Masculinities, music, emotion and affect

Background: Gendered inequalities have historically been legitimated through the discursive enforcement of ‘natural’ sexual difference. One particular fallacy that has denied females a political voice, is that white, Western, males are more ‘naturally’ equipped for rational thought or strive for emotional suppression. In starting from the premise that this is always the case however, critical approaches to masculinities underestimate how adherence to the discursive ideal of rationality is mediated through emotional experience. Purpose: Using concepts of ‘habitus’ and ‘affect’ this thesis challenges the assumption that the perceived rejection of emotions, is firstly how masculinities are constructed. Secondly, because ‘individual’ emotions are a prerequisite to social action, it foregrounds the importance of a nuanced understanding of male emotional narratives explicitly through music. Culturally, music consumption is overtly concerned with ‘individual’ emotional experience and group interaction. Therefore male domination of music production and consumption, stands at odds with discourses of ‘rationality’, offering a means of understanding socially patterned, male emotional experience Methods: A two-stage, mixed methods approach was undertaken, with males ranging from ages 16-64 participating. The first stage was an online survey and the final sample included 361 males, spanning various demographics. The second stage was a series of six, life-history case studies with participants selected from those who had completed the survey, based on the richness of data they provided and stratified by age. Conclusions: Both survey and life-history accounts demonstrated a wealth of emotional experience. Whilst music was primarily used as a tool for emotional expression, it was also perceived to manage ‘undesirable’ emotions. Respondents’ emotional engagement with music differed over the course of their lives, in line with socially patterned expectations. This has implications for the notion of ‘learning to be affected’ through the construction of masculinities, indicating new ways of theorising about masculinities as social embodiment

Gender Inequalities and Higher Music Education : Comparing the UK and Sweden

Whilst the impact of gender inequalities has been studied in relation to music education,especially in the UK, relatively little has been written about their impact on higher musiceducation (HME). This article compares data on HME programs and courses, in the UK andSweden, from 2010 to 2014. It looks at similarities and differences in the numbers of menand women who applied to HME subjects, compared to those who were offered a place ontheir chosen program or course, in both nations. Through this it demonstrates that whilst aSwedish HME appears to show less institutional discrimination against women, there arestill similar transnational divisions in men’s and women’s HME subject choices. Howeverthe article uses these data to build on existing critiques around a need for intersectionalunderstandings of gender inequalities, before arguing that a critique of neoliberalism isessential to tackling gender inequalities in HME.Funding Agency:Department of Education</p

Digitalization and the Musical Mediation of Anti-Democratic Ideologies in Alt-Right Forums

Popular music research has explored digital technologies’ potential for democratizing music consumption, distribution, and produc-tion. This article, however, focuses on the anti-democratic implica-tions of digitalization for popular music by exploring discussions of music in 1,173 posts in 6 Alt-Right forums, from 2010–2018. It demonstrates that, first, owing to algorithmic architecture, inter-pretations of musical politics are mutually reinforcing in these spaces. Second, a large degree of musical “omnivorousness” in these forums is both a feature of contemporary far-right strategy and a consequence of digitalization. Third, by articulating “reac-tionary democratic” principles through music criticism, these move-ments more easily evade regulation

Musical engagement and subjective wellbeing amongst men in the third age

Introduction: This article explores the wellbeing benefits of musical engagement for men in the third age. Older men face specific health challenges such as loneliness, isolation and a heightened risk for suicide, tied to gendered norms around emotional control, and a reluctance to seek professional help. There is substantial evidence of the positive health and wellbeing outcomes from older people’s engagement in music, but no studies on older men, music and wellbeing. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Swedish men aged 66–76, with different demographic backgrounds and engagement with music. Interviews were analysed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: Analysis resulted in four themes: “emotions and embodiment”, “adjusting to growing older”, “developing and maintaining friendships” and “maintaining contact as a caregiver”. Regardless of musical genre or whether singing, playing, dancing or listening to music, the men used music to come into contact with their bodies and emotions, as well as improving relationships and social contacts. In particular, men as caregivers to sick partners benefited from sharing music with their partner, thus improving the quality of the relationship. Discussion: This study shows that engagement with music fills deep psychological and social/emotional needs for the participants, in both “being” with the music and “doing” musical activities, where also talking about music is highlighted as an important part of the musical engagement. The results have implications for the field of music therapy, in that it foregrounds music therapists’ potentially important role in developing opportunities for older men to engage with music.Äldre män, musik och häls

Critical sociological perspectives on men, masculinities and emotions

Sociological research, influenced by feminist and other critical perspectives, has noted how men’s emotional inexpressiveness was influenced, and supported, by patriarchal privilege. Such approaches have argued that ‘inexpression’ needs to be broken down in order to build gender equality and improve men’s own wellbeing. Emerging research has, however, challenged the argument that men are ‘emotionally inexpressive’ on two main premises: that, as a result of feminist critiques, many men now practise ‘softer’ or ‘more emotional’ forms of masculinity; second, that emotions always influence social action and so need to be better incorporated into sociological accounts of men’s behaviour. Yet these approaches entail some conceptual confusion as to what emotions are, how they link to social action and whether men’s emotions are inherently transformative for gender relations. This article first details how emotions and masculinity have been theorized in feminist-inspired approaches. It outlines recent work on emotions, men and masculinities before arguing for an understanding of emotions that engages with both physiologically grounded and postconstructionist debates. It finally suggests incorporating a material-discursive approach to men’s emotions, through feminist work on affect, which is attentive to the political dimensions of ‘increasing emotionality’ in order to contribute to a developing field of sociological research.peerReviewe

An Interview with Professor Susan McClary : The Development of Research on Gender and Music

Susan McClary is a Professor of Musicology and the author of Feminine Endings, one of the most influential books on feminist musicology, both in majority–English–speaking and non–majority English–speaking countries. Throughout her distinguished career she has addressed questions of how gender and sexuality relate to the study and analysis of classical and popular musics. This interview focuses on how she initially became interested in the field, reflections on research on music and gender as well as her analysis of key theoretical and empirical areas for the future of research. The interview was conducted in May 2018 by Sam de Boise (Örebro University, Sweden

Broadening research in gender and music practice

This article builds on research about gender in music practice, concerned with skewed musical canons, ratios and quotas of gender representation, unfair treatment and power dynamics, and the exclusionary enmeshment with music technologies. The aim is to critically discuss what ‘gender’ is understood to be, how it has been studied and how gendered power has been challenged, in order to suggest new routes for research on gender and music practice. While we count ourselves among the scholars working in the field and critically investigate our own work as well as that of others, the article addresses some additional concerns to those of previous studies by examining how gender is ontologically constructed in these studies, how intersectional approaches can enrich analyses of gender in music practice and how the material dimensions of music practice can be actively addressed. The conclusions outline suggestions for broadening research in gender and music practice