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- Title
The Power of Song: Music and the Construction of a Politicized Lesbian Identity.
- Authors
Reger, Jo; Heintz, Sam
- Abstract
Based on a content analysis of a compilation album released in the early years of the women's music community, we find that music aids in the construction of collective identities by bridging the individual and collective. The women's music community was a part of lesbian feminism and emerged in the mid-1970s and was centered around the concerts, festivals and production and consumption of music. We analyze individual themes of pride in/claiming a lesbian identity, romantic yearning to illustrate how musicians and poets presented lesbian lives and loves as desirable and without stigma. We examine how collective themes that acknowledged societal homophobia and encouraged group resistance created a sense of community and a need for change. We argue that music played a key role in the construction of a positive lesbian feminist identity in a time of homophobia and discrimination. We find that this process provides a framework for understanding how music can play a role in the construction of positive collective identities in times of societal bias and/or backlash.
- Subjects
LESBIAN identity; WOMEN'S music; CONTENT analysis; LESBIAN feminism; HOMOPHOBIA
- Publication
Sexuality & Culture, 2024, Vol 28, Issue 1, p134
- ISSN
1095-5143
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s12119-023-10104-z