Graduate Student, History
Thesis Title: The “Skirl Girls” and the “Jolly Boys”: The Femininity and Masculinity of Bagpipe Culture, 1930 to 2009
Graeme Morton
Linda Mahood
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While the study of pipe band history is relatively new to academic analysis, a study of gender in piping has been even more neglected. Using oral history interviews in conjunction with newspaper and magazine articles, this study therefore seeks to forge a new chapter in the historiography of the Great Highland Bagpipes. This will be achieved by analyzing elements of femininity and masculinity within this male dominated musical world in Canada and Scotland (1930-2009). This research paper will demonstrate that although previous studies on piping have argued that female pipers were rare, the images associated with them were created by a male dominated society, which marginalized them to the point where they themselves believed they were a novelty. Masculine subcultural practices, such as alcohol culture, are also integral to the fundamental understanding of membership and identity within the pipe band world. The discussion presented in this paper provides the first stepping-stone in the developing area of gender and pipe bands in Scotland and its Diaspora.
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