The construction of male gender identity through choir singing at a Spanish secondary school

Abstract

Several authors have recently investigated the psychological aspects that play a determinant role in choral singing during adolescence. One of these aspects is vocal identity, which influences the construction of gender identity according to adolescents' needs and societal gender roles. This article focuses on gender aspects of vocal identity during adolescence and describes a case study carried out with male adolescent singers at a secondary school choir in Spain. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed in order to get a deeper knowledge about the relationship between boys' vocal identity and their gender identity. There was enough evidence to show that male adolescents felt more engaged with choral singing when they realized that their vocal identity was a powerful tool for constructing their male gender identity.

Perspectives of European boys about their voice change and school choral singing: developing the possible selves of adolescent male singers

“…The comments of these boys reinforce findings from other research indicating that the interruption in singing activity most often occurs at the transition between junior high school and high school, just as most boys experience the peak of voice change (Elorriaga, 2011;Harrison, 2010;Cooksey, 2000). And the interruption is often concurrent with the developmental readiness to make decisions about how their strengths, affinities, and weaknesses will affect choices of friends, activities, and academic pursuits (Freer, 2012).…”

“…Other studies note adolescent boys' preference for sociallyoriented, action-based singing environments and the negative effect on motivation when these activities are reduced (Freer, 2009a;Ashley, 2010;Lucas, 2011). A host of recent and related narrative studies collectively indicates that adolescent boys' motivation for continued singing activity results from their self-perceptions of musical autonomy and vocal skill within a network of peer social support (Harrison, 2010;Sweet, 2010;Elorriaga, 2011;Abrahams, 2012;Collins, 2012;Freer, 2012;Legg, 2013;Bennetts, 2013).…”

“…Other studies note adolescent boys' preference for sociallyoriented, action-based singing environments and the negative effect on motivation when these activities are reduced (Freer, 2009a;Ashley, 2010;Lucas, 2011). A host of recent and related narrative studies collectively indicates that adolescent boys' motivation for continued singing activity results from their self-perceptions of musical autonomy and vocal skill within a network of peer social support (Harrison, 2010;Sweet, 2010;Elorriaga, 2011;Abrahams, 2012;Collins, 2012;Freer, 2012; Legg, 2013;Bennetts, 2013). These factors include gender, age, peer influence, stereotypes, and the presence of role models (Raider-Roth, Albert, Bircann-Barkey, Gidseg & Murray, 2008;Shepard, Nicpon, Haley, Lind & Ming Liu, 2011;Frazier, 2012;Henry, 2013;Miranda, 2013;Way, Hernandez, Rogers & Hughes, 2013).…”

The Adolescent Female Changing Voice

“…Beyond Cooksey, researchers associated adolescent male voice change with various topics, including participation in choir (Kennedy, 2002), attrition and retention of males in choir (Freer, 2006), male gender identity (Elorriaga, 2011), and the theory of possible selves (Freer, 2009b(Freer, , 2010. Despite different foci, each of these studies highlighted the influence (both positive and negative) of peer and teacher interactions on developing male singers as well as the importance of vocal modeling for male changing voices.…”

The changing voices of male choristers: an enigma … to them

“…Other researchers have used narrative approaches to explore the psychological, physiological and sociological implications of the adolescent changing voice on boys' perceptions of musical self-efficacy and persistence (e.g. Abrahams 2012;Bennetts 2013;Collins 2012;Elorriaga 2011;Freer 2012Freer , 2010bFreer , 2009aFreer , 2009bFreer , 2009cFreer , 2006Harrison 2010;Harrison and Welch 2012;Legg 2012;Lucas 2011;Sweet 2010).…”