The inscription of the feminine body in the field of sound: Vocal expression as a platform of feminine writing (écriture féminine)

Abstract

This paper brings together several theoretical issues relevant both to the fields of musicology/ethnomusicology and feminist/gender studies - above all, the issue of the status of the voice within the complexity of a body-textuality tension, and the issue of mapping the strategies of feminine writing in the contemporary vocal performance. Through the analysis of chosen case studies it highlights the possibility of making an alteration, transformation and re-signification of a firm structural linguistic/social order in the field of sound, thus creating a space for a feminine body to be heard.

Keywords

• feminine writing
• performance
• vocal expression