An exploration in the discourse on gender issues in Singapore's bar music industry

• Main Author: Chua, Cynthia Xin Yin
• Other Authors: Sun Hsiao-Li Shirley
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66071
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This paper is an exploration in to the gendered issues surrounding Singapore’s bar music industry, focusing specifically on the issue of gender differences in music performance in local bars, and the gender disparity and associations with different music instruments. The paper is an extension of Lucy Green’s book “Music, Gender, Education”. Interviews were done with 6 male and 4 female local musicians on their thoughts on these issues. The research found that while most female musicians were objectified and prized for their sex appeal, this worked in their favor when trying to find employment in their industry, giving them an edge over male musicians. The research also found that there was less sex-stereotyping of instruments as compared to in the past.