Some Thoughts about Minorities

I find the concept of “minority” both relevant and useful. I see it as a category that can help us develop a better understanding of human cultures and, in the domain of music studies, provide a broad perspective on world music history as well as on East–West relations. No doubt, however, defining the term as carefully as possible is crucial. Psychologist William James maintained that labels (concepts, categories) need to have “cash value.” By this, he meant that they should help us grasp aspects of reality that would otherwise escape our attention.

With that in mind and considering the excellent research already conducted in this area, my professional interests lead me to focus primarily on ethnomusicology. I wonder whether the time is ripe for a general theory of how minorities develop, interact with each other, and interact with majorities. Such a theory could provide insight that goes beyond individual case studies and could account for all the potential uses of the term that are considered valuable.

I also wonder whether such a theory should be limited to minorities who are discriminated against (as has most often been the case) or whether it should, on the contrary—at least for the sake of comparison—also include hegemonic minorities. Here I think, for instance, of the classic C. Wright Mills study of elites, but also of dominant groups such as whites were in apartheid South Africa. Surely, minorities in power have been studied by political scientists, but not, of course, from the point of view of their own sonic behavior. Nor have transnational sound groups received much attention (people who love Elvis Presley are to be found all over the world, and they constitute a minority and, at the same time, what we might call a “sound group”). What I am trying to suggest is that oppressed minorities might be better understood (and possibly helped) by examining what allows other minorities to avoid discrimination and instead acquire power and respect.

I am also intrigued by the fact that minorities in power do not necessarily appear to be musically identifiable. Or are they? In other words, I am particularly interested in minorities that do not exhibit distinctive sonic behavior as much as in those that do, and I wonder under what conditions minority groups find it functional to adopt a musical voice. Only in situations of confrontation with the majority? Do we need to take seriously the hypothesis that discrimination and violence encourage the development of minority identities and the preservation of traditional forms of culture, while assimilation and integration do not? My work with immigrants seems to suggest that this frequently occurs.

Equally fascinating is the fact that minorities who adopt the music of the majority do so for a variety of reasons, including the hope of social advancement. At the same time, some groups deliberately marginalize themselves, as the shoegaze community once did (The shoegaze community refers to fans and musicians associated with shoegaze, a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s).

On the question of minority rights, I have—as on several other issues—mixed feelings. I am entirely in favor of defending people’s rights, but rights, it seems to me, are for individuals, not for groups. The concept of “minority rights” entails the risk of having to decide who is eligible to claim them (South African officials once had to measure the crinkliness of people’s hair to determine whether they were Bantu, White, or Coloured). Not to mention the fact that everyone belongs to one minority or another. Even members of an ethnic majority may be red-haired, albino, or of either sex. Does the law need to codify the rights of every conceivable group, rather than affirm rights that apply to all citizens?

I also have misgivings about legislation that prescribes respect for the feelings of others. Respect is a personal virtue, but a dangerous principle for public policy. Once the law sets out to enforce respect for people’s feelings or beliefs, there is no limit to the restrictions on freedom that can be justified in the interest of social cohesion. That would eventually make it possible to excuse all acts of opposition, including murder and terrorism, as forgivable reactions to some supposedly avoidable provocation.

Questions, questions, questions. That is why I would so very much like the issue of minorities to be framed within a general theory. I hope someone will be able to do that.