Movement for positive change gathers momentum
English Dance and Song Summer 2021
A slightly shorter version of this article appears in English Dance and Song, the magazine of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The world’s oldest magazine for folk music and dance, EDS was first published in 1936 and is essential reading for anyone with a passion for folk arts.
The folk scene, rightfully, is celebrated for its friendliness and inclusivity, but as a community, we’re discovering that we can all do more to work towards gender equality. Sarah Jones discusses a movement that’s working towards a safer, more inclusive folk scene.
In 2020, the #MeToo movement reached the folk scene when a number of courageous young women came forward with accounts of sexual abuse and harassment by male musicians in the UK and Ireland.
Voices were raised under the hashtag #MiseFosta and, in response, The BIT Collective – a community whose objective is to instigate positive change in the Scottish traditional arts – initiated the #TradStandsWithHer campaign. This campaign expressed solidarity with survivors of abuse and demanded a ‘fundamental culture change that ensures women’s safety, equality and dignity’.
Encouraging positive change
Esperance grew out of this campaign, when founders Emily Portman, Nicola Beazley, Rosie Hood and myself came together with a shared vision of a safer, more inclusive folk scene in England. We’re a grassroots, volunteer-run collective, and we discuss and address gender equality issues. We’re open to anyone who supports positive change and we aim to break down barriers in order to support women and gender minorities to participate fully and have flourishing careers in folk.
Since launching in November 2020, Esperance has hosted regular Zoom meetings discussing topics including women’s safety on tour, compering, safeguarding at festivals, barriers faced by transgender and non-binary people, the role of male allies and issues experienced by parents and carers. We’re listening and learning about what support people need and we’re now creating resources which we hope will lead to positive change.
Support and encouragement where it’s needed
Our meetings with parents and carers have made it clear that more support is needed for artists touring with children. Childcare costs can be prohibitive when balanced against fees, while a lack of facilities at venues is a common problem. The recent Parents in Performing Arts (PiPA) COVID report shows that 72% of parents and carers are considering abandoning their careers in the performing arts. Our meetings have highlighted how primary carers, particularly women, were struggling, even before the pandemic, to juggle performance careers with childcare commitments and continuing to maintain visibility on the scene.
One of the wonderful things about the folk scene is the informality and connection between audience and artists, but this can also cause complicated power dynamics. Artists have reported feeling uncomfortable or harassed by overfamiliar audience members. We know that some comperes are using derogatory language including sexist stereotypes, homophobic jokes and transphobic remarks. We aim to celebrate positive, professional compering, support artists to assert boundaries and encourage organisers to ensure behaviour is appropriate and inclusive.
Encouraging action
Gender balance in line-ups continues to be an issue and Keychange – a global movement working towards gender equality in the music industry – is leading on redressing this by encouraging music festivals and organisations to sign up to the Keychange Pledge, a commitment to improving representation in their staff and on their stages. Vick Bain’s Counting the Music Industry study from 2019 highlighted a gender gap across the UK music industry and the analysis in it points to many barriers, including sexism and harassment, unsociable hours and the ‘motherhood penalty’.
#TradStandsWithHer contributed to a movement that has been growing in recent years, spearheaded by women working in folk music. While The BIT Collective addresses equality issues in the Scottish traditional arts, FairPlé aims to achieve gender balance in Irish traditional and folk music. MiseFosta, also based in Ireland, continues to raise awareness about sexual abuse and educate people about consent. Change can only happen if people are open to listening to others’ experiences, so we welcome the arrival of the new podcast Thank Folk For Feminism – a platform for conversation and activism.
Developing safer spaces
As a group of organisations, Esperance, The BIT Collective and FairPlé have a common focus on safeguarding. We’re learning that women and gender minorities face barriers, from microaggressions to serious cases of sexual abuse, that can hold them back from progressing in their careers or remaining active participants in the folk scene.
Our websites signpost to support for survivors of abuse, alongside resources for developing safer spaces, such as Good Night Out Campaign and Safe Gigs for Women. FairPlé has developed an anti-harassment policy and, likewise, Esperance is talking to the Musicians’ Union about implementing better safeguarding policies. With support from the Musicians’ Union, The BIT Collective has set up [email protected] – a confidential email address for people involved in the UK folk scene to report instances of abuse and harrassment. Find out more at thebitcollective.co.uk/safe-space-folk.
Our work is not happening in isolation, as we are part of Keychange’s Action Against Abuse international alliance.
Esperance is alarmed that abuses of power have been reported in folk education settings. We’re aware of artists being booked who may not understand their duty of care towards participants and we are talking to educators and festival organisers about ways to improve safeguarding procedures. Rather than compromising the relaxed nature of folk, properly understood responsibilities and boundaries can make everyone feel secure and enable tutors and young musicians to develop meaningful musical relationships.
We celebrate those organisers who are leading the way in safeguarding and signing up to Keychange, and we’re calling on others to follow their lead in considering gender balance and prioritising safeguarding. We encourage artists and educators to ensure they know their safeguarding responsibilities and to support each other in creating an inclusive, progressive scene where discrimination isn’t tolerated.
If we want to encourage lifelong participation, nurture creativity and talent and welcome a more diverse range of people into this unique scene, we need to ensure it’s safe and welcoming for everyone. Esperance is proud to be part of a movement that’s gathering momentum and we hope that, by working together, we can contribute to a sustainable future for folk.
Find out more: esperancefolk.com / thebitcollective.co.uk / fairple.com
Further reading
Counting the Music Industry by Vick Bain:
vbain.co.uk/research
The English Folk Dance and Song Society promotes best practice in safeguarding to support those in the sector, by signposting helpful sources of advice, and facilitating honest discussion and positive action. See efdss.org/safeguarding