Barriers for Inclusion in Swedish Jazz Culture: Subcultural Restraints and Possibilities in a Male Dominated Environment
(2024) CCRM20 20241Sociology
- Abstract
- Cultural values and beliefs within the jazz community have intrigued social scientists for a long time. Being one of the oldest recognised subcultures, jazz has been celebrated for its socio-political ambitions as well as the complexity and aesthetics of the music itself. Being recognised as an outlet for fighting social injustices throughout history, the notable exclusion of female jazz musicians in the industry puzzled me. This marginalisation of women in jazz culture became the fundamental inspiration for this essay. The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish jazz culture is experienced and performed mainly from the perspective of female jazz musicians. The data consists of seven in-depth interviews with female jazz musicians... (More)
- Cultural values and beliefs within the jazz community have intrigued social scientists for a long time. Being one of the oldest recognised subcultures, jazz has been celebrated for its socio-political ambitions as well as the complexity and aesthetics of the music itself. Being recognised as an outlet for fighting social injustices throughout history, the notable exclusion of female jazz musicians in the industry puzzled me. This marginalisation of women in jazz culture became the fundamental inspiration for this essay. The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish jazz culture is experienced and performed mainly from the perspective of female jazz musicians. The data consists of seven in-depth interviews with female jazz musicians in Sweden, and field notes from twenty-four occasions of participant observations at various jazz venues in Sweden. The material is later analysed drawing upon subcultural theory reinforced by the concept of authenticity, and feminist theory reinforced by the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The findings showed that although there is a general view of jazz being free and inclusive, there are a lot of structural barriers that individuals must overcome in order to be accepted as an authentic jazz musician. The increased competition drives young musicians trying to follow an imaginary manual for success by attending certain schools, socialising in certain contexts, and adapting to the perceived ideal sound. Complementary findings show how the Swedish jazz community acts under incorrect assumptions of this culture being equally welcoming to women as well as men. The settings, valued characteristics, and musical expectations are structurally ingrained to fit male ideals and patriarchal gender divisions. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Jazz music has a long history of not only being a unique and aesthetic genre, but also of having underlying forces against social inequality. The jazz community has fascinated social researchers for a long time as it is believed that there are unwritten social regulations within the community that dictate who can truly be part of the jazz society and who ends up outside the context. To what extent individuals are able to follow and exceed these social regulations is also believed to determine an internal hierarchy within the jazz community.
In this thesis, I initially explore how these social regulations are experienced and performed by jazz performers within a Swedish context, through the lens of subcultural theory and the concept of... (More) - Jazz music has a long history of not only being a unique and aesthetic genre, but also of having underlying forces against social inequality. The jazz community has fascinated social researchers for a long time as it is believed that there are unwritten social regulations within the community that dictate who can truly be part of the jazz society and who ends up outside the context. To what extent individuals are able to follow and exceed these social regulations is also believed to determine an internal hierarchy within the jazz community.
In this thesis, I initially explore how these social regulations are experienced and performed by jazz performers within a Swedish context, through the lens of subcultural theory and the concept of authenticity. As a complement to the initial analysis, I then go on to also include a gender perspective. For this part I investigate whether the social regulations within the Swedish jazz community are equally adapted for women as well as men. For this second part, the subcultural theory is reinforced by feminist theory and the concept of hegemonic masculinity.
Through interviews with female jazz performers, and participant observations, we gain insight in how jazz is understood and played out in Sweden. This essay contributes to an understanding of how musicians understand and navigate through the demands and expectations placed on Swedish jazz musicians today. Also, why women are underrepresented in the genre and how the female jazz musicians who exist in Sweden understand and manage their existence in a socially unequal environment.
Ultimately, this research sheds light on the complex social world of jazz, shedding light on how the Swedish jazz community consider their own culture and what possible or impossible requirements they are expected to live up to in order to succeed socially and, by extension, musically. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9175624
- author
- Källén, Ellinor LU
- supervisor
-
- Erik Hannerz LU
- organization
- course
- CCRM20 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Jazz Culture, Subculture, Subcultural Identity, Gender marginalisation, Jam Culture, Hegemonic Masculinity.
- language
- English
- id
- 9175624
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-30 09:13:06
- date last changed
- 2024-09-30 09:13:06
@misc{9175624,
abstract = {{Cultural values and beliefs within the jazz community have intrigued social scientists for a long time. Being one of the oldest recognised subcultures, jazz has been celebrated for its socio-political ambitions as well as the complexity and aesthetics of the music itself. Being recognised as an outlet for fighting social injustices throughout history, the notable exclusion of female jazz musicians in the industry puzzled me. This marginalisation of women in jazz culture became the fundamental inspiration for this essay. The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish jazz culture is experienced and performed mainly from the perspective of female jazz musicians. The data consists of seven in-depth interviews with female jazz musicians in Sweden, and field notes from twenty-four occasions of participant observations at various jazz venues in Sweden. The material is later analysed drawing upon subcultural theory reinforced by the concept of authenticity, and feminist theory reinforced by the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The findings showed that although there is a general view of jazz being free and inclusive, there are a lot of structural barriers that individuals must overcome in order to be accepted as an authentic jazz musician. The increased competition drives young musicians trying to follow an imaginary manual for success by attending certain schools, socialising in certain contexts, and adapting to the perceived ideal sound. Complementary findings show how the Swedish jazz community acts under incorrect assumptions of this culture being equally welcoming to women as well as men. The settings, valued characteristics, and musical expectations are structurally ingrained to fit male ideals and patriarchal gender divisions.}},
author = {{Källén, Ellinor}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Barriers for Inclusion in Swedish Jazz Culture: Subcultural Restraints and Possibilities in a Male Dominated Environment}},
year = {{2024}},
}