In this interactive panel, we will discuss music as a signifying practice, and the politics of accusing a singer of perpetuating rape culture. We will explore the strategy of identifying a song as ‘rapey’, the significance of such accusations when applied to songs by men of colour, and the ambivalent meanings that can be embedded in lyrics. We will listen to different songs, paying close attention to the politics of representation and our own affective response to the tunes. This workshop does not seek to provide definitive answers as to the ‘true’ meaning of any song, but rather to encourage self-reflection on our reactions to problematized songs, the assumptions we bring in our interpretations, the conflation of racialized masculinity and violence, and the strategies we choose in challenging rape culture.

Ummni Khan (M.A., J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.) is an Associate Professor at Carleton University in the Department of Law and Legal Studies, and is cross-listed with the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on the construction and regulation of stigmatized sexual practices, with a particular focus on BDSM and sex work.

Dr. Rena Bivens is a Banting Fellow in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University. Rena is a sociologist with expertise in the areas of digital media (particularly social media), gender (including gender-based violence), feminist and queer theory, science and technology studies, television news production, citizen journalism, and internet research methodologies.

Deborah Conners is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Carleton University. Her research uses a Bourdieusian feminist theoretical lens to explore commitments, contentions and conundrums within feminist understandings of intimate partner violence.