Tradwives or Magic Fox in Handel’s Music?

Are clichés about the roles of men and women way out of date? Trends such as the “tradwife”, which resurrects the traditional female image, the “alpha male” and social media phenomena like Flying Uwe and Magic Fox, who instruct millions of male followers on fitness trends and rules of behaviour supposed to boost their masculinity, seem to tell us otherwise. The polarity between supposedly “new”, emotionally competent, caring male image and a conservative opposite is not as new as one might think. It was a topical theme even in earlier times – including in music. This workshop explores different role models at different periods of time and investigates questions such as why women composers had it tough – and still do. The aim is also to ask ourselves how historical blueprints can be compared to current trends and what they can tell us about the future of gender roles in music. For teens from age 14.

Workshop leader: Charlott Falkenhagen (lecturer at the Institute of Educational Science and Primary School Teaching at the University of Halle)