Abstract

This research attempts to investigate the constructive image of Hayley Williams as a female rocker according to her fans’ perspective on Twitter. It is assumed that the constructive image expressed by her fans which leads her to win the Trailblazer category award of Billboard Women in Music Award for the first time in 2014. This study applied the purposive sampling to collect data from Twitter which were in the form of tweets. Those tweets were gathered by using some limitations on the advanced search on Twitter by first logging in using my personal account. Thus, the tweets were categorized into three categories based on the fans’ expressions. They were supporting, non-supporting and neutral. Based on those expressions, the image of Hayley Williams contradicts to the image of female rockers, which are often stereotyped as sexualized and non-performers. Rather, she is appraised by her fans as a good songwriter and musician, and a non-sexualized vocalist. Even, her fans consider her as a dominant female rocker. It shows the possibility of women to survive in the rock music industry. Although Billboard have never mentioned the winning reason of Hayley Williams, the popularity of Hayley Williams and the constructive image constructed by her fans could be as a consideration for Hayley to get the prestigious award in the rock music industry.

Keywords: women in rock music, female rocker, constructive image, Twitter, fans, new media