Music Defining Normative Contexts

M.B. Forbes

Abstract: This paper reviews selected literature surrounding the phenomenon of differing
normative contexts in which variable behaviors are performed and expected. Within a
discussion of the characteristics and purpose of normative contexts, the author explores
how various styles of music correspond with and can be used to define different normative
contexts. Music is involved in the formation of Identity, social control and community
practices, and music types are presented as viable units of analysis in studying different
behaviors and their motivations. That is, music types are useful to study because of their
strong associations with behavioral norms.

Contents

Preface..................................................................................3

Introduction............................................................................3

Behavior and Normative Contexts.........................................4

Normative Contexts and Music..............................................6

Activity Spaces---8

Lyrics Communicating Behavioral Standards........................9

Whats Good-----11

Conclusion.............................................................................12

Appendix A.............................................................................14

References............................................................................ 16

Preface
In the article Inciting Sociological Thought by Studying the Deadhead Community, Adams
(1998) expresses the difficulty she had trying to research Deadheads or members of the
cult-like community that spent decades as fans and followers of the iconic music group the
Grateful Dead. Her difficulties were not related to methodology, unfortunately, but with the
staunch refusal of many (but not all) in her various university Sociology departments to
acknowledge the academic legitimacy of her work. For some reason or another, Deadheads
were considered an undeserving population. She suffered many public and private
embarrassments and sanctions simply for daring to apply sociological analysis to an
unorthodox, but clearly epic social phenomenon. Many seemed to think her work was a
waste of time, and that she should direct her efforts to less time consuming projects
(apparently allowing her to focus on getting published). Her response to this was poignant:
We need to pay more attention to the process of being sociologists and less attention to
rates of productivity(1). It is this authors experience that thought in the field of Criminal
Justice could benefit from a similar Inciting.
Introduction
The study of Criminal Justice involves more than just concerning oneself with formal,
written laws and the enforcement thereof. Theoretically speaking laws are the generally
expected standards of behavior, violations of which causing punitive, "undesirable"
consequences. In this sense the concept of "law" extends far past the boundaries of
legislated policy and encompasses the realm of minute, interpersonal interactions. In
comparison to the legislated law, these "social" laws may involve very different: a)
standards of behavior b) methods of "legislating" or agreeing on said standards c) methods/
mechanisms of enforcement and d) spacial characteristics. In fact, the term "law" may have
become too connotative of inflexibility and universality to describe the fluidity with which
standards of behavior exist, are created and enforced at the interpersonal level. Research
into this phenomenon has commonly used variations of the terms "social/ normative
context" or "social/normative order" rather than "law" (all are used fairly interchangeably
here). This paper advocates studying behavior using the normative context as a main "unit
of analysis". That is, approaching behavior in terms of the normative context perceived by
the actor when the behavior occurs.
The core questions then in this regard are a) what are some integral, structural
characteristics of a normative context? b) how are normative contexts constructed (or
"legislated")? c) how are they then made perceptible to potential actors? d) how is the social
context involved in deciding their behavior? The answers to these questions, as the
literature will show, are quite intertwined: Contexts are created IN THE PROCESS of
making them perceptible to others (Kubrin, Weider, Gallimore, Perrone). Behavior is indeed
the physical mechanism by which this process is continually executed (Csordas, Perrone,
Snell and Hodgetts). Furthermore, as THE physical embodiment of the normative context,
behavior (and the perception thereof) is ostensibly the foundational "structure" upon which
the normative context is built (Csordas, Kubrin, Primack, Anderson). Another core question
brings with it the focus of this paper: given the relative intangibility of social contexts and the
ambiguity of their boundaries, how exactly can they be used as "units of analysis"? In other
words, how can we go about putting any kind of name or designator on separate, specific
normative contexts? This paper suggests that one way of identifying social contexts is by
the music they have come to be associated with.

