How can you explain the general public’s double standard regarding Avril?

[HBK-79]

Hey guys. I’ve been meaning to discuss this topic on Bandaids for my own edification. I don’t want to sound like I’m ranting or beating a dead horse. But I wouldn’t be making such a big deal out of this issue if it weren’t so persistent. I just want to bring about some form of closure for myself.

Why does the general public have such a double standard when it comes to Avril?

(And I’m not necessarily referring to the MSM.)

I used to discuss music on various internet forums, and with my family and friends. Well, my family and friends, as well as faceless internet users, would condemn Avril without hesitation. They would tell me that Avril is “pure shit” and has a “whiney voice”. Worse, they would belittle me for being a fan of hers. They would tell me that I’m “weird”; that my liking of Avril is “pathetic” and “disgusting”; that I “need to get a life”; that I have “shitty taste”; or that I’m “deserving of ridicule”. Also, some have even called me a “12-year-old fangirl”, and have asked me “Why the fuck do you like her?”

And this has gone far beyond gentle ribbing. Many of these snobs have been pretentious, condescending, hostile, confrontational, aggressive, vindictive, and obnoxious towards me.

At the same time, these same snarky grits don’t seem to have much of a problem with female pop artists like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Beyonce, etc. And, generally speaking, fans of these artists aren’t met with such hashly negative reactions from their peers.

What do you guys think is the root cause of all this bias against Avril?

Here are several notable examples of this bias-

#1
Avril gets criticized for her immature behavoir, for her simplistic approach to music, and for her juvenile songs and lyrics. People think she doesn’t have the talent to deliver anything that is “profound”, “meaningful”, or “brilliant”. Yet, Pink drops S-bombs and F-bombs in Raise Your Glass; comes up with lyrics like “slam slam oh hot damn”; comes up with song titles like Fucking Perfect and U + Ur Hand; rides a lawnmower on stage; has had pink hair; and...well...uses the stage name “P!nk” with an exclamation point embedded in it (like how Kesha uses the stage name “Ke$ha” with a dollar sign embedded in it). Additionally, I’d be remiss not to bring up such thought-provoking song titles as Kelly’s My Life Would Suck Without You.

#2
Avril gets criticized for releasing generic, upbeat, and poppy hit singles. Yet, Pink and Kelly have fled to teams of professional hitmakers for Funhouse and All I Ever Wanted, respectively, in order to keep themselves relevant.

#3
Avril gets criticized for lacking energy during her live performances. Yet, I’ve seen several mainstream pop singers (I won’t mention names) who perform by standing in front of a microphone stand for two hours straight.

#4
Avril gets criticized for not displaying any guitar-playing skills. Yet, Avril’s contemporaries aren’t too adept or impressive at playing guitar either. In fact, whenever Katy Perry and Pink play guitar on stage, they’re just noodling basic chords.

#5
Avril frequently gets lumped into the same league of teenybopper singers that includes Justin Bieber. Yet, no one bemoans about how Taylor has legions of teen and tween girls making up the majority of her fanbase.

#6
Coldplay fans merely shook their collective heads when Gaga and Taylor covered Viva La Vida. Yet, these Coldplay fans were appalled a thousand times over when Avril covered The Scientist and Fix You.

#7
People say that Avril will always be just another teen idol who has been destined for irrelevance. Yet, these same people also say that female artists such as Gaga and Tayor have the absolute potential to reach the same career heights as Madonna.

Avril is virtually in the same music category as all of these women, who are more or less clones of one another (except for Taylor). So it’s unfair that Avril is purely regarded as “a manufactured product with a marketable image and very little talent”.

Why are all these other female artists more respected by the populace than Avril is?

Why do the masses have more of a connection with all these other female artists than they do with Avril?

Why do people think that it’s deserving of antagonism to listen to Avril, and that it’s more tolerable to listen to Gaga or Taylor or Kelly?

