I was skimming through the April 7 issue of San Diego CityBeat, and as I made my way to the CD reviews, something caught my attention: “Women suck as rock vocalists.”

Hold on a second — women suck as rock vocalists? I think not.

Confused, I read and re-read the article and flipped to the cover. Yes, much to my added confusion, it was a 2004 issue and not something from, say, 1954. In his review, Troy Johnson went on to say that the only possible exceptions were Courtney Love, Janis Joplin and Mia Zapata. Yes, out of all the female rockers in history, only three (and “possibly a few others”) were worthy of not sucking. The basis of Mr. Johnson’s argument was that a women’s violent and angry side (apparently a requisite for rockers) never have the opportunity to manifest themselves in society and, hence, their music suffers. I expected a lot more from the arts and entertainment editor of CityBeat. Alas, that was not the case; shame on you Troy Johnson for writing something so sexist and inaccurate. Dear, oh dear. Anyone with a decent, respectable knowledge in music would understand the gross inaccuracy of such a statement

So get ready boys and girls, we’re taking a quick trip down memory lane to show you that not only do women rock as vocalists, but they rock on every level, and that they can rock just as hard, or harder, than male rockers.

In the ’60s, we had Janis, the poster child of the Monterey International Pop Festival, who embraced the hippie world with her powerhouse screeches and crooning whilst belting out notes from some killer pipes. In the ’70s, we had Chrissy Hynde of the Pretenders and Siouxsie Sioux, spawn of the revolutionaries of punk, the Sex Pistols. Sioux played in the same band as Sid Vicious. Enough said. In the ’80s, we had Debbie Harry, a pioneering bottled blonde who could kick Britney’s ass any day; Kim Deal, who at the age of 43 proved she could still battle the scorching heat at Coachella this month; and Kim Gordon, the Sonic Youth rocker who could belt out a tune and play a mean bass like no other. The ’90s saw a flood of female musicians sweeping the airwaves: Ani DiFranco, the Breeders, Sleater-Kinney, Blonde Redhead and PJ Harvey are a few of the hundreds who were rocking and rolling in the music industry. At the dawn of the 21st century, radio stations are now bombarded with bands led by my fellow sex. Current radio favorites, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, feature frontwoman Karen O, who rocks harder than most male rockers out there today. Known to douse herself in beer or champagne during shows, does she care that her tights have ladders running up them? Does she care that she swears like a sailor? No, and that’s because she’s a true rock star.

All of the women mentioned above not only have the attitude that’s needed to be a rock star, but they’ve made themselves icons of the rock world because they have voices that span octaves and the ability to sing one moment, then screech, moan and yell the next.

To say that music history has only produced three decent female vocalists is like saying that the new JC Chasez album is this year’s must-have album — it’s a load of shit.

It is the gross inequalities that women have had to overcome in the past that have made us killer rockers. The oppression women have had to face only makes us stronger, emotionally and mentally. Female rock vocalists bring a whole new light to rock music, proving that you don’t need to be a guy to belt out a song and play the guitar hard and fast. As the supposed more emotional of the two sexes, women have an emotional side that they are not afraid of hiding — perhaps, some may argue, less afraid than males. Unafraid of showing our emotions rather than bottling them up inside, we’re ready to vocalize them in a song.

Take Beth Gibbons from Portishead. Her voice is so haunting that you get shivers up your spine when you listen to her sing about her break up with her boyfriend. And when female rockers are pissed off, they’ll make sure you know it, as the riot-grrrl genre will gladly attest to. Love her or loathe her, Courtney Love is another example of a female rocker icon. Love has been blamed by some for a lot of stuff; from plotting to kill Kurt Cobain and child neglect, to assault and substance abuse. Whether or not she is guilty of any of that is another matter, but it is her I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude (minus the cocaine) that makes her such a rock star. She’ll gladly put all the media frenzy behind her and strike out a couple of songs. And female rockers need that attitude if they’re going to face reviews such as the one in CityBeat and other false assumptions that society places on them.

Female rockers have two primary jobs: one, to play good music in the mostly male-dominated genre of rock; and two, to battle these prejudices that society has toward them. Women no longer have to subscribe to the meek, stay-at-home, well-mannered lifestyle society expected of them, so why should they have to sing like that? Female rockers are just doing what women do best, being honest to themselves and expressing their emotions. They just do it with a Fender Strat and a kick-ass attitude. And it is for this reason that female rockers rock harder than male rockers: Women must face and overcome stereotypes and prejudices.

They rock hard, they could probably drink most guys under the table, and man, oh man could they kick Troy Johnson’s ass. Clear the testosterone out of your ears Troy Johnson, because, as Karen O would say, “boy, you’re just a stupid bitch.”