The informative tasks of this literature review are multifold. It must primarily lay the
theoretical and empirical foundations for what a social/normative context IS and its origins.
More, it must demonstrate how these foundations are linked to behaviors and practices
surrounding particular types music and its significance to audiences. Rather than complete
these two tasks in sequence, the various contributions of music to social contexts are
discussed within the exploration of how these contexts are built and operate. Various nonmusical examples from the literature are used for effectiveness, to give the reader a more
agile and general grasp of ideas. Ultimately, this paper establishes how music can be used
to identify normative contexts and the standards of behavior therein.
Behavior and Normative Contexts
Returning to the concept of a normative or social context as "standards of behavior"
that are perceived by a potential actor, one might ask: what gives perceived social
contextual "laws" their "legitimacy"? How and why does the individual decide which of these
laws to adhere to? Stets and Burke (2000) uncover a plausible answer in their discourse
concerning the intersection of two social psychological theories: Identity theory and Social
Identity theory. These theories both see the ways individuals classify themselves as key to
understanding behavior. Social Identity theory asserts that individuals see themselves as a
part of a prototypical in-group: associating themselves with others whom they perceive as
having similar characteristics in a process called self-categorization. The natures of these
characteristics are various:
...all the attitudes, beliefs and values, affective reactions, behavioral norms (emphasis
added), styles of speech, and other properties that are believed to be correlated with the
relevant intergroup categorization(Stets and Burke p.225)
Note that these characteristics include the behavioral norms or standards of
behavior the individual has for themselves. A Social group is the population that can be
categorized by their sharing these relevant characteristics ("relevance" implying that the
process is situationally specific). A Social Identity is therefore described as a persons
acknowledgement of being in a given social group. Stets and Burke point out that the selfcategorization process accentuates perception of similarities and differences between self
and out-group individuals and also between self and other ingroup members. Further,
through another process called social-comparison, Social Identity theory states that people
internally selectively apply these accentuations such that they can judge their ingroups
positively and the outgroups negatively1 .
Identity Theory is distinguished from social identity theory in that it deals with an
individual role rather than a group:
In Identity Theory, the core of an identity is the categorization of the self as an
occupant of a role, and the incorporation into the self, of the meanings and expectations
associated with that role and its performance. These expectations and meanings form a set
of standards that guide behavior. In addition... the naming within identity theory includes all
the things (including self and other) that take on meaning in relation to our plans and
activities.(emphasis added)(p.225)
Thus in both theories individuals organize themselves based on the normative and
behavioral standards they hold themselves to. Stets and Burke elaborate, specifying that
1

Levine and Ruback (1980) work on pinpointing the precise mechanisms behind this process with
respect to the way individuals evaluate others who espouse different opinions.

the adoption of a group-identity has different consequences from that of a role-identity. They
cite various empirical studies indicating that the assumption of a group identity involves
alignment with the group on axes of individual decision-making, behavior and performance:
...being like others in the group, and seeing things from the group perspective...[They are]
more likely to participate in the groups culture, to distinguish themselves from the outgroup... (p.226).
In discussing the role-identity, Stets and Burke emphasize that a person is not
seeing themselves based on similarities with others like them, but on their uniqueness and
the distinct roles born from it in a given situation. In other words, the role-identity approach
stipulates that the adoption of a role is based on the perception of DIFFERENCES in the
people surrounding a person, and the way in which that person perceives AND performs
his/her own distinctness in that context.
To illustrate the overlapping parts of the two theories, Stets and Burke use the
example of teacher and student. For one, meanings and expectations are tied to each of
these roles, regarding performance and the relationships between these roles. At the same
time, teacher and student are social categories or groups that constitute...in-groups and outgroups.(p.228). They make clear that group-identification and role-identification are
simultaneous and constant. The group and the role are intertwined: a person plays a role in
the group, and group plays a role among groups. The group and role distinctions allow us to
conceptually place ourselves in multiple groups and roles at the same time and more or less
hierarchically. For instance, one can be a goalie (role) on the school soccer team (group)
while one fulfills duties of a student (role) at that school (group). Conversely, at practice the
goalies may have separate drills (group) each of them performing as a soccer player (role).
They all share the characteristic of being students at their school (group), and at games,
each is the guardian of her2 school's athletic reputation (role).
Thus every identity can be viewed as a role or a group. To the point of this paper,
Stets and Burke describe research 3 that shows how identities are deemed situationally
relevant by a given actor. Here the question posed is: WHEN is someone a soccer player
versus a student? In their terms, when is a particular identity "salient" or "activated"? In
answering this, the authors delve into exploring cognitive motivations, eventually discussing
how identity becomes behavior. They cite various literature between Social Identity and
Identity theorists proposing different motivational mechanisms that may determine whether
or not an identity will be activated. An example from the Social Identity perspective
introduces concepts of "accessibility" and "fit" (Bruner 1957, Oakes 1987) as determinants
of when a person will choose and "perform" any of their identities. The "Accessibility" of a
given identity is derived from two factors. The first is the set of ends or goals a person
perceives for himself in a given time and place. The second is the perception of "situational
objects", which are significant to the actor as means to his ends. In the terms of Social
Identity Theory, an identity is accessible when a person perceives themselves having
certain prototypical characteristics AS INFLUENCED BY their particular ends and the
perceived "situational objects" (objects with meaning) in a certain situation. For example,
when playing a soccer game, the "soccer player identity" is most accessible if the actor's
perceptions of situational objects (field, players, ref, day of week) and of their own goals
(winning, social esteem, sense of self-efficacy) determine that NOW is when those
identifying characteristics are "relevant". During a math test however, the identity of student
2

