Suffragette Records puts a unique spin on the record store. The Tasmania-based family-owned shop only offers music by women.
Here's the story behind the store's concept from the founders, the Carter family:
Lauren's dad was once a pop singer and is a manager of rock bands and solo artists. As such, Lauren grew up surrounded by a who's who in Australian music, and as a result she acquired a canny knowledge of a lot of 80s music, for better or worse. Oberon was a musician for a little while and grew up on his parents' records, listening to folk and rock of the 60s to 80s. When we moved out of home, we took our parents' record collections with us and began building a bumper collection of our own. Our daughters have grown up unschooled in a feminist, music-filled home. We have always listened to and loved a wide variety of music, and recognise the influence it can have on society.
The music industry has been, and continues to be, male dominated. As a result, popular music (by men) often projects lyrics steeped in misogyny and objectification of women. To temper this, we want to celebrate great music made primarily by women. The lyrics and music made by women deserve greater recognition. Such music can be filled with power and passion, soul and sensitivity. We reckon young people deserve easier access to great music made by women and we hope to provide an inviting, snob-free space to allow that.
