Male/Female Fans

[James Marshall Boswell <jboswel@emory.edu>]

In that Timothy White book from a few years back--"Rock Lives" was the
title I think--Townshend spoke at some length about the gender of The
Who's audience.  It was in this context, in fact, that Townshend uttered
his infamous remark about being "basically bisexual."  Yes, he said, The
Who's audience has been traditionally male, for which he cited (I think)
the violence surrounding the group and Roger's macho image, a pull for
male fans rather than female fans.  Then he remarked, with evident
satisfaction, how "Empty Glass" gave him an opportunity to get out from
underneath Roger's macho swagger and reveal his, Pete's, more "feminine"
side, for which effort he acquired a whole new female contingent in his
fan base. 

Of course, all of this talk hinges on rather essentialist notions about 
gender, doesn't it?  I.e., that males are violent and energetic and women 
are soft and caring and empathetic.  Difficult thought constructions to 
avoid, I know, particularly when these ideas are corroborated in real 
life.  Still, I think one of the interesting points about The Who's 
"male audience" that might be addressed here is the way Towsnhend's songs, 
from the very beginnning, have questioned rather movingly all these 
assumed ideas about machisimo and violence.  It's there in "I'm A Boy," 
it's there (brilliantly!) in "Tattoo," it's all over "Quadrophenia" ("Dr. 
Jimmy" being a textbook case of irony--the swaggering bits undercut by 
that plaintive cry, "Is it me for a moment?"), while "Who By Numbers" is 
soaked in this issue, particularly in "Dreaming from the Waist" and "How 
Many Friends."  I would also argue that this themse sits at the core of  
Townshend's solo work ("Rough Boys," "I Am An Animal," "Slit Skirts," 
"Secondhand Love" etc.)  Freed from having to write anthems suitable for 
Daltrey's powerful, confident, and traditionally "masculine" voice, 
Townshend in his solo career has penned songs whose vulnerability matches 
the vulnarability of his own singing voice.

Marshall