Music, Gender, and Coming of Age in the Lives of Indie
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MUSIC, GENDER, AND COMING OF AGE IN THE LIVES OF INDIE ROCK PERFORMERS by MICHAEL RAMIREZ (Under the Direction of Linda Grant) ABSTRACT Using interview data from thirty-eight women and men independent rock musicians living in Athens, Georgia, this study analyzes the gendered life course pathways that characterize entry into musical participation during young adulthood. The data illustrate the ways in which women and men’s lives are increasingly gendered as they progress through the life course. During childhood, musicians have similar experiences in musical interest and development. During adolescence, however, women’s and men’s experiences begin to diverge, leading men to develop skills and experiences earlier than women. These experiences benefit men in early adulthood, the time during which they begin seriously contemplating a career in music. Men have a smoother entrance into the music world and are able to start or join bands more easily than women. Gender influences both participation in music and the development of identity. Men identify as musicians much earlier in the life course than do women. In comparison to women, men have a broader definition of what constitutes musicianhood and define it in such a way as to ease their inclusion. As a result, more women are hesitant in claiming an identity as a true musician. At the same time, both women and men see the music world as a context in which innovative constructions of femininity and masculinity are possible. During the transition to adulthood, musicians must deal with the dilemmas of adulthood. They respond in one of three ways. Some persist in music, defining it as an adult-like career no different from traditional lines of work. Others decenter their identities as musicians, switching to more normative non-performance related aspects in the music world. Others begin to abandon their identities as musicians, changing routes to more traditional careers. In general, independent rock musicians are innovative in their attainment of the core characteristics of adulthood. Although their simultaneous status as musicians and as adults is somewhat tenuous, they cite ways in which their participation in music provides them with a securely adult identity. INDEX WORDS: Gender stratification, Life course, Music, Transition to adulthood, Identity construction, Gender identity, Masculinity, Femininity MUSIC, GENDER, AND COMING OF AGE IN THE LIVES OF INDIE ROCK PERFORMERS by MICHAEL RAMIREZ B.A., Texas Tech University, 1999 M.A., University of Georgia, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2007 © 2007 Michael Ramirez All Rights Reserved MUSIC, GENDER, AND COMING OF AGE IN THE LIVES OF INDIE ROCK PERFORMERS by MICHAEL RAMIREZ Major Professor: Linda Grant Committee: James Dowd Joseph Hermanowicz Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2007 DEDICATION For Yvonne, still the coolest girl in the world. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing this dissertation was not a breeze. I’d like to thank those people in my life who pushed, inspired, and encouraged me to complete this project. As always, Linda Grant was the central person who believed in me and this project. She continued to motivate in me, even during the times when I was considering a change in my life plans. Thank you, Linda, for everything during the past eight years. Meeting and working with you, and most of all, developing a true friendship with you has been one of the highlights of my life. I’d also like to thank the additional members of my committee, Jim Dowd and Joe Hermanowicz. I have to admit I was initially intimidated to ask each of you to work with me on my dissertation. The work you do and the intellect you possess pushed me to write the best dissertation possible. Your comments on and suggestions to my work inspired me. Mom and Dad, for thirty-one years you’ve spoiled me with love, praise, and encouragement—all of which helped me finish this project and get this Ph.D. I couldn’t ask for a set of more caring, supportive, and fun parents. There were times in which I was discouraged, and both of you helped me put things in perspective. You have no idea how helpful that was to the completion of this dissertation. Yvonne, my sister, though you’re not a musician yourself, you did surface in this project from time to time. So many of the musicians with whom I spoke cited their older siblings as sparking their interest in music. During one interview, a musician described his relationship with his older brother, someone he clearly looked up to. In response, I said, “Yeah, I have a seven v vi year older sister. And I always thought she was really cool and I would never be as cool as she was.” Even now, all these years later, I still look up to you. I must also thank the rest of my family: Grandma, Grandpa, all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and my two handsome nephews. In your own way, each of you encouraged me to pursue—and complete—this degree. And to my friends. Liz Cherry, you’re one of my best buddies in the world. You made my time in Athens even more fun. Thank you for the fun times, the laughs, cheering me up when I was down, and for opening my eyes to the world of veganism. Members of my cohort, most of whom have long since graduated, were crucial to pushing me to pursue this project. I hope to run into you again in the future. And to Faith Rhyne, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you are happy. I think of you often. And to my two non-human companions, Blade and Sheila. The two of you are my world. You have no idea how wonderful it is to start each day with the two of you staring at me, waiting patiently for me to wake up and take you out to play. You both kept me active, happy, and are the best roommates in the world. Thank you for your patience, especially when I was sitting in front of my computer, telling you I needed to write “just one more paragraph” before taking our dog park break. Of course, a huge thank you goes to all the musicians who gave me their time and stories for this project. If I wasn’t a fan of your music before this project, I became one shortly after interviewing you. I respect and admire the dedication you have to your music. I wish you well in the future, in both your musical and non-musical pursuits. You’ve left your mark on this town and on me as well. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: MUSIC, GENDER, AND THE LIFE COURSE .........................1 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK..........................20 3 METHODS AND DATA.........................................................................................60 4 MUSIC AND IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY ADULTHOOD...............75 5 MEN MUSICIANS’ GENDERED LIFE COURSE EXPERIENCES IN MUSIC...114 6 WOMEN MUSICIANS’ GENDERED LIFE COURSE EXPERIENCES IN MUSIC..............................................................................................................152 7 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................182 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................202 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................219 A APPENDIX A: DEMOGRAPHIC AND MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSICIANS.....................................................................................................220 B APPENDIX B: SAMPLE RECRUITMENT EMAIL.............................................222 C APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ...........................................................223 vii 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: MUSIC, GENDER, AND THE LIFE COURSE Typical of many youth of my generation, music was a center point of my life through adolescence and early adulthood. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but as my musical interests shifted during adolescence, so did my ideas of gender. During my middle school years, I was absolutely enthralled with “cock rock”1 bands of the late 1980s/early 1990s. But when I heard Nirvana during my sophomore year in high school, I realized it was time to ditch the cock rock for good. In adolescence, similar to most boys my age at the time, I began trying to figure out who I was. I was fascinated with the way Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain transcended the gender divide. I even went out and bought the now-famous Nirvana seahorses t-shirt, the back of which described the way in which the male carried the offspring until birth. Similar to boys coming to terms with adolescence in Kinney’s (1993) research, I felt like I didn’t belong. My disdain for sports set me apart from the jocks. I was a fairly good student and did identify somewhat with the nerds, but wasn’t wholly a part of that clique either. I played the saxophone my first few years in high school, but since I did not take the high school band very seriously, this activity did not become an important part of my identity. I was beginning to 1 “Cock rock” is a (usually) disparaging term used to describe a popular genre of music from the 1980s and early 1990s. These bands were typically hypermasculine and performed songs with sexually suggestive and/or explicit content and misogynist themes and lyrics. In short, cock rock is an “explicit, crude, and often aggressive expression of male sexuality” (Frith and McRobbie 1991:374). Popular bands of this genre include Mötley Crüe, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Poison, and Warrant. Ironically, despite their hypermasculine overtones in their musical content, they are somewhat hyperfeminine in their presentation of self, wearing tight clothing, heavy makeup, and excessively teased hair. 2 realize that particular expressions of masculinity were highly valued in my high school, by boys and girls alike, and that I didn’t fit the components of this hegemonic masculinity.