Glam “Heroines”. Gaps in Glam Historicisation from Black Self-Feminised Musicians to the Herstory of Glam Rock

The narration of glam music, especially glam rock, as queer is countered by a canonisation of male white icons in pop musicology, which is illuminated and expanded in this article. Early glam performances by self-feminised Black musicians (Ward 1998) as well as the music making of female agents of glam rock are at the center of this exploration. Firstly, an outline of the current gender and race specific remembrance of glam rock is given. Secondly, the “glamorous” origins of glam music are questioned with Ward; musical canon of glam is also re-arranged regarding the category of gender by adding the basic biographies of two further female heroines, Bobbie McGee and Cherrie Vangelder-Smith. They are present in digital (DIY) media within practices of affective archiving (Baker 2015), which enable lyrics interpretation in this paper.

Speculation over the Love for Rock Music. Media Constructions of Groupies Between the 1960s and 1970s

The music media have constructed the identity of groupies as sexual and passive objects, submissive, inauthentic consumers of music. The stereotype, although still present in popular culture, is criticized by both the interested parties and rock artists. This article is an attempt to discuss the role that groupies played in the creation of the myth and character of the rock god, while taking into account the preconceived assumptions held by the popular media. Narratives of groupies’ participation in the emerging rock and metal scene have also been included as the ones which created a male rock musician identity: wild, aggressive and powerful. The basis for the discussion of groupies and their role in building identity in the context of rock music is the result of a deep, rhetorical analysis of groupies’ biographies, press materials, films, scientific literature and own research.

Women to the Placards! The Socio-economic Situation of Female Choreographers in the Male World of Ballet Art

The ballet environment is very specific – hermetic and small. Analysing the history and literature of ballet as well as looking at the contemporary repertoire of leading ballet companies, it is easy to notice the numerous domination of women, which does not determine their dominance in the creative (choreography) and management sphere. In Poland, in the season 2019/2020, 6 out of 9 largest, primer ballet companies are headed by men. As research has shown, it is the male gender that has been dominating in choreography for years, constituting the spectacles shown on the stages and, as a result, the ballet heritage. The article Women tothe placards! The socio-economic situation of female choreographers in the male world of ballet art shed light on the labour market of Polish choreographers working in leading ballet companies, pointing out the prevailing inequalities between men and women who are involved in ballet choreography. In this study, I apply the methods of social sciences (documentary evidence analysis – repertoire and labour force of 9 primer Polish ballet companies in the season 2019/2020), I analyse the data collected during the study Estimation of the number of artists, creators and performers in Poland (Ilczuk et al. 2018), whilst cultural economics is the theoretical framework of my study. This theoretical-methodical base allowed me to expose the inequalities, potential causes and dependencies that exist on the labour market of artists creating ballet choreographies. An immanent feature of this market is the deficit of women.

Around the Issue of the Body in Feminist Narratives of Selected Pop Artists of the Young Generation

Feminism in music is not a new concept, but we can observe a new wave of pop feminism in pop music, in a younger generation of female artists. They are open to discuss taboo topics, connected to carnality, sexuality, body positivity or feminism. The artists such as Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Pink, Avril Lavigne or Taylor Swift, with more courage are presenting in their creation, until now – taboo topics, rejected in mainstream music. They are not afraid of portraying topics, such as: sexual freedom, women’s rights, the objectification of women, men power and domination, social injustice, fat shaming, slut-shaming, or existence of unfair stereotypes. They are also advocating the legalization of homosexual relationships, race equality and human rights.

Report from the Interdisciplinary Scientific Conference Cyberkultura 3.0... Aspekty medialne, kulturoznawcze, psychologiczne, prawne, [“Cyberculture 3.0. Media, Cultural, Psychological and Legal Aspects”], 17–18 June 2021, held online, The Pedagogical Uni

On 17–18 June 2021, the domestic interdisciplinary scientific conference entitled Cybercultura 3.0 Aspekty medialne, kulturoznawcze, psychologiczne, prawne was held online. It was organised by the Media Research Centre of the Institute of Polish Philology at the Pedagogical University in Krakow, the “Prawo Informacyjne, Media i Własność Intelektualna w Nowych Technologiach” [Information Law, Media and Intellectual Property in New Technologies] research team of the Institute of Law and Economics of the Pedagogical University and the Academy of Law of New Technologies of the Pedagogical University in Krakow.

