Probably, there is no place free of gender differences and power. The struggle for and against power is seen in music performances across complex social contexts. One reads of “neither male nor female” in Christian literatures and the bible where reference is made to the spiritual realm. Human civilization and socialization has evolved alongside music and its influence. Music is used as an instrument of expression of human thoughts, emotions, enlightenment, injustice, and entertainment. The culture of a group of people is socially and psychologically intertwined with their musical rhythms and appreciations. Over the centuries different musical genres have shaped political and socio-cultural aspects of many nations. This paper looks at women
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Besides the clamoring for equal rights and freedom, the general thought orientation of men and women cannot be transposed. This is because men and women will not start thinking that they are the opposite gender. The socio-cultural, political, and musical environments are within the society that is created by both genders. Most genres are universally known and accepted. Thus, if a woman is good in her genre she can influence those who have accepted that genre. There is no genre that is originally exclusive to men but some have been socially constructed to be gender specific. The biases in ethnographic research seem to contribute to the disparity in the popularity of women music. Koskoff (n.d) observed that at certain points in history, anthropologists, both male and female exhibited biases in accounting for women musical growth (p.2). This was attributed to “western-oriented anthropological thinking and training.” This appears contradictory because Cassio noted that “Another important factor that contributed in popularizing female kı̄rtanı̄e was the pressure that came in the same years from Western women converted to Sikhi, who insisted on performing kı̄rtan in equal ways – and on the same stages – as their male peers.” The changes that are associated with culture cannot be devolved from the things that are dominant such as ideologies of a group of …show more content…
The reasons for this may vary from one society to the other. In such societies the dominant gender which is the male controls the size and genre of women’s’ musical involvement and roles. The male dominance of the industry and the financial power creates a social structure that restrains the female gender from musical expression. Thus, in androcentric societies, the woman is perceived through the instrument of sexuality. Her sexual relations in the society, reproductive role, and musical performance role in the social context are the parameters through which she is
Besides the clamoring for equal rights and freedom, the general thought orientation of men and women cannot be transposed. This is because men and women will not start thinking that they are the opposite gender. The socio-cultural, political, and musical environments are within the society that is created by both genders. Most genres are universally known and accepted. Thus, if a woman is good in her genre she can influence those who have accepted that genre. There is no genre that is originally exclusive to men but some have been socially constructed to be gender specific. The biases in ethnographic research seem to contribute to the disparity in the popularity of women music. Koskoff (n.d) observed that at certain points in history, anthropologists, both male and female exhibited biases in accounting for women musical growth (p.2). This was attributed to “western-oriented anthropological thinking and training.” This appears contradictory because Cassio noted that “Another important factor that contributed in popularizing female kı̄rtanı̄e was the pressure that came in the same years from Western women converted to Sikhi, who insisted on performing kı̄rtan in equal ways – and on the same stages – as their male peers.” The changes that are associated with culture cannot be devolved from the things that are dominant such as ideologies of a group of …show more content…
The reasons for this may vary from one society to the other. In such societies the dominant gender which is the male controls the size and genre of women’s’ musical involvement and roles. The male dominance of the industry and the financial power creates a social structure that restrains the female gender from musical expression. Thus, in androcentric societies, the woman is perceived through the instrument of sexuality. Her sexual relations in the society, reproductive role, and musical performance role in the social context are the parameters through which she is