In celebration of International Women’s Day, second year French and Italian student, Alice Kincade has written an article about Italian singer, Mina Mazzini.
By French and Italian student, Alice Kincade
Mina, like pop icons Beyonce, and Cher, is known solely to the public by her first name, a common theme amongst performers of legendary status. Say Mina to any Italian, and they’ll know exactly who she is, and can probably name you countless of her number 1 singles. She is known not only as a singer but for her work in cinema, as well as the TV, making her a symbol of entertainment in Italy. More important than her success in her career though, is her success as a woman.
Massimiliano, her producer and son, recalls a time when, as a response to Mina’s version of the Beatles song ‘Michelle’, Paul McCartney sent a telegram congratulating her on it, saying that it was the best cover he had ever heard. How Mina reacted:
‘”Oh, it’s so kind of him!” and threw the telegram in the waste basket’ (Castaldo, 2010)
British audiences could easily read this as disrespectful, particularly due to the iconic status McCartney has in this country. But by putting Mina into the context of her success and her own iconicity in Italy, it can be seen as a symbol of her confidence, success, and value as an artist. She appreciates a compliment from a fellow artist, but without needing the external validation it could have provided (Fabbri and Plastino, 2016).
Being a woman in the music industry is not a job that comes without prejudice: the treatment from the media is far harsher, as seen through Janet Jackson’s career, as well as countless others. The ever-present wage gap does not spare the music industry, with 50% of female artists earning less than £10,000, despite women being more likely to have higher qualifications than their male counterpart (Patel, 2015). Sexual assault is more common in the music industry, with 48% of musicians (the majority of these being female) having dealt with sexual assault in the workplace (“Sexual Harassment Widespread Across The UK Music Industry”, 2019).
If this is the reality of the music business today in 2021, despite the progress that we have made in gender equality across the decades, we should commend Mina for the waves that she made in the ’60s and ’70s. The talent, success, power, and confidence exuded by Mina and shown in a time when the housewife was still very much the norm in society (especially in Italy), demonstrates how she is a woman to be celebrated and commended, as an artist and a woman.
By Alice Kincade
Works cited:
Castaldo, Gino. 2010. “E Mamma Mina cestinò i complimenti dei Beatles.” La Repubblica , March 25.
Fabbri, Franco, and Goffredo Plastino. 2016. Made In Italy. New York: Routledge,Taylor & Francis Group.
Patel, Natasha. 2015. “Gender In The Music Industry – Music Business Journal“. Thembj.Org.
“Sexual Harassment Widespread Across The UK Music Industry“. 2019. Musiciansunion.Org.Uk.
IMAGE CREDIT: Mondadori Publishers via WikiCommons.
