TMS Discussion: Dissecting the Infamous 'G' Word
Let’s start with what a groupie actually is. The word has existed for going on 60 years, and with many iterations. Historically, there appear to be two different types of women identified as the label. The chick who is strictly interested in the sex and drugs, has no expectations of getting serious with these men and just wants a long list of conquests to brag about [i.e. Barbara Cope and Connie Hamzy]. The other is the girl who goes from musician to musician to musician desperately hoping one of them will eventually propose [i.e. Pamela des Barres and Bebe Buell]. When I first read Pamela’s notorious 1987 memoir I’m with the Band as a college sophomore, I didn’t really think much of it at the time and thought she was sort of annoying and immature. I mostly checked it out because it was the height of my Led Zeppelin kick when I had a crush on [young] Jimmy Page and kept hearing that Pamela mentions him a lot in her books. Well, she does constantly mention him and his bandmate Robert Plant as well as all the concerts and events she went to with them, and regularly describes how talented, charming and handsome Jimmy was. But she never goes into deep detail on any romance or really even sex in the book. Same for the dozens of other men she swoons and fauns over every page. It’s actually more tame than salacious in that regard. Revisiting IWTB as an adult a couple years ago, I felt pity and frustration. Not only is the writing style juvenile, but Pamela truly seems to not see the difference between a crush, a boyfriend and a casual hook-up. Worst of all, the famous guys don’t seem to take their flings with her as seriously as she does, yet she’s still gasses them up and claims the ‘60s-‘70s were the best time ever. It’s also unfortunate Pamela blasély blames a lot of her problems and struggles on younger women, particularly the teenage girls who wound up replacing her and her groupie friends. She sounds willfully blind to the power imbalances between both men and women, and adults and teens.
worth revisiting Megan is something of an authority on the women in rock, wives, girlfriends, partners and the dread word ‘groupies’ but she explore the concept well here . . . . . . .
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