"Nu tänker jag inte ens på att du är kvinna" : En studie om kvinnliga dirigenters erfarenheter

Sammanfattning: Female conductors are in the minority at Swedish concert and opera houses. This study aims to create knowledge about the specific conditions of this group by examining female conductors' experiences from the perspective of this minority position. For empirical gathering, two interviews have been conducted with orchestra conductors who have an established position in the public music life and who identify themselves as women. These interviews were then processed using content analysis. The result shows that the informants have certain similarities and differences in their background, which revolves around talk about opportunities, encouragement and role models. Both informants also share the view that it was not until the entrance to the conducting studies that their gender affiliation emerged as a real problem. A number of different problems during the education period is described in the result, including strong normative conceptions, negative and contemptuous teachers and an insecure learning environment, where the informants' strategies were above all adaptation to norms and to neutralize their gender. About inequality on the podium in general the informants, among other things, highlight conservative traditions and the formation of myths about the conductor. The analysis of the result shows a relational aspect of learning, how identity and representation are characterized by subordination and that one can highlight feminine-associated aspects of conducting to loosen up the male norm.