My University is closed for a while as of today, as well as my church but my blog is very much open! 😊
My PhD is still going to continue. Might as well stay ahead!
In the mean time I have a bit more time to play guitar as the pressure is less bad
I’m using some Ethnographic methods and so I’m doing a chapter on that atm it’s a very interesting field which I have avoided up till now because it seemed awfully involved but my whole PhD really is an ethnographic investigation
Does anybody know where I can get some toilet paper?
I’m busy again. I’m doing some work on Ethnographic methodologies (something I have been avoiding since 2013 when I had an ethnography seminar during my Masters…), it’s a tricky thing to navigate for me because it’s not my area of expertise, also, I have Qualitative methodologies in my PhD and there is overlap in the two areas of academy. I am trying hard not to double up on certain things and end up writing the same thing twice from a different angle because I don’t want to give myself more work than I need to.
Believe it or not, avoiding writing stuff to stop giving yourself too much work is just as hard as writing stuff in the first place.
I really need to give people more notice for these things lol.
So I am really tired for a number of reasons, firstly, you know when I did those two gig’s last month? Sorry the footage from the other one is coming. Well. I made a whole load of new friends from that and I’ve been busy hanging out with them LOL. Basically I’ve seen them at least once every week since we met lol and just got a phone call asking if I want to hang out this week with another bunch of people I met then as well. So that’s what I’m doing instead of gigging at the moment lol.
I will get back to gigging maybe end of the year or sometime next year lol. The other reason why I’m tired is just PhD related lol. Which is also another reason why I haven’t done anymore gigs for now.
Anyway, hope everyone is having a good week. I have an alternative gig tonight! I will be here, giving a seminar on my PhD research at 6pm tonight. Be there if you want to hear me talk about my research and ask me hard questions lol
Date: 13/12/18
Time – 18.00 – 20.30
Venue – B29 Malet Street which is basement of Birkbeck college main building
Birkbeck, University of London
Malet Street, Bloomsbury
London WC1E 7HX
So as we know I’m doing a PhD in Music, in the area of Theomusicology & Feminist Musicology and some other things, with a practical element to it. So one of the things I’m looking at is how women and sex is represented in music as my project is interested in sexual politics (in a metaphorical sense) but in a literal sense sexual politics is also about sex. In response to my findings I’m going to produce some songs on the topic. The practical portfolio will have songs on various topics relating to women and music and theology. It will make sense when you read my thesis. Here’s a paraphrased summary of what I’ve learned, the full academic essay will come later.
I chose the topic of marital sex as a context for my section on women, music and sex. My intended outcomes for this song are to present women/wives as strong, mutual/equal with men/husbands, sensual/emotional beings that enjoy sex and have their own opinions and sex drives and sexual desires that are just as important as the man’s within the context of marital sex. Furthermore, as I am a woman of colour, I am writing from the perspective of a woman of colour and I hope that my piece along with the values therein, will address the negative stereotypes about women of colour that perpetuate within Western contemporary songs about sex. In Western popular songs about sex, women of colour are usually represented in the most abased and course way. Furthermore, songwriters have an irritating habit if sexualizing the ways in which women of colour are often discriminated against, race, gender and class, by presenting them as the hot abused poor baby mamas *rolls eyes*, or one night stands, never anything good etc. Instead I, have written and performed a song, from the perspective of a woman of colour about being in a sexual relationship within the socio-economic status and security of being a wife, the lyrics talk about saying “I do” and rings etc. (you don’t have to be some guys baby mama, why are we always shown as the baby mama and not the wife?) and not a victim in sexual activity but a willing, consensual, active and committed participant. (N.B. I am not and have never been married this is just in the fictional narrative of the song).
Song of Solomon 1:5 [NLT]
I am dark but beautiful, O women of Jerusalem- dark as the tents of Kedar, dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
It also represents a counter-cultural approach to romantic relationships between men and women, as it is in fact the woman who pursues the man. I tried to reflect this in arranging it for a female singer and making the tone of the lyrics, that of someone who is a pursuer and initiator of physical intimacy. I also show the woman as initiator as well as mutual consenting participant, instead of a passive participant or victim. The lead vocal (the woman/bride) vocalises decisions about her own sexual desires and needs. You can find the woman in Song of Songs doing the same thing. The theomusicology comes in the narrative of the lyrics which implies that now they’re married they can have sex when and wherever they want to lol (within reason), which is a Christian theological standpoint (I’m a Christian btw). So it implies restraint and commitment before coitus, not after.
I also decided to make it walking pace because I found that most songs about sex and women, especially sex with or about or by women of colour, have quite a strong beat and lyrically emphasise the fun of sex with chauvinistic, misogynoir lyrics that often contextualise the woman and the act within the erotic, encouraging male brains to switch to autopilot, focussing entirely on the physicality and pleasure of sex, not the love. My piece is a response to these negative things I found. It is slow(ish) to be meditative, slow down the heart rate and give the listener space to clear their minds and think. The listener should not get carried away by eroticism but instead wrapped up in the sweetness, sensuality, thoughtfulness and intentional nature of the act of marital sex. Looking forward to adding this to the the final portfolio! So this is a sonic, feminist, womanist critique of pop music about women and sex, using the lived experience of a woman of colour as an analytical tool for reflection. I am trying to promote the knowledge of women by uncovering the lost narratives of our experience, like a Foucauldian genealogy.
Well done for reading, here’s the track! It’s called “I Hope The Neighbours Don’t See”
The Middle 8/Bridge is inspired by a conversation I had with a middle aged man who told me that when he first got married as a young man, he gave his wife a Hickey on her neck and someone from his church saw it and told him, “now you’re married you can do that where it don’t show” hah! lol
A short one today I’m v. busy. Two days ago I was very tired after doing a lot and praying a lot. So when it came to bedtime prayers I was very tired. (Every morning I pray and read the Bible before getting out of bed and every night I pray and read the Bible before I go to sleep).
So I decided that that night I would try something different as I was exhausted physically and emotionally. I invited Jesus to come and sit on the bed with me and listen to Christian music with me. Music that I wrote actually and just meditated on the lyrics, what they mean, what I can do better, how can I use these, the themes, reflecting on my relationship with Jesus, where we have been and asking Jesus questions.
I found it refreshing just to meditate in Jesus’ presence. The stress just washed off me and I don’t remember when I fell asleep!
Try it. Put on some Christian music, if you write Christian music and it’s recorded put it on! Invite God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit to come and sit with you, meditate on God, ask Jesus questions and bask in the Holy Spirit.
Man it’s been hot in the UK lately. Twas like the scorching a thousand suns! Another quick one!
Basically, I’ve been really busy doing research for my PhD. I’ve been reading a book about womanist theologies, apparently a womanist is a feminist who is a woman of colour, usually particularly interested in advancing the causes of her people but is for the advancement of men and women. I’ve also been learning about the impact that slavery has had on the African-American psyche. All very interesting. I recommend “Sisters in the Wilderness” by Delores S. Williams for more information on that subject matter.
Once I get an opportunity to pry myself from my work for a bit longer I’ll post another long piece!
Lots of love Catherine
