Our Mission
The LGBTQ+ Study Group was established in 2016 with the support of professional bodies throughout the UK and Ireland, including the Royal Musical Association (RMA), the British Forum for Ethnomusicology (BFE), the Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI), and the UK & Ireland branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). The Group’s mission is to promote academic inquiry into issues of gender and sexuality in the study of music, and to support scholars who research such issues across disciplinary and national boundaries. We seek to maintain an inclusive space for learning, exploration and discussion in which diversity is welcomed and celebrated; membership is not restricted to those who identify in relation to LGBTQ. Recognizing intersections of race, ethnicity, class, caste, age and ability, the Group aims to create an active researcher network that encourages critical thinking, academic publications, musical performance, political engagement, outreach and inreach projects and activist interventions while serving as a safe space and system of support for all members. It also serves as a consulting body for wider issues of diversity and inclusion within music research, education and performance. Through symposia, regular reading group meetings, online networks and an active presence at international conferences, we seek to advance academic and public understanding of issues including but not limited to those surrounding gender, sexuality, queer theory and feminism in the study of music.
Stay tuned for information about our next social day (in the autumn) and symposium (in the spring).
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Visit our sister organisations, the ICTM Study Group on Music and Gender, the LGBTQ Study Group of the American Musicological Society and the Queer Resource Group of the Society for Music Theory.
