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Sexual violence and free speech in popular music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2019

Rosemary Lucy Hill  and
Heather Savigny
Rosemary Lucy Hill
Affiliation:
School of Music, Humanities and Media, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK E-mail: R.L.Hill@hud.ac.uk
Heather Savigny
Affiliation:
Leicester Media School, De Montfort University E-mail: heather.savigny@dmu.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article re-examines the use of arguments in favour of free speech when faced with difficult subjects in music, such as sexual violence against women. We present a new perspective on the 1985 US Senate Hearing on Record Labeling and challenge the orthodoxy that the Hearing was only a matter of free speech. Using critical discourse analysis we argue that the sexist environment of the Hearing, the misogyny of the musicians, plus homosocial bonding resulted in the PMRC's arguments being unaddressed as attention turned to censorship. Subsequent academic work has continued to focus on censorship, neglecting to investigate how music can propagate dangerous representations. This article indicates the need for a shift in popular music studies towards careful consideration of those aspects which are difficult and dangerous for women. It therefore opens up popular music to important new areas for critical examination and feminist analysis.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 237 - 251
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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