Mode of Program Participation
Academic Scholarship
Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
"Amongst the Ladies All": Gendered Violence in Appalachian Balladry
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
In Appalachian balladry instances of extreme violence and death are as common as themes of love, and usually go hand-in-hand. In many cases for the ballad woman the outcome is marriage, harm, or death. Feminist readings of Old World ballads have labelled them as episodes of misogynist violence which serve to normalize and reinforce patriarchal ideas of sexuality, courtship, and marriage. Indeed, most female characters appear merely in relation to a man as a lover or relative, and often in opposition of cultural norms. Scholars have also labelled the American-born murder ballad as representing a disapproval of a more “modern” female sexual freedom. However, in both traditions there exist examples of ballads that invert traditional gender roles of the time, and in American ballads the man is often just as “guilty” as the woman. Through analysis of ballads such as “Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender”, “Mathie Groves”, “Pretty Polly”, and the repertoire of ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams I will explore the prevalence of femicide in Appalachian ballads. These cases show that while content of ballads may function as a means of reinforcing norms of the patriarchy, it also can serve as a coded means of critique of those same structures. In many instances women have been the tradition-bearers of ballad singing, and some have used these seemingly sexist songs as forms of empowerment. Thus, while ballads serve to influence women in adherence to “traditional” gender roles, they also function to critique male deviance from social norms.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Ben Duvall-Irwin is an MA student at Appalachian State University's Center for Appalachian Studies.
"Amongst the Ladies All": Gendered Violence in Appalachian Balladry
In Appalachian balladry instances of extreme violence and death are as common as themes of love, and usually go hand-in-hand. In many cases for the ballad woman the outcome is marriage, harm, or death. Feminist readings of Old World ballads have labelled them as episodes of misogynist violence which serve to normalize and reinforce patriarchal ideas of sexuality, courtship, and marriage. Indeed, most female characters appear merely in relation to a man as a lover or relative, and often in opposition of cultural norms. Scholars have also labelled the American-born murder ballad as representing a disapproval of a more “modern” female sexual freedom. However, in both traditions there exist examples of ballads that invert traditional gender roles of the time, and in American ballads the man is often just as “guilty” as the woman. Through analysis of ballads such as “Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender”, “Mathie Groves”, “Pretty Polly”, and the repertoire of ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams I will explore the prevalence of femicide in Appalachian ballads. These cases show that while content of ballads may function as a means of reinforcing norms of the patriarchy, it also can serve as a coded means of critique of those same structures. In many instances women have been the tradition-bearers of ballad singing, and some have used these seemingly sexist songs as forms of empowerment. Thus, while ballads serve to influence women in adherence to “traditional” gender roles, they also function to critique male deviance from social norms.
