Social Acceptance of Folk Artists: Conceptualizing Hegemonic Masculinity in the Pashtun Culture

Abstract

This study showcases the prevailing Pashtun norms in society regarding the social acceptance of Pashtun folk artists. It also examines the pressure of social hegemonic masculinity on Pashtun folk artists’ personal and professional lives. The research approach was qualitative, in which ten professional folk musicians, specifically drummers (called tabla nawaz in Urdu), were selected through purposive sampling from Islamabad Bazar (commonly known as Chitrali Bazar) and Kabari Bazar in Peshawar city. Connell’s (1995) framework on masculinity is used to analyze Pashtun’s hegemonic masculinity and its influence on folk artists. The study findings indicate that in contemporary Pashtun society, folk art and artists are discouraged on both theoretical and practical levels. Theoretical discouragement manifests in the lack of granting them their deserved cultural position, while practical discouragement is evident in the absence of protection for their rights as artists. The rise of radicalization and conservative interpretations of the Pashtunwali has restricted the presence of folk artists in public. Consequently, folk artists, in general, and folk musicians and instrumentalists were ridiculed, alienated, and subjected to derogatory language because their profession was perceived as effeminate. These attitudes caused a decline in the number of musicians, which led to the loss of the positive influence of art in society. It was concluded that societal views place the category of tabla nawaz at the lowest hierarchical level in both social stratification and levels of masculinity.