Publication: Trayectorias profesionales de las mujeres en el jazz: un estudio cualitativo de España y Estados Unidos
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2023-01
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2023-01-19
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Abstract
El estudio de la actividad profesional en el campo de la cultura y de las artes ha recibido una atención secundaria dentro del ámbito de la sociología. La música popular, como una de las áreas de profesionalización de este campo, presenta características propias entre las que se encuentra una práctica asociada con el entretenimiento, el ocio y el tiempo libre. Como consecuencia, su relación con los conceptos de trabajo y actividad profesional entraña
complejidades; pero, sobre todo, ha dado forma a las vidas personales y profesionales de los músicos y las músicas, a menudo, expuestas a condiciones laborales deficientes y una gran inestabilidad.
La escena de música popular representa un mundo bohemio y alternativo que esconde así procesos y experiencias intrincadas que precisan ser exploradas en diferentes contextos socioculturales. Tradicionalmente, el canon y la historiografía musical han invisibilizado la práctica músico-profesional de las mujeres reduciéndola, en la mayoría de los casos, a la especialidad de canto. Asimismo, distintas restricciones han impedido, históricamente, la participación igualitaria de mujeres y hombres en la escena; cuestión todavía hoy relevante que ha sido explorada de manera desigual entre estilos musicales y países. En concreto, el jazz, uno de los géneros populares más importantes del siglo XX, es un campo de estudio escasamente
analizado desde una perspectiva de género e interseccional más allá del contexto estadounidense; así como ha sido difícilmente comparado entre países.
La presente tesis analiza las trayectorias profesionales de las mujeres en el jazz para estudiar las barreras y las oportunidades que existen en términos de igualdad de género en la escena actual. Empleando una metodología cualitativa, basada en una técnica de investigación híbrida que incluye la entrevista en profundidad semiestructurada y el relato de vida, se
examinan dos etapas profesionales. En primer lugar, el acceso y la entrada a la escena profesional del jazz, donde se analiza la formación y la vida musical de las entrevistadas desde su primer contacto con el mundo de la música. En segundo lugar, se abordan las experiencias que viven las mujeres una vez que forman parte de la escena. Además, se estudian ambas etapas
en dos contextos visiblemente distintos. Por un lado, Estados Unidos, el país que vio nacer al género; y, por otro lado, España, donde a priori, el jazz no es parte arraigada de la tradición musical. Para finalizar, se exploran las similitudes y diferencias que presentan las trayectorias profesionales de las artistas en las dos escenas estudiadas.
Los resultados revelan que el jazz continúa siendo un espacio fuertemente masculinizado en los dos contextos de análisis donde todavía existen barreras para la inclusión y la estabilización profesional de las mujeres. Además, se observa que la edad, la especialidad musical, el lugar donde se desarrolla la trayectoria y, en algunos casos, la raza y el origen étnico,
están determinando la actividad profesional de las mujeres en las escenas española y estadounidense, con algunas diferencias y similitudes. Durante la primera etapa de la trayectoria, la práctica musical está condicionada por el entorno familiar y de aprendizaje, donde ellas encuentran mayores dificultades para acceder a un estilo que se desarrolla, vi principalmente, en espacios de interacción informal. Además, el arraigo del género musical en
el país de origen y el nivel de institucionalización del jazz en las enseñanzas musicales serán cuestiones determinantes para guiar los primeros pasos de las artistas. No obstante, una vez que las músicas son parte de la escena, las dificultades no disminuyen. Las trayectorias se caracterizan por la intermitencia y la multiactividad profesional dentro de una “cultura
relacional heteromasculina” que genera paradojas en el desarrollo de la actividad profesional y la vida cotidiana de las mujeres. Así, se observan mecanismos de integración y exclusión, visibles y latentes, en la escena con los que las artistas conviven. No obstante, atisbamos que las prácticas músico-sociales llevadas a cabo por las mujeres están transformando la “cultura relacional heteromasculina” predominante, con diferente impacto entre países y regiones.
En este marco, la sociología nos ofrece una perspectiva desde la que comprender cómo la estructura social y las condiciones materiales de existencia determinan la práctica músico profesional en la escena del jazz. Un campo de profesionalización donde el talento y la meritocracia frecuentemente se imponen para explicar la adquisición de un reconocimiento
público y social que invisibiliza desigualdades estructurales atravesadas por el género. En este contexto, España presenta un escenario de análisis favorable para incorporar la perspectiva de género e interseccional en el estudio de las trayectorias profesionales en el jazz desde el inicio.