I understand that haters gonna hate. And I’m aware that you can’t satisfy everybody. But the level of Avril disrespect that I encounter among everyday people is just beyond measure. It makes me think that Avril is as reviled as K-Fed.

Seriously, I can’t understand all the put-downs. Every single argument I hear against Avril is just a bullshit sentiment.

One Bandaider once mentioned that Avril is a “hated artist”. And I just want to find out once and for all why that is.

[Blue Jeans]

Because the general public don't give her a chance, a lot of people just think she is an old one-hit wonder. Since Girlfriend, and the four year hiatus, whenever they hear or see Avril, they think she's a 'has-been'. But I highly doubt they have listened to enough of her music to appreciate she is a talented, successful singer-songwriter, who doesn't just steal boyfriends and think 'what the hell'.

[Sivan5353]

I used to discuss music on various internet forums, and with my family and friends. Well, my family and friends, as well as faceless internet users, would condemn Avril without hesitation. They would tell me that Avril is “pure shit” and has a “whiney voice”. Worse, they would belittle me for being a fan of hers. They would tell me that I’m “weird”; that my liking of Avril is “pathetic” and “disgusting”; that I “need to get a life”; that I have “shitty taste”; or that I’m “deserving of ridicule”. Also, some have even called me a “12-year-old fangirl”, and have asked me “Why the fuck do you like her?”

You need new friends dude.
And you basically named them all, but you forgot the 'Bratty' image that she has.

I don't really know why, and she's not deserve this shit. I'm hoping that the 5th album will change all this.

[Blue Jeans]

You need new friends dude.

I agree, I think anyone who picks on someone solely based on their interests is more of an idiot than Avril will ever be.

[Aven]

I think one reason why Avril is hated is because she does what she wants (showing middle fingers everywhere ), she stays herself and she has her own style (Abbey Dawn). She's not like the others but yet really famous! She has also achieved so many things others haven't yet, for example: not everyone has their own perfume, foundation and clothing line.

[Zach]

EVERY artist is criticized harshly in some respects.

In fact, I would argue Avril receives less scrutiny than other major artists. Most artists that are as well known and popular as Avril is and has been receive the exact same kind of crap and unfair comments that she does. It comes with the territory and you cannot please everyone. Yes there are certain double standards that work against her. But again, that also happens with other artists.

[starabovemybedX0]

What I don't get is how people say that Avril is immature and wears childish clothing while other artists have retarded lyrics and costumes and rely on autotune to save their sorry asses (like Britney who lip syncs every song)

[Annie Was Here]

Just kidding.

You've made some valid and accurate points. But I think the easiest way to answer this is to cover them ears when shit starts to spew and just stick to what makes you happy. I know Av routinely throws out that "be yourself" garbage all the time, but behind all the cliches, it is true. Who cares what your friends, family, internet trolls or the public thinks? If you like her music, that should be enough.

Does it really matter what people say about Avril? Or does the good that Avril provides matter more? And does it really matter what people say about you because of what music you listen to? Or does your character matter more? I vote the latter. And hey, think of it this way, you've got individuality over everyone by listening to something they won't give a chance. (Though I can pretty much guarantee they have at least one Avril song in their collection).

[avrilxxx15]

That's why being a fan of Avril Lavigne is like being a rebel, I mean, would you associate yourself with some artist like Avril who is ridiculed in ALL crowd of music ( urban, rock, pop ). It will took a lot of guts and hears of steel to be her fan.

It's like this, Avril is not excepted all crowds in music world, So she created her own world.

Let's face it, Avril will always be a hated artist, even if her 5th album become #1 in US BB and world wide with all singles being #1, It will not change.

I agree with Zach that all artist are criticized and hated at some point... HOWEVER, No one can deny that Avril is among the most hated artist ever ( and she doesn't deserve it like Chris Brown and Kanye ).

Avril will always be the outcast of the music industry, very few big name friends/fans in hollywood, few fellow artist admit they love her ( Kudos to Nicky Minaj for being brave enough to tell her fanship ) and the ever shitty bias.

