Goh Talisha, Hope Cat, Devenish Louise, Barrett Margaret S, Canham Nicole, Burke Robert L, Hall Clare
Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jul 22;15:1412511. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1412511. eCollection 2024.
Jazz and improvisation have typically been associated with ideals of freedom and liberty; however, in practice these genres are known to be constrained by entrenched patterns of male domination and gender discrimination. Despite a large number of qualitative accounts evidencing persistent sexism and gender exclusion in the field, there exists a lack of empirical data to assess the scale of this phenomenon and substantiate smaller-scale research on gender inequality. In this paper, we employ boundary theory to report on a quantitative investigation of gender marginalization in jazz and improvisation in the Australian context, positioning gender as a symbolic boundary resulting in the social exclusion and marginalization of gender diverse individuals and women. An anonymous survey (n=124) was run over a period of five months, to explore the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences concerning gender, of people participating in Australian jazz and improvisation. A means comparison found that gender was a statistically significant indicator ( ≤0.05) on almost all measures, with gender diverse respondents significantly more likely to report the effects of marginalization than their (cisgender) counterparts. Additionally, the results indicated contrasting forms of musical engagement and marginalization across gender groups, with women perceiving exclusion to a lesser extent than gender diverse practitioners, and differing in their opinions regarding work opportunities. Lastly, a widespread but historically unspoken awareness of sexual harassment in the Australian jazz and improvisation industry was reported by all genders. This paper concludes with three recommendations for future research, policy and practice: 1. Specific targeted strategies are needed to address the manifold and complex forms of marginalization experienced by gender diverse people; 2. Heightened institutional visibility for marginalized groups is needed to change gendered narratives and highlight awareness of inequities; and 3. Enhanced safety measures are critically needed to address sexual harassment throughout the industry.
爵士乐和即兴演奏通常与自由和解放的理想联系在一起；然而，在实际中，这些音乐类型被认为受到男性主导和性别歧视的根深蒂固模式的限制。尽管有大量定性描述证明该领域存在持续的性别歧视和性别排斥现象，但缺乏实证数据来评估这一现象的规模，并证实关于性别不平等的小规模研究。在本文中，我们运用边界理论报告了一项关于澳大利亚爵士乐和即兴演奏中性别边缘化的定量调查，将性别定位为一种象征性边界，导致性别多样化个体和女性被社会排斥和边缘化。我们在五个月的时间里进行了一项匿名调查（n = 124），以探究参与澳大利亚爵士乐和即兴演奏的人们对性别的看法、态度和经历。均值比较发现，在几乎所有衡量标准上，性别都是一个具有统计学意义的指标（≤0.05），性别多样化的受访者比（顺性别）同龄人更有可能报告边缘化的影响。此外，结果表明不同性别群体在音乐参与和边缘化形式上存在差异，女性感受到的排斥程度低于性别多样化的从业者，并且在工作机会方面的看法也有所不同。最后，所有性别群体都报告了澳大利亚爵士乐和即兴演奏行业中普遍存在但历史上未公开提及的性骚扰意识。本文最后针对未来研究、政策和实践提出了三项建议：1. 需要制定具体的针对性策略，以应对性别多样化人群所经历的多种复杂形式的边缘化；2. 需要提高边缘化群体在机构中的可见度，以改变性别化的叙事方式，并突出对不平等现象的认识；3. 迫切需要加强安全措施，以应对整个行业的性骚扰问题。
