Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Popular Music and Culture

Supervisor

Dr. Norma Coates

Abstract

This thesis analyzes facets of resistance in the lyrics of female country music performers and explores how their articulations of female resistance draw on and rework Appalachian folk traditions within country music. Beginning with the musical practices of Appalachian women, who used music to lament their lives restricted by domestic responsibilities, this thesis examines expressions of female resistance through lyrical analysis, with a concentration on female country performers from 1995 to the present. Despite evolving into a performance tradition, female resistance in country music continues to address the lived experiences of its female audience. As such, the female resistance tradition is an enduring component of country music that has addressed women’s issues for nearly a century.

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