Reviewed by: Gamelan Girls: Gender, Childhood, and Politics in Balinese Music Ensembles by Sonja Lynn Downing Meghan Hynson (bio) Gamelan Girls: Gender, Childhood, and Politics in Balinese Music Ensembles. Sonja Lynn Downing. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2019. New Perspectives on Gender in Music. xiv + 238 pp., 21 black-and-white photographs, 1 line drawing, 2 maps, 1 table, notes, glossary, bibliography, index. ISBN: 978-0-252-04271-3 (hardcover), $110.00; ISBN: 978-0-252-08455-3 (paperback), $28.00; ISBN: 978-0-252-05157-9 (e-book), $19.95. Sonja Downing’s monograph compiles nearly two decades of ethnographic fieldwork on the participation of young girls in the traditionally male-dominated gamelan ensembles of Bali. Seeking to move beyond mere documentation of women playing gamelan, she references scholarship on the sociology of children and childhood theory to draw attention to the role that children play in social change and gender construction. In particular, she positions young girls as active rather than passive agents in the changing milieu of attitudes toward female musicality and identity in Bali and highlights how they are important participants in resisting suppressive cultural and political imperatives in Balinese music and society. Chapter 1, “Clubs of Small Women,” recalls Colin McPhee’s book A Club of Small Men (1948) and outlines the traditional, governmental, and private organizations that have historically supported or restricted female musicians. These include seka (informal organizations supporting village activities), the caste system, banjar (neighborhood organizations), conservatories, competitions, public schools, and sanggar (private studios). Downing primarily focuses on privately owned performing arts studios (sanggar), as she argues that “sanggar are sites of more robust support, satisfaction, and success for their female members than are the conservatories” (43). In chapter 2, she reports on the activities, histories, key figures, and motivations for involving female musicians of several major sanggar, including Sanggar Çudamani, Sanggar Maha Bajra Sandhi, and Sanggar Pulo Candani Wiswakarma. Although the private ownership of these organizations allows for artistic freedom and achievement of personal priorities without being under the control of the government or traditional organizational structures, the ways that young girls in conserva-tories, public schools, and other institutions are asserting agency to reshape gendered discourses are not expanded on at length. This is not a criticism but [End Page 145] an observation, as Downing does mention these contexts for female participation; more significant and concrete research in these areas is needed, however. Downing’s book provides a solid foundation for anyone wishing to undertake such a study. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the “myriad often conflicting ideologies and cultural politics that influence and constrict their [female musicians’] behavior in and beyond rehearsal, on and off stage” (68). These include ideologies of gender and identity; constructions of Balinese childhood and musical childhood; religious and national sentiments; discourses from the Indonesian women’s movement (emansipasi wanita); the movement to strengthen Balinese customs, religion, and identity (Ajeg Bali); and globalization, rampant commercialization, and consumerism. These chapters are two of the strongest in the book, as they untangle the complicated web of local, national, and global dis-cursive tenants influencing gender and identity formation for young girls in Bali. Downing clarifies how complex it is for gamelan directors and community leaders to counteract and resist suppressive ideologies and demonstrates why providing female musicians with opportunities to exert agency and to challenge gendered discourse is a difficult process that, despite having made significant progress, continues to be ongoing. How gamelan girls negotiate ideological influences and conceptualize their female identities is explored in chapter 5. Downing draws on theories of gender identity construction to describe how children negotiate what is socially appropriate gendered behavior from a young age. Within the context of Balinese gamelan, this includes how young girls confront gendered stereotypes associated with repertoire, ensemble choreography, and individual “movement style,” or gaya. She observes that young girls playing gamelan are exerting agency and resisting stereotypes by playing challenging repertoire and creating, adapting, and embodying performance styles that defy preconditioned ideas of how girls should move and play. Furthermore, Downing describes how girls exert agency by taking on important leadership roles such as the position of lead drummer or kendang player; many girls self-censor...
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Dec 7, 2023
Ketut Ayu Ely Ernawati + 1
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