The term "boy band" has been floating around for a long time now and it's getting on my nerves. Why? Because it has come to have a derogatory connotation - like an insult. No one wants to be considered a boy band. My problem with the term is that it is used incorrectly. The people that are insultingly called "boy band" members are usually not boys and are usually not in bands. Truth be told, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees are vocal groups. Blink-182, Hanson and Soul Decision, those are boy bands. So why do we get it all turned around? And why is it such a insult?
Technically...
Dictionary.com defines the word "band" as: a group of musicians organized for ensemble playing and using chiefly woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments.
The word "boy" is defined as: a male child from birth to puberty; an immature male.
Well, all members of the above-mentioned "boy bands" have reached puberty and none of them play instruments - at least not while they are performing as a group. So again - why call them boy bands? I once heard an interviewer ask Soul Decision, "You play instruments and you don't dance, so why do they call you a boy band?" I thought that was a really dumb statement. Shouldn't someone be asking, why don't they call you a boy band?
Boy Band vs Girl Group?
Society has given the wrong definition to this term, boy band. If you've reached puberty and you dance instead of playing instruments you are in a "boy band". The same terminolgy does not apply to girls, though. People never call Dream or 3LW a "girl band." They call them a girl group. So why isn't *NSYNC and BSB considered "boy groups?"
Stereotypes
Secondly, why is it such a sin to be called that? Why is it that "boy bands" are considered talentless, lip-synching hacks? Sure there are some uses of "backing tracks" at live shows for these vocal groups, but the lead vocals are as live as U2 or Madonna or any other performer. Just because you are a bunch of guys who sing and dance and sometimes have help writing your songs, does not mean that you must also be lip-synching and talentless. I am not saying that all male vocal groups are talented and that not all of them lip-synch. Maybe some do, but I know some don't. Why lump them all together. All of these "boy bands" worked their butt off to acheive the success they have today. They've put in the hours, followed their dreams and made some sacrifices to get there. Let's show them the respect they deserve and stop using annoying terms that don't make sense.
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