As we shall see, gender is another group/role identity that plays a signicant part in behavior
performance
3

Stryker 1980; Oakes 1987;Bruner 1957; Turner et al 1987; Stryker and Serpe 1982, 1994

(or perhaps Math Club member) is more accessible and thus more likely to be activated.
"Fit" of an identity is the intersection of the characteristics the person associates with that
identity and the perceived situation. Fit of a given identity can be described in comparative
or normative terms. An identity has comparative fit when the actor perceives relative
similarities between themselves and others in a given situation (e.g. the soccer player
identity may have overwhelming comparative fit at a soccer clinic). An identity has
normative fit when the actor perceives that its component characteristics are congruent
with the perceived normative order in a situation (e.g. after spending the weekend as a
clubber, one may need to re-assume the identity performance of Teacher on Monday).
Stets and Burke overview multiple ideas of what kinds of things these influencing
goals may be. Among these, the most prominently discussed goal was Self-esteem, which
was eventually conceptually broken down into alternatives like self-efficacy and socialapproval. Franks and Marolla (1976) discuss these two particular alternatives as
interacting dimensions of Self-esteem. The literature they bring to bear illustrates Selfesteem as having two sources. One source of self-esteem is the sense of self-efficacy that
comes from completing tasks: the intentions of the person to effect a certain consequence
on the world(325)4 The other source of self-esteem is the approval of others 5. This
formulation seems to run parallel respectively to the role-identity and group-identity
dichotomy seen in the Social/Identity theories. Both pairs involve self-imposed standards as
compared to the standards imposed by others. So the dimensions of self-esteem are
essentially analogous to those of Identity. Remembering that these two elements of Selfesteem are goals factored into ones choice of identity in a given situation, this particular
iteration of self-esteem shows it to be perhaps the foundational goal prompting the
performance of an identity. Again, the most important part of this argument is the existence
of both the internal and perceived external standards of performance in the mind of the
actor.
Normative Contexts and Music
Stets and Burke narrate a plausible description of normative contexts in operation.
But how are normative contexts established initially? The aforementioned concepts show
the working parts of our identities and the function that our ends/goals play in making any
one of them salient at any time. This process is based on our idea of what behaviors are
expected in a context we perceive. As mentioned in the introduction, the construction and
the perception of a normative context as well as the performances corresponding to that
normative context are all in fact intertwined.
In Theorizing Media as Practice, Couldry (2003) illuminates a path that connects
particular behaviors or practices with corresponding media. While arguing that the study of
media should expand from its traditional foci of media texts and production, Couldry
suggests the Practices related to media as fertile ground for more research. He draws
much of his foundation from the work of Swidler (2001) who proposed a conception of
culture as the combination of two publicly observable processes(11): Practice and
Discourse. He quotes the definition of Practices as routine activities (rather than
consciously chosen actions) notable for their unconscious, automatic, un-thought
character. Discourse is not what anyone says, but the system of meanings that allows
them to say anything at all (Swidler 2001). Couldry points out that the discourse Swidler
4

For more on the connection between self-esteem and efcacy, see Marsh and Craven (2006)

Ungar (1980) and Grove (1980) both address this phenomenon in-depth. The they use the term
impression management to describe changes in behavior due to perceived reception by observers.

