The Impact of Social Censorship on Singing Education and Song Choices
Dr Gillyanne Kayes discusses social censorship and societal pressures on young singers, singing teachers and choir leaders and shares one thing we can do as a teaching community. AOTOS Keynote part 13.
“Last year at Global Connections, Louise Gibbs reported that many of our singing students seem to be self-editing in their exploration of voice and music.
We have noticed the same with our singing teachers and choir leaders that we work with – they feel under a similar pressure. The huge social pressure to demonstrate the ‘right thing’ is so strong now that some of our thought leaders are calling it social censorship.
A couple of instances
“Can my student sing God Help The Outcasts?” This was a discussion on our FB group because a student was worried about being given this song by their teacher – if it was cultural appropriation – what if they were the wrong ethnicity? We had much discussion about the provenance of song – including Victor Hugo’s social document – and concluded that there might be a number of ways to interpret the word ‘outcast’. But the fear on the part of the teacher and the student – that was real.
At the end of this presentation you will see one of our Cohort 23 members leading her community choir singing the song Asimbonanga, a song written during the apartheid era, which includes the words – includes words in isiZulu. And I think Asimbonanga means “we have not seen him”
Sharing the post on Instagram she wrote
“How can we feel, explore and heal abuses of such enormity without some warmth, even laughter, circling around the reality of what we human beings have done to each other – and continue to do to one another.
How can we share a song without being overwhelmed by whether or not we are doing it justice, or whether it is ‘OK’ to be singing it at all, or with the right reverence”.
And I think it’s fair to say that right now many of us are in a state of flux about repertoire choices. Songs that we used to give our students, and that we used to do with our choirs, songs that we might personally resonate with, and that are part of our history, are being removed from exam boards. And there are often excellent reasons for this, but the important thing is to ALLOW discussion, not censor it. And I have to say kudos to the AOTOS Facebook group for that very long thread on exactly this subject, which although you closed it was left visible. So the discussion wasn’t deleted. Very important.
I know lots of us have thoughts on this and they will be nuanced, as they should be. But take a moment now to read an extract from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 1st Reith Lecture in 2022 on The freedom of speech. And it’s absolutely worth reading the entire speech.
“There is value in disagreement. We must hear every side, and not only the loudest side.”
I’ll leave that thought with you”
Gillyanne’s further reflections
After hearing my Keynote, a couple of teachers came up to me quietly and asked “Is there something wrong about singing God Help The Outcasts?”. I explained about the potential of issues of ethnicity that were raised in our discussions on Facebook. This is an indicator of the second-guessing that is going on in our students’ and our own minds when we choose song repertoire for our students or choir or express ourselves on social media.
To quote from Chimananda Ngozi Adichie’s opening lecture of the 2022 BBC Reith Lectures (The Freedom of Speech):
“We now live in broad settled ideological tribes. We no longer need to have real discussions because our positions are already assumed, based on our tribal affiliation. Our tribes demand from us a devotion to orthodoxy and they abide not reason, but faith.
Many young people are growing up in this cauldron afraid to ask questions for fear of asking the wrong questions. And so, they practise an exquisite kind of self-censorship. Even if they believe something to be true or important, they do not say so because they should not say so.”
Check here to read the eight key points from the lecture
A book published this year recently came to my attention via the social media feed of the author Matt Haig (yes, I am a fan!) – Africa Brooke’s The Third Perspective. Tellingly the subtitle is Brave Expression in the Age of Intolerance.
I like the way Africa explains the term self-censorship:
“At its core, self-censorship is the act of holding back your honest thoughts and feelings because you are anticipating something bad happening as a result.” (See page 31 The Third Perspective by Africa Brooke). Well worth a read.
Have you been affected by social censorship? How did it manifest in your lessons?
Share any examples of repertoire choices that raised concerns about cultural appropriation or social sensitivity
Do you think it is appropriate to adapt historical repertoire to reflect contemporary values, or to perform them “as is”, or to prevent their performance at all? What has led you to make your decisions?
Click here for part 12 of Gillyanne’s AOTOS Keynote – Are We Trauma-Informed? A Guide for Singing Teachers
Click here for part 14 of Gillyanne’s AOTOS Keynote – From Boomers to Zoomers: Bridging the Tech Gap in Singing
If you’re eager to understand more about what we can do to assist our students when they’re dysregulated, click here for our new online 2-hour Pop-up course with Franka Van Essen Creating a safe space: insights from polyvagal theory for vocal professionals
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