Reconsidering Rave

Abstract

Fans of electronic dance music often speak in terms of "PLUR" (peace, love, unity, respect) to describe their favourite scenes. In this presentation, Tami Gadir will address such claims in relation to her forthcoming book, which argues that such utopian dance floors are the exception, not the rule. Clubbers physically harass others based on gender and racial prejudices. Booking agents use myths about merit and artistry to justify their under-booking of women, transgender, and non-binary DJs. And music technology corporations contribute to an inequitable labour market by outsourcing their manufacturing to free-trade zones in the developing world. Grounded in field work, the accounts of dance music participants across the globe, and a feminist conceptual perspective, this presentation argues that even so-called underground club cultures–-like all musical cultures, and indeed, all of human culture–-are bound up with the social injustices of a global free-market.