By now, you might be aware of a ludicrous Facebook post that has been doing the rounds online. Sent in by DJ Justin James to the group “Support Female DJs”, the (now-deleted) post is essentially a list of requirements for female DJs that he wishes to hire. “Must possess ability and want to travel,” the list begins, before descending even further into embarrassing territory with “height 5’2 – 5’7” and “weight 47 – 54kg”, and finishing off with a charming flourish: “do not suck: I only work with attractive female DJs that know how to read a room”.

While James can be dismissed as one comically ignorant individual, his comments are depressingly reflective of the ingrained misogyny that exists within the electronic music scene. Of course, despite the odds stacked against them, female DJs have been killing it since DJs began, and contrary to James’ beliefs, physical weight and musical talent have no relation to each other whatsoever. To celebrate our favourite DJs that are also female, and to stick a middle finger up to music industry sexism, here are just a few up-and-comers (in a pool of many) who we can’t get enough of.

NKISI

Melika Ngombe Kolongo AKA Nkisi is a producer, DJ and co-founder of NON Records, an African disapora-focused collective of artists who are aiming to start a dialogue about race, identity and self-expression through sound. With her brilliantly chaotic beats, unique approach to rhythm, and high-octane, genre-blurring creations, Nkisi is one of the boldest creative forces within electronic music’s ever-changing landscape. “Sometimes you can feel like being like a freak, and it’s nice to be in an environment where we’re all the same, we’re all into the same stuff,” Nkisi explained to TruantsBlog, speaking about the London club night Endless, adding: “I really love hard music so it’s really nice to just have a place where it’s no soft music.”

JULIANA HUXTABLE

We’ve been obsessed with New York club princess Juliana Huxtable ever since she was photographed and introduced to us by Petra Collins for our 2014 ‘states of independence’ series. A prominent member of the LGBTQ activism community, the former legal assistant is now an artist and DJ at SHOCK VALUE (the weekly club night which she founded.) Speaking about her night, she said: “Why are so many of the raves in Bushwick filled with bros who are dancing to vogue beats but there’s three black queens in the room? Where was the nightlife run by women, cis, trans or otherwise? I just wanted a space where girls are in charge, where all of my trans friends could come without dealing with the anxiety that comes with many spaces.” Her tracks and mixes can found here, including an incredible rework of Björk’s “Lionsong”.

TOXE

Swedish teenage supernova Toxe is probably best known as a prolific member of Stockholm-based label STAYCORE, an imprint which caters to the likes of Lil Tantrum, Kablam and Endgame. With her genre-hopping, spitfire beats and twisted vocal samples (from Britney to T-Pain), the producer/DJ never stays sonically still. She has also been vocal about sexism within the industry. “I often feel like I’m not able to be free and express myself if I want to,” she told Red Bull. “As a woman, I’m constantly being questioned…I’ve had to deal with a lot of stupid sexism. It can be everything from getting unprofessional emails from labels to calling me ‘baby’ when I’ve never talked to that person. Since I don’t have a long history of playing at clubs yet, most of the sexism I experience is online.”

FAUX QUEENS

Liverpool-based duo Faux Queens (formerly known as Brewski Beat) play tracks with a female/queer focus, and can often be found keeping things real at Liverpool club 24 Kitchen St, throwing out stupidly fun mixes that dive head first into Destiny’s Child, Fetty Wap and Junglepussy. Speaking to Dazed about the continuous closure of Liverpool night clubs, Hannah Bitowski (one half of the duo), explained: “It is disconcerting, but it’s the nature of the beast, particularly for the grass-roots DIY spaces, that tend to have to evolve and grow in challenging scenarios…I see these closures as bittersweet: sad to see these places have no choice but to shut down, but inspired by the prospect of new spaces bringing something different to the city.”

CLARA 3000

Starting out as a music journalist for French electronic mag Trax, Clara 3000 has since become a prolific wild child and DJ within Paris’ underground, from opening for Justice (her first gig) to, more recently, lending her talents to Vetements and SSENSE for their SS16 soundtracks. Speaking about her quick musical ascent, Clara explained: “I bought turntables, learned to mix in my room, one thing led to another and a few months later, I was working with Pedro Winter of Ed Banger. Shortly after he called me and said, ‘you’ll do the warm-up set for Justice.’ I was freaking out, my knees were trembling behind the decks. I’ve not stopped DJing since.”