identifies is in fact indistinguishable from the practices which are used to enact it. More to
the point, Couldry asserts that media is one aspect of culture about which practices and the
discourses they facilitate occur.
Snell and Hodgetts (2007) and Tekman and Hortacsu (2002) accept Couldrys
challenge and set about studying the practices that are related to media. In doing so, they
connect specific music to particular corresponding practices and discourses. In Heavy
Metal, Identity, and the Social Negotiation of a Community Practice(2007) Snell and
Hodgetts study a specific community in New Zealand, the members of which identify it as a
Heavy Metal Community, and its geographic focus: a metal bar (playing exclusively
metal music) called 6ft. Snell and Hodgetts demonstrate that the performances enacted in
this community such as distinctive dances (e.g. headbanging), and clothing (e.g. metal
band T-shirts and spiked accessories) are, in the terms of Stets and Burke, relevant
characteristics that define the social group Metallers. Moreover, this social group (with its
typical behaviors) is associated at root to the music they listen to as a core characteristic.
These conclusions are supported by Phillips (1999) who found amongst a sample of 329
Colorado State undergraduates that the principal use of personal music amongst them was
Identity formation(227). In discussing their statistics, they quote respondent comments
such as the one below:
His [singers] music can be used as a search for meaning of myself. I compare what
he says to what is happening in my life. I sometimes think into my actions to see if I am
doing what he is talking about, or why I am not. They sometimes force me to appreciate
myself as a person...(227)
Members of a social group defined by music are certainly not the only ones who
form an association of performative characteristics with the music they listen to. Others who
do not listen to that music also make associations with it. Tekman and Hortacsu (2002)
studied how listeners of different music are perceived among two samples of Turkish
students aged 17-27. The first sample were presented with 6 music types (Arabesk,
Classical, Pop, Rap, Rock, and Turkish Folk), and asked to list all the qualities that came to
their minds(280) of the people who listened to each of those kinds of music. For each
music type researchers took those adjectives which were used by at least 10% of the
respondents to describe its listeners. The number of these adjectives was systematically
reduced to 22 (accounting for things like synonyms) and the resultant list was presented to
the second sample. The second sample was asked, among other things, to rate each
adjective on a scale of 1-5 for its appropriateness to describe the listeners of each of the 6
music types 6. Respondents also described the differing reasons they perceived for
themselves and others listening to these music types and the settings in which they
envisioned such listening typically taking place. The researchers found that:
The qualities associated with individuals who would be listeners of different musical
styles were consistent with the social and historical origins of the styles... The dimensions
describing the listeners were also consistent with the qualities describing musical styles and
the reasons for listening to those styles... The data indicated correspondence between
characteristics of styles, reasons for listening to them, and their listeners.(283)
Activity Spaces
In exploring reasons for listening, Tekman and Hortacsu reveal that music may be
perceived differently with variations in where and when the music is experienced. Both Snell
6

Another central part of the study involved the social-comparison process seen in Social Identity
Theory . Respondents were asked to rate how desirable they perceived these characteristics to be. That
is, how much they themselves would like or dislike having these adjectives applied to themselves.

and Hodgetts and Couldry discuss the relevance of the space in which practices takes
place, and how the perceived characteristics of a space make certain identity performances
more salient. Gallimore et al(1993) and ODonnell et al 7(1993) delve into the mechanics of
this phenomenon. Studying at-home and in-school learning settings across cultures, they
demonstrate that perceived roles and resultant performances are determined by the
perceptions of given spaces as for particular activities. Snell And Hodgetts show this
phenomenon in action at the bar 6ft. There, Metal music is integral to the use of the space
by the community (434). As suggested by Couldry and Swidler, the music is associated in
the Metallers minds with particular practices/performances. With metal music dominating
the perception of the 6ft space, the space becomes for the enactment of Metaller practices
like their distinctive dances, clothing, and other performances. The distinction is so
complete, the authors describe instances where 6ft patrons would actually wear
mainstream clothing out in their daily lives, with their Metaller clothes underneath, ready
to be shown when they are in the metal environment. This serves as is a prime example of
individuals changing their identity performance as music triggers changes in their perceived
normative contexts.
Perrone (2009), in her qualitative study of behavioral norms in electronic music
dance clubs, uses the analogy of the carnival to iterate this exact concept:
Carnivals first occurred among peasant folk in feudal Europe, providing the
peasants with liminal spaces for pleasurable release...it provides a time and a place to
release and escape without questioning status quo...[It] allows sanctioned deviance... (82)
Perrone describes present day dance club spaces as a modern version of the same:
Clubs are play spaces with an alternative set of orderings based on excess and
consumption, and concentrated on fun 8. Dance Clubs legitimize behaviors that would
otherwise be considered deviant, and maintain a clear separation from the outside work
world(84)
A crucial component of this phenomenon is, in her words, the blurring boundary
between spectator and performer [i.e. entertainer](82). Particularly effective examples she
poses are the are the themes within clubs that may be associated with singular events or
may have been adopted by clubs in their normal operation. Using elaborate decorations,
lights, staged acts, and of course music selections, clubs create a thematic world within
their spaces. Here, clubbers can take part in the creation of the fantasy, wearing themeappropriate clothing and participating in theme related performances.(85) Snell and
Hodgetts also comment on the way decorations help create the metal theme:

