This study attempts to address a gap in existing subcultural research. While there has been extensive work done on the experiences of men in subcultural groupings, the examination of women's experiences is sadly lacking. Using a combination of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing, this study looks at the role women play in the local rock music scene. Some interesting themes emerge that challenge existing notions that women are either marginal or absent from subcultural activity. Women in the scene occupy a richly contradictory social position. While they exercise an impressive degree of sexual and financial autonomy, as illustrated by their initiation of relationships and breadwinner roles in partnerships with male musicians, they also adopt many goals and behaviors typically associated with mainstream constructions of proper femininty. Women in the rock scene are seldom performers, instead they are concentrated i n the role of the "nurturent caretaker" (Cole 1993: 89/90) allowing the male musicians to retain recognition, prestige and power in the scene. This construction of the male role as central reflects the acceptance of patriarchal ideology in the scene and obscures the contribution of women to the material maintenance of the subculture. Women's roles in the scene can be characterized as a simultaneous acceptance and rejection of mainstream prescriptions for feminine behavior. While women in the rock scene are undeniably the focus of much sexual objectification and exploitation, they cannot be viewed as either passive or dependent. Women are described by scene members as sexually powerful decision makers, and although women's power is cast in disappointingly sexual terms, it is the active nature of this sexuality that leads me to describe women not as "passive" sexual objects, but rather as "active" sexual objects. Women's experiences in the rock scene are inextricably linked to heterosexual relations with male musicians. While rock women focus on the same goals of marriage and motherhood as mainstream women, their relationships are characterized by complications imposed by the rock lifestyle. According female participants, the overt sexuality of the scene, lack of financial stability , and the consuming nature of the music business combine to challenge the maintenance of a healthy relationship with a musician. However, while women's willingness to deal with such obstacles is puzzling, it can be seen as determination to transcend traditional limitations on masculine and feminine roles. The rock scene, despite its disproportionate consequences for women, offers both women and men alternatives to mainstream constructions of masculinity and femininity. The scene is identified by both female and male participants as offering excitement, spontaneity and passion absent in mainstream society.

This study attempts to address a gap in existing subcultural research. While there has been extensive work done on the experiences of men in subcultural groupings, the examination of women's experiences is sadly lacking. Using a combination of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing, this study looks at the role women play in the local rock music scene. Some interesting themes emerge that challenge existing notions that women are either marginal or absent from subcultural activity. Women in the scene occupy a richly contradictory social position. While they exercise an impressive degree of sexual and financial autonomy, as illustrated by their initiation of relationships and breadwinner roles in partnerships with male musicians, they also adopt many goals and behaviors typically associated with mainstream constructions of proper femininty. Women in the rock scene are seldom performers, instead they are concentrated i n the role of the "nurturent caretaker" (Cole 1993: 89/90) allowing the male musicians to retain recognition, prestige and power in the scene. This construction of the male role as central reflects the acceptance of patriarchal ideology in the scene and obscures the contribution of women to the material maintenance of the subculture. Women's roles in the scene can be characterized as a simultaneous acceptance and rejection of mainstream prescriptions for feminine behavior. While women in the rock scene are undeniably the focus of much sexual objectification and exploitation, they cannot be viewed as either passive or dependent. Women are described by scene members as sexually powerful decision makers, and although women's power is cast in disappointingly sexual terms, it is the active nature of this sexuality that leads me to describe women not as "passive" sexual objects, but rather as "active" sexual objects. Women's experiences in the rock scene are inextricably linked to heterosexual relations with male musicians. While rock women focus on the same goals of marriage and motherhood as mainstream women, their relationships are characterized by complications imposed by the rock lifestyle. According female participants, the overt sexuality of the scene, lack of financial stability , and the consuming nature of the music business combine to challenge the maintenance of a healthy relationship with a musician. However, while women's willingness to deal with such obstacles is puzzling, it can be seen as determination to transcend traditional limitations on masculine and feminine roles. The rock scene, despite its disproportionate consequences for women, offers both women and men alternatives to mainstream constructions of masculinity and femininity. The scene is identified by both female and male participants as offering excitement, spontaneity and passion absent in mainstream society. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate