Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-19-2016 12:00 AM Establishing Female Resistance as Tradition in Country Music: Towards a More Refined Discourse Catherine Keron The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Norma Coates The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Popular Music and Culture A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Catherine Keron 2016 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Recommended Citation Keron, Catherine, "Establishing Female Resistance as Tradition in Country Music: Towards a More Refined Discourse" (2016). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 3970. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3970 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract This thesis analyzes facets of resistance in the lyrics of female country music performers and explores how their articulations of female resistance draw on and rework Appalachian folk traditions within country music. Beginning with the musical practices of Appalachian women, who used music to lament their lives restricted by domestic responsibilities, this thesis examines expressions of female resistance through lyrical analysis, with a concentration on female country performers from 1995 to the present. Despite evolving into a performance tradition, female resistance in country music continues to address the lived experiences of its female audience. As such, the female resistance tradition is an enduring component of country music that has addressed women’s issues for over a century.