{"id":11047,"date":"2021-03-08T11:25:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T11:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=11047"},"modified":"2021-03-08T11:25:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T11:25:30","slug":"its-not-a-case-of-men-vs-women-mise-fosta-in-irish-trad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2021\/03\/08\/its-not-a-case-of-men-vs-women-mise-fosta-in-irish-trad\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It’s not a case of men vs women\u2019: Mise Fosta in Irish Trad"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a suburban Dublin pub ten men aged sixty and over have gathered in a circle each week to play traditional Irish tunes. I joined this weekly session when I moved back to Dublin and after initial bewilderment was embraced by the group. I was the only woman that had ever joined in the twenty odd years the session had existed and I grew to love the chats and the musical immersion that it became.<\/span><\/p>\n

At some point in each tune set we all closed our eyes and it felt like it really didn\u2019t matter that I was female.<\/p>\n

I discussed with Mair\u00e9ad N\u00ed Mhaonaigh in an interview recently how music can be something that rises above divisions and transcends gender, race and politics<\/a><\/span>. Sadly of course, this is not always the case. It was disturbing last year to read the revelations of the Mise Fosta<\/i><\/a><\/span> (Me Too) movement which detailed the experiences of young musicians in the Irish Traditional music scene. The reports, which came from mostly girls, consisted of unwanted physical contact, sexual assault, harassment and degradation.<\/p>\n

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Louise O’Connor<\/a><\/span>, Image: Olesya Zdorovetsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My own experience<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It saddened me deeply to hear about the number of musicians that have left the scene due to this kind of behaviour. I\u2019ve experienced both sides of this coin. I\u2019ve met some of the kindest men I know through pub sessions in my journey back<\/a><\/span> to playing music again publicly. And I\u2019ve also experienced subtle and not-so-subtle forms of inappropriate physical contact and degrading comments from pub-goers, and from musicians themselves; followed by \u2018sure it\u2019s only a bit of craic.\u2019 Unfortunately, it\u2019s the kind of \u2018craic\u2019 that drives talent away from the scene.<\/p>\n

A young female musician I spoke to recently described lecherous comments she often experiences online as the \u2018cross we have to bear,\u2019 as women in the industry. Another musician I know will avoid a particular number of sessions because of the consistent unwanted advances of a fellow musician who attends them.<\/p>\n

This kind of behaviour has typically been quietly tolerated as \u2018the cross we have to bear.\u2019 But we are in an age of increasing disclosures in Ireland and globally regarding abuse of many shapes and kinds. (The recent harrowing revelations of the treatment of women in Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland<\/a> <\/span>is just one example of this).<\/p>\n

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@RositaSweetman provides new testimonies from survivors of Mother and Baby Homes, and calls for a criminal prosecution of the Catholic Church and full redress.https:\/\/t.co\/Tas0iA0BPV<\/a>#MotherAndBabyHomes<\/a> #motherandbabyhomesreport<\/a> @broadsheet_ie<\/a> @amandaknox<\/a> @AliceHarrisonBL<\/a><\/p>\n

— CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) January 22, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n