All-female teenage band told to be more "sultry" at Battle Of The Bands

During a recent Battle of the Bands event in Massachusetts, Kalliope Jones, an all-female band between ages 14 and 16, earned 3rd place due to not being "sultry" enough.

The band took to Facebook to voice their frustration. You can read their full statement below.

"Today, we played at the Tri-County Fair at a Battle of the Bands for ages 12-16. Everyone played spectacularly.

There were three judges who decided who got first, second, and third place in the competition, and they ranked each band on different aspects of musicality and performance. They also commented on what each band's strong points were and how they could improve. After they gave out awards, everyone received the judges' sheets so they could look at the said comments.

We received third place, a cash prize and gift certificates. In the comments, we were told to "use our sultry to draw in the crowd." We ended up losing points for not utilizing this aspect enough. As Amelia Chalfant said, "A woman's sex appeal, or anyone's for that matter, should not be the defining factor in their success in the music industry, and in addition to that, WE ARE CHILDREN! WE ARE 14-16 YEARS OLD." The judges tried to say they meant it as a positive thing; that it was supposed to mean "soulful". They did not understand why we confronted them about it.
From Merriam Webster -
Sultry
: very hot and humid
: attractive in a way that suggests or causes feelings of sexual desire
We then asked if they had made similar comments to any of the bands that were made up of only boys. They said, "Oh, no. It is a completely different thing." Actually, it really isn't. This conspicuous act of sexist and stereotypical thinking was deplorable and pathetic.

The fact that they made these glaring and crude, sexist and stereotypical notes about our performance was made worse by the fact that they did so while drinking beer, blowing their bloated beery breath in our faces. It was astonishing , revolting, and VERY offensive. We are grateful to have ranked among the top three performers (who, by the way, besides us, were all boys), but to be judged on our sex appeal and told that we need to be more sexy in order to make it as musicians goes against everything we have been taught.

Come see us tomorrow on the Preachin' the Blues stage, hosted by the Institute for the Musical Arts, where we will turn it up and play like a girl!!!

-Alouette, on behalf of Kalliope Jones and all the other girl bands out there"