Is it reasonable to consider that rock music is gendered male?

The Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists is rammed with rock legends from George Harrison to Kurt Cobain, at first glance you may think that its the top 100 male guitarists of all time, however with the contribution from Joan Jett at no. 87 and Joni Mitchell at 72 it is hard to deny that their is a serious lack of female input in rock.

I believe that from its early origins rock has been gendered male, purely down to social reasons. Men want to be the guitarist and women want to be with the guitarist. Everything about the stereotypical guitarist screams masculinity, from the way its held, to the way its played seem to suggest ‘a silent encoded phallocentric message’ (Bayton). Girls are socialized to play ‘feminine’ instruments (flute) and stick to Pop music. 

Its going to take more than a handful of Women to rebel against these gendered musical standards to really start making an impact on the Rolling Stone’s top 100 guitarists.