Balancing the Band: Exploring Transgender and/or Gender Non-Conforming Musicians' Experiences Negotiating the Gender Binary in Western Instrumental Music
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Authors
Watt, Beck
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Gender Identity , Gender Expression , Instrumental Music , Music Performance , Music Education , Creativity , Queer , Transgender , Gender Non-Conforming , Arts-informed
Alternative Title
Abstract
This qualitative study explores how rigid binary gender expectations in Western instrumental music are negotiated by transgender and/or gender non-conforming (TGNC) musicians. Data was collected from and generated with participants (N=4) from Winnipeg, Manitoba who self-identify as TGNC and have a high level of Western instrumental music expertise and experience. A theoretical framework of “queer creativity” was used to guide the development of this study and provide a unique lens with which to analyze these gendered experiences. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews and came together to participate in a chamber ensemble focus group which centered the social art of music-making, pulling from arts-informed qualitative research practices. Acting from the position of researcher-participant, my own experiences as a transgender flutist were infused across the data through participating in the chamber ensemble focus group as well as collecting personal journal entries and field notes throughout the span of this study. This research brings a gender-complex perspective to gender- based research in Western instrumental music while illuminating the ways TGNC musicians negotiate binary gender expectations and even find gender affirmation within this art form. Research findings are applicable to music education fields—K-12, post-secondary, and community ensembles—via recommendations to music educators and directors on ways to encourage creative musical spaces that foster the development and exploration of musicianship, gender identity and gender expression. Recommendations also extended to fellow TGNC instrumental musicians, encouraging their continued active participation and highlighting the value in their unique perspectives and voice within these music-making spaces.