“A Man Is Practically the General Norm” : A Case Study of Gender Inequality and Whiteness in the Classical Music Scene in Finland

In this article I show how generally accepted forms of performance practice and performances by generally idealized performance figures reveal gendered and racialized imaginaries that prevail in the Finnish classical music culture. The research material for this article was gathered through thematic in-depth interviews with fourteen white cis women professional Finnish classical pianists, violinists, violists, and cellists between the ages of 25 and 45. I ask how gendered and racialized constructions are conveyed in performance ideals maintained by widely acclaimed performers and traditionally accepted ways of performing musical works. Further, I ask how gendered and racialized constructions associated with idealized performers and performance ideals shape, intertwine in, and influence the embodied experience of Finnish women musicians. I argue that the performers that are widely seen as quintessential form a canon of performers, that have a crucial role in maintaining the oppressive status quo of classical music by reaffirming and maintaining the idealized aesthetics through the very fleshy act of performing Eurocentric, gendered and racialized social imaginaries. These social imaginaries partly shape musicians’ embodied subjectivity and affect their self-esteem as well as their understanding of gendered and racialized bodies, and their social value.Peer reviewe

Homofiliaa ja genrerajoja: epätasa-arvo klassisen musiikin verkostoissa Suomessa

Tässä artikkelissa pohdin, miten sukupuolittunut epätasa-arvo ilmenee klassisen musiikin verkostoissa. Artikkelin tutkimusmateriaali koostuu 14 klassisen musiikin muusikon haastattelusta. Haastateltavat olivat 25–45-vuotiaita suomalaisia valkoisia naisia. Kysyn, millä tavoin sukupuolittunut epätasa-arvo ilmenee haastateltavien kokemuksissa klassisen musiikin verkostoista ja työelämästä. Tutkiakseni sukupuolit-tuneen epätasa-arvon muotoja haastattelumateriaalissa sovellan feministifilosofi Moira Gatensin (2003 [1996]; 2004) käsitettä sosiaaliset mielikuvastot (engl. social imaginaries). Artikkelissa tutkin, miten sukupuolta koskevat normit, narratiivit ja käsitykset – sosiaaliset mielikuvastot – ilmenevät klassisen musiikin kulttuurin sosiaalisissa verkostoissa ja genrerajauksissa, ja millä tavoin nämä mielikuvastot ylläpitävät epätasa-arvoa. Väitän, että epätasa-arvon keskeinen ja toistuva ilmenemismuoto klassisen musiikin verkostoissa on homofilia ja siihen liittyvä kronyismi. Homofilia määritellään usein tiedostamattomaksi mieltymykseksi samastua henkilöihin, jotka edustavat samaa ikäryhmää, sukupuolta, rotua tai sosioekonomista luokkaa ja jotka jakavat samoja mielipiteitä (Scharff 2018a, 60). Kronyismilla puolestaan viitataan ystävän, alaisen tai kollegan suosimiseen työtehtävään nimittämisessä tai uramahdollisuuksien antamisessa (Khatri & Tsang 2003). Väitän, että klassisen musiikin verkostoissa ilmenevät käytännöt ja narratiivit ylläpitävät ja vahvistavat eriarvoistavaa binääristä sukupuolihierarkiaa.In this article, I aim to offer new understanding of how gender inequalities are (re)produced through social networks, and genre boundaries in the field of classical music in Finland. Based on interviews with Finnish classical musicians, I ask, firstly, how gendered power dynamics and inequality are manifested in the participants’ experiences of working life and networking. Secondly, I ask how gender inequality is related to the genre boundaries of classical music, and how genre boundaries also structure gender inequality in classical music culture in Finland. I conduct a thematic analysis of the interview material in dialogue with a feminist theoretical framework (Gatens 2003 [1996], 2004; Churcher & Gatens 2019) to examine how social norms, narratives regarding repertoire and gender dictate networking and career possibilities.I argue that inequality in Finnish classical music culture is maintained and reiterated through homophily and associated cronyism. Homophily is described in sociological research literature as the often subconscious tendency for homosocial behaviour, including socialising with people with similar characteristics, such as age, social class, gender, race, and so on (e.g., Scharff 2018a, 60; see also Ibarra 1992; McPher-son, Smith-Lovin & Cook 2001; Sang, Dainty & Ison 2014, 249; Wreyford 2015). Cronyism, on the other hand, is described as favouritism of either subordinates or peers (Khatri & Tsang 2003, 292). In this article, I argue that homophily in classical music culture perpetuates socio-cultural con-ditions that involve and reinforce gender inequalities, hierarchies, and privilegesPeer reviewe

"You just had to learn to live with it": Gendered and Sexual Misconduct in Classical Music Culture in Finland

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