Tex Mex Conjunto Accordion Masculinity Summary

In Chapter 3, “Tex-Mex Conjunto Accordion Masculinity”, Vargas reveals how women are excluded from the Tex-Mex Conjunto accordion culture. According to the reading, women are discouraged from pursuing their interest in accordion culture from a very young age because of their body structure and enforced gender norms that have been passed down through generations. Vargas states that this instrument is usually dominated by men because of the upper body strength that is required to “master” it. Women, therefore, are discouraged from pursuing their interests due to “the supposed danger that playing the accordion poses to the female body” (pg. 129). This assumption innacurately labels women as fragile and incapable of comparing themselves to men. Musicians such as Eva Ybarra and Ventura Alonzo …show more content…
122). The relationship between the accordion and any female player establishes a “curiosidad” within women; in a heteronormative culture, this could be seen as taboo because it goes against the established gender norms. However, the most dominating factor that isolates women from accordion culture is, unfortunately, the family. Vargas states that the accordion is usually passed down through generations: father to son, uncle to nephew, but never father to daughter or uncle to niece. Ybarra even recalls how, even though her brother was formally taught, she had to learn to play on her own, by listening or watching her father, and that, although she was allowed to play in her home, she was discouraged to do so publicly so she would not be viewed as “masculine” or “curiosa”. The passing down of the accordion from males to males and the restrictions given to female musicians only encourages gender norms and discourages females from pursuing their interests in Tex-Mex Conjunto accordion