting to be exploited in the guitar industry, that is "guitars for girls" to coin a term commonly used amongst guitarists. Some see the phrase as rather insulting and in many ways it is easy to understand why, obviously there have been and still continue to be many highly skilled female guitarists and gender is a non-issue with regards to talent and technical skill, so why are more and more guitar manufacturers labelling their instruments as "guitars for girls"? There are a number of perfectly valid and benign reasons for this which we shall explore in more detail in this article.Guitars for girls is a marketing term. Many manufacturers are now coming to terms with the fact that more and more young women are getting interested in picking up and playing the guitar at a young age. Historically it has been a rather male dominated sector of music thanks to the low numbers of female pop and rock starts playing the instrument throughout the 60's, 70's and 80's. Back in those days there was no such thing as a "guitar for girls", there was simply the guitar, it just so happened that more men played it than women. Throughout the 90's more and more female leads appeared singing and playing the instrument at the front of a band and this led a change in the perception of the guitar; thanks to shifting gender roles with society moving towards equality in all things guitars for girls are now a genuine marketing ploy in order to interest young women in the instrument by attempting to "feminise" what has often be viewed as a very masculine and phallic instrument.   Guitars for girls often conform to a number of stereotypes that can be (depending on your point of view) either disgustingly cringeworthy or delightfully effiminate. (There's no accounting for taste!) One of the first thing you will notice when examining some of the many guitars for girls on the market is that they are pink, glittery, and adorned with all things that sparkle. Many are adorned with stars, hearts and other designs, and some even adopt some stereotypically female icons and charachters (Hello Kitty is especially popular). Here in lies the dilemma, many argue that there is a divide between what companies think that girls want, and what they actually want. And this, like anything that is based on personal taste and preference can be as wide and varied as humanely possible.So what about guitars with smaller scales for people with smaller hands? Obviously here at Just Guitars we abhor the notion of a stereotype but obviously a larger percentage of women possess smaller hands than men, this is a biological fact and in no way is intended as a slight to players of either gender. But are guitar companies producing guitars with smaller scales that aren't simply 3/4 or 1/2 size? Well, some are, but the question is, would you really want to spend your hard earned money on one? Women guitarists have been using exactly the same guitars as men since the instrument was invented, differences in hand sizes make no difference to the ability of the person to play, when you learn an instrument you will develop your own technique that allows you to play comfortably using what you were born with, small hands are no more a disadvantage when playing the guitar than a big nose or short legs.   So why would anyone consider buying a guitar for girls? Well, there is always the aesthetic design. Yes, it may be rather garish and usually adorned in pink and glitter, however some people actually do like this style and if you are one of those people then go right ahead and buy what makes you happy. However don't feel that because of your sex you have to buy from one of the many "guitars for girls" now flooding the market. It will in no way help your playing and can prove a waste of money if you aren't completely sold on the looks of the instrument. A guitar is a musical instrument, not a fashion accessory, and the current crop of stringed instruments aimed directly at girls risk turning it into exactly that; something not designed for serious playing but rather for those who place more emphasis on looking good than sounding good.Which leads us neatly onto another problem with the notion of a guitar designed for girls; sadly many companies producing such instruments are actually producing rather low quality models that you still pay a premium price for because of the customised and sparkling design adorning the body of the guitar. This is not true in all circumstances but the fact remains that as when you buy any instrument you should take the time to play it first, don't be sucked in by the "guitars for girls" concept and sacrifice tone, depth and comfort. There is no denying that whether you agree with the notion of guitars for girls or whether it offends you completely that they are here to stay and be they good or bad they are attracting many new, young guitarists to our hobby. Some produce bright pink instruments that appear somewhat stereotypical, others produce instruments with better neck access for those with smaller hands, but in the real world we are forced to agree that diversity is a wonderful thing no matter how cliched some of the guitars being produced may be. Here are some links if you are interested in investigating some manufacturers who produce effeminate, unusual and otherwise unique designs. http://www.daisyrock.com/ Producing an eclectic mix of pink glittery guitars for girls and also some more sedate, normal looking designs. http://www.lunaguitars.com/ Guitars in all colours, shapes and sizes. The Andromeda deserves special mention for being a thing of beauty. http://www.fenderhellokitty.com/ Fender join forces with Hello Kitty. There isn't much more to say really. http://www.caparison.jp/ Some more unusual and eclectic designs perfect for those looking to stand out on stage. Images (from top to bottom): Daisy Rock Candy Custom Special, Daisy Rock Tom Boy, Gibson Les Paul Goddess, Gibson SG Goddess, Luna Andromeda, Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster. |
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