THE CONSTRUCTION OF GENDERED IDEOLOGY IN ALCOHOL, BHANG, AND SEX REFERENCED KENYAN POPULAR MUSIC
Keywords:
GENDERED IDEOLOGY, ALCOHOL, KENYA, POPULAR MUSICSynopsis
The purpose of this research was to understand construction of gender ideology and power relations in alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced Kenya popular music. The study described the role and the characteristic of alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced Kenyan popular music in construction of gendered representations, examines the modes of representation of men and women in the music, and explain textual strategies of composition in music that that have been used to construct and legitimize gendered representations. This is a descriptive qualitative study because it analyses data without trying to establish the relationship between listening to the music and the consumption of the substances and involvement in sex. Fairclough’s strand of critical discourse analysis was used, both as a theory and as a method of analysis because it provides theoretical
foundation and specific methods for analysis of discursive practices. Purposive sampling was used to select 17 alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced Kenyan popular songs sang by artists Jua Cali, DNA, Jimwat, Pilipili, Mejja, DNG, Kenrazy Kaya and Le Duq, Shuttle, Prince Moroko, Chelele, Camp Mulla, Idris, Jones, Fujo Makelele, Rich, POP, and Lavati, that have been played on Kenyan FM stations between from 2000 to 2015. The 17 popular songs were selected expressly on the basis of their gender representations, or the way they construct relations between men and women. The period in which the music was sang was choosen because it was the time when there was a burst of alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced music. The focus was mainly on lyrics composed by male artists. Two songs that were composed by female artists were analysed to see if they also construct gender ideology. Data collection was done by using the internet to search for and download music lyrics (both audio and transcribed lyrics). Though CDs or DVDs of alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced Kenyan popular music could be bought, internet was used as a tool to search and download MP3 (defined as audio of a song that has been compressed into a very small place, to enable digital storage and transmission) versions of the songs because most Kenyan popular songs are available on the internet and they can be accessed with ease. The songs were then transcribed and analysed. The findings of this research revealed that alcohol, bhang, and sex referenced Kenyan popular music, through articulation of a variety of discourses legitimize alcohol, bhang, and commercial sex, and in the process construct gendered ideologies and power relations. The findings also reveal various modes of gender representations and certain textual strategies used to construct gendered representations.
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Published
February 12, 2016
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