Identity-in-the-work and musicians’ struggles: the production of self-questioning identity work

Paul Hibbert,Nic Beech,Charlotte Gilmore,Sierk Ybema

doi:10.1177/0950017015620767

Paul Hibbert, Nic Beech + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017015620767

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Abstract

Identity work is widely regarded as a process through which people strive to establish, maintain or restore a coherent and consistent sense of self. In the face of potential disruptions of, or threats to, their identities, people seek to salvage their sense of self by resolving tensions and restoring consistency. In contrast to the current identity work literature, this research indicates that identity work is not always about seeking resolution and moving on, but sometimes about continuing struggles which do not achieve a secure sense of self. This article seeks to elaborate the understanding of unresolved identity work by exploring three contexts of the everyday practice of indie musicians. An analysis of how they struggle to construct acceptable versions of their selves as songwriter, bandleader and front(wo)man allows us to develop the conceptualization of self-questioning (as opposed to self-affirmative, resolution-oriented) identity work.

Highlights

Identity work has usually been associated with people seeking to ‘solve’ a ‘problem’, a process in which they ‘are continuously engaged in forming, repairing, maintaining, strengthening or revising the constructions’ of their selves which produce a sense of ‘coherence and distinctiveness’ (Alvesson and Willmott, 2002: 626)
Unlike other findings in the creative industries where the struggle appeared to be with something external in the social context (Gotsi et al, 2010) such as ‘the company’ or the demands of clients (Elsbach, 2009), in our case the very struggles appeared to be intrinsic to the identity and practice of the musicians
Our aim was to understand what kinds of identity work were going on in the process of self-questioning such as those of the indie musicians, and to gain some insight into how the identity work related to the work practices and context

Summary

Introduction

Identity work has usually been associated with people seeking to ‘solve’ a ‘problem’, a process in which they ‘are continuously engaged in forming, repairing, maintaining, strengthening or revising the constructions’ of their selves which produce a sense of ‘coherence and distinctiveness’ (Alvesson and Willmott, 2002: 626) From this viewpoint, people are seen as continuously working towards a sense of self that is clear, coherent and distinctive (Watson, 2009). Identity studies tend to cast light on individuals’ solutions rather than the struggle itself, presenting identity struggles as a transitory, teleological process that seeks to shore up, restore and secure an individual’s sense of self It is this discord in indie musicians’ identity construction that we aim to record in this article

Objectives

Conclusion