Critique de CHOICE

With this book Hayes (Univ. of North Texas) takes the next step, a decidedly large step, in the ethnographic study of the role of women in musical evolution. She looks at the role black women have played, from the 1970s to the present, in the women's music movement, in so doing opening doors and asking significant questions. As her point of departure Hayes uses the women's music festival, and discusses contributions women have made to eight such festivals. She looks not only at the roles of performers, but also at audiences, festival entrepreneurs and organizers, and a host of others pivotal to the success of these events. Arguing that these festivals are attended primarily by white lesbians, she takes the study yet another step by examining the significant place of black lesbian musicians at these venues. In examining political issues surrounding culture and the black feminist consciousness, Hayes provides a new paradigm for approaching these significant festivals. Written with candor and humor, Hayes's study models a welcome, crucial, and decisive turn in scholarship on women's music. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. K. S. Todd Oklahoma Baptist University