Can't Stop the Grrrls

Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono

By: Lily E. Hirsch

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Paperback | 18 September 2025

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Paperback
234 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.6 x 15.2 x 1.6

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"This is a convincing call to action." Publishers Weekly

Words and labels can hurt us all. And for many female musicians, the wounds are everywhere.
From stars like Britney Spears and Mariah Carey to classic icons like Yoko Ono, female musicians have long been the target of double standards and toxic labels in the media and pop culture: liar, crazy, snake, diva, slut, b*tch.
These words hurtâ"the popular expression âsticks and stonesâ is wildly wrong. Lily Hirsch confronts the full range of this sexist labeling as well as the repercussions, concentrating on the experiences of Yoko Ono, Courtney Love, Britney Spears, FKA twigs, Taylor Swift, Kesha, Mariah Carey, and Ariana Grande, among many others. While men can make outrageous backstage demands, women like Carey are punished as âdivas.â A sign of supposed genius for men, âcrazyâ is a word of condemnation for many womenâ"with legal ramifications in Spearsâ case.
Hirsch dives into the world of these women, looking at their personal lives, relationships and breakups, music, media coverage, public reception, as well as the origins of these toxic labels and how they have caused serious damage. Can't Stop the Grrrls reveals the inner workings of misogyny and invites us to think about these remarkable women on their own termsâ"showing us how women have fought back too, sometimes reclaiming these words and their own stories through music.

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