Paper short abstract:

An examination of messages encoded in musical performances with attention to gender diverse expressions. The focus is on changing musical traditions and how performers engage with new and creative ways to make positive affirmations in connection with their identity, community, or a social movement.

Paper long abstract:

Creative and musical expression may be stifled by social stress when living in a complex system of intersecting oppressions and privileges such as a kyriarchy, a term coined by Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza in her 2001 book Wisdom Ways: Introducing Feminist Biblical Interpretation. In 1987 Joan N. Radner and Susan S. Lanser explored the varied ways in which women approach coding as a form of expression through performance in "The Feminist Voice: Strategies of Coding in Folklore and Literature." If one is to expand upon these ideas to include shifting forms of gender performances a vast array of artistic expressions may be observed. Through this framework, I am examining the messages encoded in musical performances by women and gender variant people with attention to gender diverse expressions, subversive messages and expressions of empowerment. This study has a focus on changing musical traditions as performers engage with the material in new and creative ways to make positive affirmations in connection with their identity, community, or a social movement.

Keywords: Gender, Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Traditional Music, Folk Music, Performance, Heritage