The Sound of Sisterhood: A Study of Female Musicians Building Networks Against Unusual Spaces in the Global South

Abstract

The present dissertation introduces the cultural and historical processes that shape the unusual spaces for female-identified people to be in the Brazilian music industry, and the strategies employed by women and non-binaries to dismantle such construction. I consider that such process involves the gender inequalities in masculinity in certain music genres; thus, the research field started from the Brazilian rock underground scene. The main strategy observed was the creation of networks, employed with the goal to increase representation, education, the number of women and non-binaries working in the music industry, and by offering safer spaces for female-identified people to express themselves. By applying a multi-sited ethnography (Marcus 1995), long interviews with women and nonbinary individuals, and an online incursion with the conduction of an extensive online mapping of projects, and social media profile analysis, the present investigation categorized four types of networks interested in solving the problems of women and female-identified people in the music industry: creative, relational, educational, and informational. All these networks portray different structures and workings but have similar goals: to offer more visibility to women and non-binaries, create connections and engagement, build up feminine representation in the music industry, and encourage women and nonbinary people to learn and create music. With these networks, the research participants hope to dismantle the notion of unusual spaces in music. Networks are, therefore, a practical way of feminist activism.