The title of the ODonnell et al piece, Activity Settings as the Unit of Analysis: A Theoretial Basis for
Community Intervention and Development was the inspiration for the use of the term unit of analysis in
this piece. A crucial difference between the approaches in that paper and here is that unlike settings,
Music as a unit of analysis does not entail any distinct spacial bounds at all, though it may occur within
(and dene) them in some cases. Bennett (1999) engages this idea, promoting the term neo-tribe as a
description of the fairly amorphous, subjective and symbol based interconnections between members of
the modern social group. Similar themes, along with their causes and effects, are explored by Straw
(1991)
8

The way music facilitates the feeling of fun and other emotional responses is the subject of much
scientic focus across disciplines. Popescu(2011) and Justlin and Vastfjall (1998) examine some of the
psychological and physiological processes that accompany the experience of music.

We explore how Metaller stylization can move out from the body and manifest in the
decoration of the bar. In the process, the bar is conceptualized as a supportive activity
setting... Metaller symbols transform the physical space of the bar into a communal
environment congruent with a collective identity of the Heavy Metal Community9 (Snell and
Hodgetts)(438-440)
What are some other examples of music defining other normative contexts? Table 1
in Appendix A summarizes Perrones(2009) brief overview of a handful of historical drug
using subcultures(48) and the music types that helped define their particular performative
idiosyncrasies. In Clubbing Masculinities and Crime: A Qualitative study of Philadelphia
Nightclub Scenes T.Anderson et. al. (2009) illustrate the establishment of normative
contexts in hip-hop (HH) and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) dominated spaces (specifically
nightclub scenes in Philadelphia). They found that club spaces playing different music were
accompanied by different patterns of behavior. Further, individual respondents reported
adjusting their apparent characteristics between spaces defined by different music in
response to the perceived differences in the normative contexts there (i.e. selecting
identities with more accessibility and fit for the perceived situation.) For example, a
significant portion of respondents (all males) reported an increase in masculine traits
(defined in the study as: club competitiveness, excessive alcohol use, and girl chasing
behavior(315)) when entering a hip-hop or commercial dance music space as compared to
an EDM Space.
In A Nation of Millions: Hip-Hop Culture and the Legacy of Black Nationalism,
Watkins (2001) summarizes a history of Black Music (i.e. music with a distinct association
with the African American social group) and its various uses in defining the evolving African
American Identity throughout its history. Watkins describes how both music makers and
record execs influenced changes in the production and characteristics of so called black
music, morphing the associations it had with a political African American identity movement
to associations with the graphic depiction of socially disorganized culture in black
communities. These discussions surrounding the association of music types with political
stances or the use of music to depict social constructs inevitably leads to a discussion of
lyrics in music.
The active role of music lyrics in communicating Behavioral standards.
The studies in the previous section illustrate how music can become definitive of a
normative context without regard to whatever lyrics it might contain. These amount to the
more or less incidental association of music with specific practices. Music with lyrics is
subject to association just like music without. However, often the lyrics in music leave very
little room for this arbitrary appropriation. Instead through their words they communicate a
specific and pre-determined normative context. Because this paper is studying behavior, the
perception of these lyrically communicated contexts is not so much a focus here (one must
only understand the language for that perception to take place) as the change in standards
of behavior exposure to them has been shown to effect. To this end, this author has
adapted a previous discussion he outlined on that very topic to the present review.

Negus and Velasquez (2002) propose an alternative to this community effect of music: we highlight
some of the problems of thinking about musical practices via notions of community and solidarity and
suggest that equal attention should be paid to instances wen music is associated with ambivalence and
detachment rather than belonging(1)