Transfigurations of the Emploi and Artistic Manifestations of Female (Heavy) Metal Singers

The studies of (heavy) metal culture, the oeuvre of female artists, singers, lyricists, etc., still await in-depth interdisciplinary research endeavours. This article devoted special attention to female artists whose artistic, stage and image activities largely employ strategies of provocation, scandalisation, “ceremonial profanation.” When it comes to image (self)creation, an interesting category is the process of variability and fluidity of the emploi, especially in relation to subversive and transgressional activities. Wendy Orlean Williams, Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey from Butcher Babies discussed here have aroused frequent controversies in their activity in the patriarchal system of popular culture. The subversive artistic and image strategies used by the singers are nevertheless a part of the over fifty-years-long history and aesthetics of metal culture. The oeuvre of the Californian band forms an evident dialogue with the provocative art of the eccentric singer Williams. The colourful artistic emploi of those female artists attests to the diversity and complexity of metal culture.

The Future is Female! Trans(human) Voices of Cher and Anohni

In this article, I want to present trans(human) Cher and Anohni’s voice qualities. Both singers represent ambiguous and queer forms of femininity that denaturalizes the concept of gender and entangles the listener into a transgressive aesthetic experience. By using the cyborg metaphor proposed by Donna Haraway and the concept of the grain of voice by Roland Barthes, I want to show how a female voice can become a critical form of resistance to the patriarchal and misogynistic conception of femininity.

“I Disagree”: Narratives of Empowerment in Poppy’s Project

In this article I shall examine how Poppy uses her extreme grotesque effect to construct visual, audial and lyrical narratives of empowerment – in gender, personal, and musical context. I shall shed a light on the way her self-awareness as a female vocalist deconstructs the image of ‘metal woman’ – through subversive combination of hyperfeminine image with aggressive music and involved lyrics – to expose excluding paradigms which determine female presence in metal. Finally, I shall show how her post-genre aesthetics undermines hardened determinants of what is, and what is not ‘metal’.

Report on the International Scientific Conference “Progect 2021. Towards a Contemporary Understanding of Progressive Rock and Metal”, 19–21, 26–28, May 2021, held online, University of Ottawa, Canada

The pandemic is not in favour of any scientific symposia and conferences, especially the international ones. Many have been cancelled, while some managed to migrate into the Internet. This was the case of the conference organised by the Progect Network for the Study of Progressive Rock, entitled ‘Progressive Rock and Metal: Towards a Contemporary Understanding’ and originally scheduled to take place in May 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. Due to pandemic restrictions, the event was first moved to 2021 to finally, a few months later, offer a fully remote and “virtual” formula; hence the name change to Virtual Progect.

Mira Kubasińska – Career Development and Evolution of the Artistic Image in the Years 1963–1973

Mira Kubasińska (1944–2005) was one of the most characteristic figures in female pop that appeared in the big beat era on the Polish scene. She was recognised because of her outstanding vocal abilities, natural gift for shaping lyrics, exceptional expression and an extraordinary sense of rhythm. Her artistic creation, completely devoid of stylisation, posing and mannerisms, fully reflected her temperament, philosophy of life and disregard for opportunistic attitudes. The peak of Kubasińska’s stage activity falls within the period of 1966–1973 and encompasses cooperation with bands led by her husband Tadeusz Nalepa – Blackout and Breakout. During that period, she released two solo albums (Mira and Ogień) and climbed to the top. Starting in the mid–1970s, the singer’s career suffered a serious blow, which was a result of Tadeusz Nalepa’s stylistic turn towards blues as well as the end of their marriage and a resulting personal crisis. This artist has not been the subject of scientific scrutiny as of yet, so this text aims to fill this gap. Apart from the biographical thread, the author attempts to analyse the singer’s oeuvre and describe the evolution of her artistic image. The text also presents a broader context of the circumstances on the Polish popular music scene in the 1960s and 1970s.