Authenticity, style, and gender: explorations in rockabilly

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The purpose of this study is to build on previous work on music based subcultures to provide an overview of the rockabilly subculture as it plays out in a large Midwestern city. Using ethnographic methods of interviewing and participant observation, the author investigates the structures and meanings in the rockabilly subculture, which represents a modern revival of 1950's music. This music is closely linked to a pervasive personal style that focuses on "vintage" clothes, cars, tattoos, and even home accessories. An encompassing nostalgia is also linked with highly gendered forms of authenticity, and some exclusion based on race and sexual orientations. With the rockabilly subculture as an example, the author proposes the use of the term scene to orient researchers to the specificities of how subcultures play out on a local level.