Kubrin (2005) examines processes of cultural norm-forming as a function of musical

influences. Drawing on the work of Gubrium and Holstein (1997), Weider (1988) as well as
Anderson (1999) 10, Kubrin develops a constitutive perspective on language and music
lyrics. First, local differences in language and culture are proposed (citing Anderson 99) to
be adaptations to structural inequality. Most consequentially, this means that absence of
structures of social control that are present in other localities (police, parents, employers
etc.) give rise to a local code that becomes a living embodiment of social control, serving
as a shared accountability structure for actions(Weider). Kubrin contrasts the constitutive
view to the naturalistic view that lyrics are inspired by and descriptions of the cultures they
came from (365). The naturalist attributes verbal depictions of cultural norms (e.g.
retributive violence) in language as, at most, somewhat accurate descriptions, nothing
more. The constitutive perspective treats these descriptions as ultimately creative and
persuasive projects. Language then is a social action through which, among other things,
the wall between deviance and non-deviance is built. Words are not just describing
surroundings, but are:
constitutive of the intelligible characteristics of their [the speakers] world creat[ing] the
very social structures they were otherwise apparently just describingactively marking the
border between deviance and non-deviance through talk and interaction (Weider) 11
Both Weider and Gubrium and Holstein posit that these social actions combine to
form an interpretive code, wherein their subjects could understand the environment, and
more importantly the behaviors around them. In other words, language determined what
was/not a) a reasonable event (an event that could be understood) and b) a reasonable
reaction to that event.
Kubrins iteration of the concept was specific to rap music: lyrics create the sense of
a normative climate of violence. She stresses, violent conduct is too complex to be
explained by lyrics alone. In a further qualification, Kubrin cites Negus and Velasquez
(2002) to say that listeners may well simply disagree with the lyrics. However, the
interpretation of violent conduct in the black urban cultural setting is hugely informed by
corroborating descriptions in black urban music. Kubrin took a simple random sample of
632 songs from all 130 platinum 12 rap albums in 1992-2000(1,922 songs). She coded 403
of these for findings.13 Kubrin shows 6 street code elements 14 in terms of percentage of
songs they were found in: Respect (68%), Violence (65%), Material Wealth (58%),
Retaliation (35%), Nihilism 15 (25%) and Female Objectification (22%) (369). Kubrin goes on
to argue that the prevalence of Respect and Violence (and its willing use) in rap lyrics is
representative of social codes of conduct in black culture. Primarily, the concept of respect
is cited by Kubrin to be the single most valuable commodity in the black urban culture.

10 Gubrium and Holstein drew their conclusions from content analyses of interviews with incarcerated persons.
Weiders study analyzed Drug-offender halfway-house residents interview responses. Anderson (99) analyzed
interviews with mid-lower-class black Philadelphians.
11

I make similar arguments in my paper Language and Power, discussing how professionals like police and
teachers use language to literally create and manipulate social contexts and exert social control.
12

Sold over 1,000,000 copies

13

See Kubrin p.368

14

These elements were identified based upon a close examination of Anderson (1999)(p.368)

15

Belief that all values are baseless(368)

10

This may not be so different from most other cultures, but Violence is the primary tool for
gaining respect in the black urbs:
Lyrics instruct listeners that toughness and the willingness to use violence are
central to establishing viable masculine identity, gaining respect, and building a
reputation (375)
Again, the lyrics arent saying act violently. Rather, theyre saying if you see
someone acting violently a) it is probably for respect and b) you should give it to them. Also,
disrespect is undesirable, and not acting violently invites disrespect. The lyrics arent
directions. Theyre a statement of the facts: an ultimatum. These ultimatums are in truth the
foundations of a cultures dos and donts and, naturally, lyrics are an expression of them.
Much more than that, though, in rap they are a conduit through which language is not only
exemplified, but through usage re-enforced. When one is born with this context as his or her
only frame of reference for understanding the world, language is much more than
descriptive: it is creative. So while we as outside researchers might see violent rap lyrics
as simply expression of violent urban culture, someone inundated in that culture has these
lyrics among many modes of speech and behavior around them that create and reinforce
localized definitions of un/desirable. This is social control 16
Whats Good?
On a grander scale then, what is desirable in the music most American youth are
hearing? 15-18 year olds are exposed to 2.4 hrs of popular music on an average day
(Primack 2008). Primack Et al analyzed Billboards 279 most popular songs of 2005 for
portrayals of substance use. 17 A content analysis revealed that 33% of the sample songs
depicted substance use (n=93). A steep concentration exists in songs of the rap genre: 77%
of the 62 rap songs in the sample contained references.18 Alcohol and marijuana were
referenced in 23.7% and 13.6% of the sample respectively. Of the songs containing
references, social pressure (48%) and sex (30%) were the most commonly depicted
motivations for use. Sex was associated with substance use in 46% of substance use
references with violence associated in 29% and partying, 54%. 68% of the songs depicting
drug use did so with positive consequences. Measures like motivations and
consequences fall back on the definitions of what is desirable, and the associations we
have with those things. The frequency with which motivations and consequences are
attached to substance use supports the constructivist idea that lyrics (and language)
function to lend reason to behavior/phenomena. Thus explanations of why one did
something and its consequences build perceptions of what people may understand as
desirable.
Definitions of desirable sexual behavior (Martino et al 2008), personal appearance
(Gordon 2008) and mate characteristics (Carpentier et al. 2007) are also well established in
lyrics. There are documented correlations of exposure and perception/behavior in these
areas amongst otherwise similarly situated listeners. Martino et al (2008) studied the effects
of non-/degrading lyrics on sexuality in youth. They took a longitudinal 3 year national
telephone survey which 1242 (of 1461) completed all three time points. Surveys were
16