Another thing she can be compare to a Girlfriend that most people hate and don't want for you, but you keep going on with her because she knows how to make you really happy.

[★hank★]

^^^ In my opinion, the anti-Avril sentiment has died down a lot since 2007-8; when I would see so many negative articles on entertainment blogs and internet news resources. I would read such descriptions as: 'Horrid Little Pop-Troll' etc. These days, I don't see any of that crap....and I still check daily Google News for Avril...

[BogoGog24]

Well for one thing, Avril has shown in the past that she doesn't need to rely on massive pop producers like Max Martin or Dr. Luke to have hits. So when she did go to them, people viewed her as a sellout. It is unfair sometimes how people talk about her or criticize her for things that they don't criticize other artists for, but I can understand where they're coming from. And it's true that we shouldn't mull over things she did and said when she was a teen, when she knew very little about the music industry and relevancy and all that, but nevertheless she has shown in the past that she can write halfway decent songs on her own or with lesser-known cowriters like Butch Walker or Evan.

Basically, Avril is above the stupid, immature song titles/image and the go-to pop producers. She has shown that she can write songs herself, good, mature songs like I'm With You or Nobody's Home. So when she writes something immature like TBDT, it's a disappointment because we know she can do wayyy better than that (though I do enjoy that song).

Maybe people bash Avril's guitar skills because (at least at the beginning of her career) she sort of acted like she was a great guitar player even though she wasn't that good. She would be like "I'm rocking out on stage with my guitar, unlike Britney Spears! Yeah!" She would basically stand there and strum like 3 chords. Sometimes she would acknowledge the fact she wasn't a good guitar player, other times she'd act like she was a more credible musician than someone like Britney because she knew how to play 3 chords. It's like she makes a big deal out of playing the guitar, even though her skills are nothing to write home about. Taylor and Katy don't really talk about their guitar skills at all.

The lack of energy thing I don't really get. Some performances of the Black Star Tour were not great, but there were other times where she's shown more stage presence than ever before. I guess because she isn't doing a full-on dance routine with lasers and fireworks people think there is no energy. But like I said, in the past, she used to jump around all over the stage and run around... now, not so much.

[Zach]

That's why being a fan of Avril Lavigne is like being a rebel, I mean, would you associate yourself with some artist like Avril who is ridiculed in ALL crowd of music ( urban, rock, pop ). It will took a lot of guts and hears of steel to be her fan.

It's like this, Avril is not excepted all crowds in music world, So she created her own world.

Let's face it, Avril will always be a hated artist, even if her 5th album become #1 in US BB and world wide with all singles being #1, It will not change.

I agree with Zach that all artist are criticized and hated at some point... HOWEVER, No one can deny that Avril is among the most hated artist ever ( and she doesn't deserve it like Chris Brown and Kanye ).

Avril will always be the outcast of the music industry, very few big name friends/fans in hollywood, few fellow artist admit they love her ( Kudos to Nicky Minaj for being brave enough to tell her fanship ) and the ever shitty bias.

Another thing she can be compare to a Girlfriend that most people hate and don't want for you, but you keep going on with her because she knows how to make you really happy.

WHAT? No Avril is not "the most hated artist ever." What? Of course I deny that. She's one of the best selling artists of the last decade and gets as much shit as any artist does, not more or less. Yes, you see all the things said about Avril because you are a fan and therefore you read every article and see every comment made about her, so it looks like a lot because you see it all. But in reality, it is true of every major artist.

Do you see how much shit is said about Britney? Lady Gaga? Madonna? I visit their fan forums from time to time and believe me, the SAME complaints you are making about Avril are made about them. The SAME kinds of criticisms from fans, and the SAME discussion about the shit they get from others.

I understand it though. When you're a big fan of someone or something, then you tend to notice every criticism and it affects you more. When you're not a fan and don't really care, then you don't see the criticism as much because it doesn't affect you.