I’m going to start this review by admitting a huge error on my behalf: initially I though PJ Harvey was a man. Turns out I’m wrong and was very much mistaken.
However, me mistaking PJ Harvey‘s gender actually got me wondering on why she had gone for her initials and surname, rather than calling herself Polly Jean Harvey, for instance. It led me to think of a similar example in the case of the author JK Rowling who was advised by her publisher to conceal her first name in order for her books to appeal to young boys. (N.B. Interesting article here featuring other female authors who have done the same: Female Authors with Male Pseudonyms: A Practice of the Past?).
Did PJ Harvey do the same in order for her music to appeal to a wider audience? It is commonly known that the music industry is male dominated, so maybe this was a clever technique by PJ to avoid people jumping to conclusions before listening to her music. I’d hope it wasn’t and that she, unlike JK Rowling, did not get pressurised to disguise her gender.
Music is music and gender, in my opinion, should be cast aside when judging an album or piece. I could write an essay on this, but this is neither the time nor the place. However, it’s an interesting thought and one to reflect on and I’d also love to get PJ Harvey‘s opinion on this.
Forgotten Vinyls 