See Nye 1958

17 Specifically, the study sought lyrics referencing presence and explicit use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco as well as
motivations, associations, and consequences related to substance use.
18

The next highest concentration of songs with substance references within a genre occurred in Country, with 36%
of 61 songs. As an aside, Radio Today 2010 (the most recent release) shows Country music had the greatest share
(13%) of the American audience in 2009.

11

interviews about sexual experiences and a dozen+ factors linked to sexual initiation were
measured for. 938 were confirmed as virgins before exposure for certain analyses. Those
who listened to more degrading sexual content at the second time point (T2) were more
likely to subsequently initiate intercourse and to progress to more advanced levels of noncoital sexual activity (emphasis added). They linked exposure to degrading (though not
non-degrading) sexual lyrics with a broader range of sexual activity. The researchers cite
Social Cognitive theory, the idea that people learn behaviors via observation of their
functional value, as the theoretical backbone of their hypothesis. Under this logic, hearing
accounts of sexual activity without negative results lends to imitation and a perception of
which/when/with whom sexual activity is appropriate:
[According to] some versions of social learning theory what people learn from
media role models are scriptsinformation about what events are likely to occur in a
specific scenario and how a person should behave in that scenario, and what the likely
outcomes of their behavior will be. Sexual scripts establish norms and expectations about
howwith whom why and when appropriate settingand sequence of events (Martino
et al)
This is very reminiscent of the Constitutive perspective developed by Kubrin and
others. A possible explanation for non-degrading sexual lyrics not showing correlation is
that they are often accompanied by complications of romance, heartbreak, and vulnerability.
The researchers rather generally define degrading lyrics as those in which males treat
women as sexual objects whose only value is the sexual gratification. While this is
degrading, the simplicity of the arrangement may seem more desirable to females than
risking emotional pain by attaching importance to sex, especially when males can be
counted on not to.19
Conclusion
The phenomena discussed in this paper can and have been linked to many negative
effects, but they are in themselves neutral. Many things can be done to use them in ways
which support personal growth. In Art and Accountability Sommer (2005) argues forcefully
that the arts (including music, visual, and literary and performing arts) have a largely
forgotten responsibility in the active normative and interpretive education of populations in
which they are made and/or experienced:
Teachers are agents of culture who multiply the lessons they learn by reaching
masses of students...Humanists [practitioners of the arts] may want to add a reflexive
question to research agendas and to lesson plans: how does our interpretive or pedagogical
work affect the world?... Humanists seldom investigate the social effects of interpretation.
The silence is curious because humanists obviously do something to the social environment
by affecting the values and hopes of students and general readers...The appropriate
question about agency is not if we exercise it, but how self-consciously we do so...(262)
In Media Literacy Intervention(2012) this author presented a Language Arts
curriculum adapted from a Philadelphia Charter school, First Philly, with a stated focus on
19Nottomen2on,femalear2stshaveshownthemselvesquitecapableofobjec2fyingmales.Aswomen

increasinglytakecontroloftheirsexuality,Ihazardwemaybemovingtowardsobjec2ca2onofsexratherthan
ofthepeoplewehaveitwithi.e.aweakeningassocia2onbetweenthevalueoftheactandthevalueofthe
person.