Artistic professional activities have received a secondary care in the field of sociology. Popular music, as an area of professionalization in this realm, shows particular characteristics among which we can find a professional practice closely linked with entertainment, leisure and free time. As a consequence, its relationship with “work”, as a concept that refers to professional activity, presents complexities; but especially, it has shaped musicians personal and professional lives that often run the risk of having deficient labor conditions and great instability. Popular music scene represents a bohemian and alternative world that hides complex experiences and needs to be explored in different sociocultural contexts. Traditionally, musical canon has made women’s professional practices invisible, reducing them to singing activities. Likewise, restrictions have historically prevented the equal participation of women and men in the scene; an issue that remains important and unequally explored among musical genres and countries today. In particular, jazz, as one of the most popular music genres in the twentieth century, is a field of study barely analyzed beyond the boundaries of United States, as well as hardly compared among countries from a gender and intersectional perspectives. This dissertation examines women’s jazz careers to approach the barriers and opportunities that exist in terms of gender equality in the current scene. Using qualitative methodology based on a hybrid research technique which incorporates both in-depth and life story interviews, two professional stages are studied. First, I analyze jazz scene access, where we explore the education and musical life of interviewers from their first contact with the music world. Secondly, I explore women’s experiences once they are part of the scene. In addition, both stages are studied in two remarkably different contexts. On the one hand, the United States, where jazz was born; and, on the other hand, Spain where, ex ante, jazz is not part of the musical culture. Finally, I delve into the similarities and differences that the artist’s professional trajectories present in both countries. The results reveal that jazz is still a strongly masculinized space in both Spain and the United States, where it still exists inclusion and stabilization barriers for women. Moreover, it is observed that age, instrument, place and, in some cases, race and ethnic origin, are influencing women’s professional activity in both the Spanish and American scenes, with some differences and similarities. During the first career stage, musical practice is determined by family and learning environments, where women face major difficulties to access jazz learning, mainly developed in informal spaces of social interaction. Furthermore, the roots of the musical genre in the country as well as the institutionalization level of the jazz music education are decisive questions to guide the first steps of the artists. Nevertheless, once female musicians are part of the scene, the difficulties do not diminish in any way. At that moment, women’s careers are marked by the multiactivity and intermittency within a “heteromasculine relational culture” that cause daily and professional paradoxes for them. Thus, female musicians coexist with visible and latent mechanisms of integration and exclusion, which hinder the development viii of their jazz careers under same conditions as men. However, we see that the musical-social practices carried out by women are transforming the prevailing “heteromasculine relational culture”, with different impacts among countries and regions. Within this framework, sociology offers a great perspective to understand how social structure and material conditions of existence influence musical-professional practices in the current jazz scene. A field of professionalization where, frequently, talent and meritocracy are placed to justify the achievement of public and social recognition, which make gender inequalities invisible. In this context, Spain presents a favorable scenario to mainstreaming the gender and intersectional perspectives into jazz studies from the beginning.
Artistic professional activities have received a secondary care in the field of sociology. Popular music, as an area of professionalization in this realm, shows particular characteristics among which we can find a professional practice closely linked with entertainment, leisure and free time. As a consequence, its relationship with “work”, as a concept that refers to professional activity, presents complexities; but especially, it has shaped musicians personal and professional lives that often run the risk of having deficient labor conditions and great instability. Popular music scene represents a bohemian and alternative world that hides complex experiences and needs to be explored in different sociocultural contexts. Traditionally, musical canon has made women’s professional practices invisible, reducing them to singing activities. Likewise, restrictions have historically prevented the equal participation of women and men in the scene; an issue that remains important and unequally explored among musical genres and countries today. In particular, jazz, as one of the most popular music genres in the twentieth century, is a field of study barely analyzed beyond the boundaries of United States, as well as hardly compared among countries from a gender and intersectional perspectives. This dissertation examines women’s jazz careers to approach the barriers and opportunities that exist in terms of gender equality in the current scene. Using qualitative methodology based on a hybrid research technique which incorporates both in-depth and life story interviews, two professional stages are studied. First, I analyze jazz scene access, where we explore the education and musical life of interviewers from their first contact with the music world. Secondly, I explore women’s experiences once they are part of the scene. In addition, both stages are studied in two remarkably different contexts. On the one hand, the United States, where jazz was born; and, on the other hand, Spain where, ex ante, jazz is not part of the musical culture. Finally, I delve into the similarities and differences that the artist’s professional trajectories present in both countries. The results reveal that jazz is still a strongly masculinized space in both Spain and the United States, where it still exists inclusion and stabilization barriers for women. Moreover, it is observed that age, instrument, place and, in some cases, race and ethnic origin, are influencing women’s professional activity in both the Spanish and American scenes, with some differences and similarities. During the first career stage, musical practice is determined by family and learning environments, where women face major difficulties to access jazz learning, mainly developed in informal spaces of social interaction. Furthermore, the roots of the musical genre in the country as well as the institutionalization level of the jazz music education are decisive questions to guide the first steps of the artists. Nevertheless, once female musicians are part of the scene, the difficulties do not diminish in any way. At that moment, women’s careers are marked by the multiactivity and intermittency within a “heteromasculine relational culture” that cause daily and professional paradoxes for them. Thus, female musicians coexist with visible and latent mechanisms of integration and exclusion, which hinder the development viii of their jazz careers under same conditions as men. However, we see that the musical-social practices carried out by women are transforming the prevailing “heteromasculine relational culture”, with different impacts among countries and regions. Within this framework, sociology offers a great perspective to understand how social structure and material conditions of existence influence musical-professional practices in the current jazz scene. A field of professionalization where, frequently, talent and meritocracy are placed to justify the achievement of public and social recognition, which make gender inequalities invisible. In this context, Spain presents a favorable scenario to mainstreaming the gender and intersectional perspectives into jazz studies from the beginning.
Description
Mención Internacional en el título de doctor
Keywords
Jazz, Mujeres, Estados Unidos, España