ABSTRACT
In music therapy to date, discussions of gender and sex have adhered to fixed binaries. Even our explorations of sexism have been centred on this fixed understanding of gender. Such rigid ways of conceptualising gender and sex not only limit the expression and experience of those who identify within the binaries, but they also exclude and leave out those who do not identify within them. Many scholars recognise the complexity of both gender and sex, and this can be noticed when considering trans-gender, gender-queer, inter-sexed, and non-binary individuals: that is, those who break the codes of what it means to be a man or woman and those who do not identify as either gender, but as both, neither, or somewhere in-between. In an effort to take an anti-oppressive stance with gender and sex within the creative arts therapies, in this chapter we will expand and queer our understandings of both identity markers. This chapter will explore the implications of a binary framework on gender and sex, particularly within therapeutic spaces, and the importance of queering our understanding so that we truly practice from within an anti-oppressive stance. We will specifically explore how, within therapeutic contexts, gender is a constant negotiation, and how the singing voice, the speaking voice, and non-verbal communication is mediated within this context. Furthermore, we will explore ways in which music therapy can be a space to both challenge/dismantle binaries and also a space to validate a person’s gender identity and expression.