12

English literacy. The new curriculum specifically included measures for teaching the
application of critical thinking in the process of interpreting not just literary texts but also the
contemporary media students encounter on a regular basis. In the same spirit of Sommer,
this approach advocates affecting a realization on the part of students of the ways media
and its associations are connected to their behavior. One point Sommer stresses, however,
is not just the duty of arts educators but also artists themselves to act as agents of
progress 20. An example of this concept in action is the Canta Conmigo Reintegration
Program in Columbia. As journalist Marco Werman (2009) puts it, Canta Conmigo amounts
to a school for the performing arts that scouts talent among decommissioned FARC rebels
and other Colombian guerilla groups. After an audition, former fighters are given free
music lessons. Participants leave the program having recorded and performed a cd of their
own compositions. The programs spokes person is the superstar Columbian singer
Fonseca. In an interview with Werman, Fonseca noted the discrepancy between what he
knew of the histories of Canta Conmigo participants 21, and his perception of them in the
program: When Im here, I dont think about terrorism or things like that. Its just like a
musical environment. Werman interviews former ghters who told of the rigors of the
guerilla army normative context. Sara Morales, forced into ghting for the FARC, recounts
falling in love with a fellow soldier, which is forbidden by FARC leaders. After bearing two
children in the jungle, she had to ee for her life and the lives of her children, even once
carrying her son into combat. Had she not escaped, they were all liable to be killed for the
violation. The FARC also incidentally forbade singing. Another interviewee was the ex-head
of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC (The United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia), an umbrella paramilitary group which fought against the FARC. Thus this
musical environment created by Canta Conmigo brings former mortal enemies, sworn to
one-anothers demise, literally into harmony.
This paper outlines identity as a sort of reflexive legislator and enforcer of a
perceived social law or set of normative/behavioral standards. The use of different music
types as signifiers of Identities (and their (characteristic standards) is a compelling reason
to examine their utility as units of analysis. A further reason to use music types as units of
analysis is the role music plays in defining activity settings and facilitating the performance
of the particular roles involved in those activities. Even more, the demonstration of musics
use to communicate normative contexts (i.e. sets of specific situational performative
expectations) begs the examination of links between music exposure and the perceived
salience of associated identity performances.

Appendix A

20

Among the examples she gives are the eccentric but effective policies of Antanas Mockus, Mayor of
Bogota, Columbia, who famously employed mimes in lieu of traffic police for a limited time as a means of
reawakening awareness of once ignored traffic laws.
21

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Table 1

Social Group
Name and Time
Period

Relevant
Characteristics
and Slang

Associated Music
(Genre and /or
examples)

The Cats
(1940s-1950s)

- People of Color,
-Expensive Clothing,
-Rejection of
Square(White) values,
-Use of Heroin,
-Hustles (Conning),
-Kicks (Fun),
-Tend to reside in least
desirable parts of cities,
-Extensive knowledge
of music and fashion

Jazz,
Charlie Yardbird
Parker,
Al Benson

The Rockers (Late

1950s)

- Contempt for

Classic Rock
The Rolling Stones
(I Cant get no
Satisfaction), The
Who

The Hippies
(1960s)

-Came from all classes

-Rejected traditional
sex values, race and
gender stereotypes
- Engaged in social
movements (e.g. antiVietnam, Civil Rights)
-Long Hair
-Females: No Bras
-Experimental Drug
Use
-Culture originated in
California

unskilled and menial

jobs
- Upheld patriarchal
norms of Masculine
prestige
- Rode motorcycles
- Wore Black Leather
and metal studs

Janis Joplin,
Political Musicians,
Grateful Dead

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Social Group
Name and Time
Period

Relevant
Characteristics
and Slang

Associated Music
(Genre and /or
examples)

The Punks and

Skinheads (Late
1970s/ Early
1980s)

-Hatred for employment

structure
-Nihilistic and Disturbed
Ideology
-Use of Barbiturates
-Culture originated in
Britain
-Punks: freaky
multicolored hairstyles,
kilts, bondage trousers,
swastikas, cockney
speech, vulgarity,
sexual deviance
-Skinheads: Close
cropped hair, model
worker clothes,
backlash against
immigration

No fucking
bosses...get off our
bleedin Backs,
Mists, Generation
X(Billy Idol)

The Burnouts
(Mid-1980s)

-High top sneakers

-T-shirts from metal
concerts
-Smoking Cigarettes
-Long hair
-Rode Skateboards
-Nihilistic, depressed
view of life
-Marijuana, Beer,
Liquor, Crack/ Cocaine,
PCP use
-White, Suburban
Families

Metallica (how
society ate people
up alive and the
dying of the human
soul), Iron Maiden,
Ozzy Osbourne

Text quoted from: Perrone(2009) pp.48-53

15

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(The above transcript can be found at: http://www.pri.org/theworld/?q=node/25300)

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