I thought that it was very interesting how British Bhangra was very inclusive of both race (which I talked about in my discussion question for this week) and gender in Dudrah’s “Drum’n’dhol.” While the upbeat tempo of the songs, and the fusion with "modern technology and urban black sounds" (364) gave it a very similar sound to hip-hop, I found it very interesting that “the performance of Bhangra…opens up spaces where the socially constructed identities of…[gender are] recreated” (367.) Here we can see that there is no pressure to objectify the women, or for the women to act as objects of the male gaze. By having an equality on the dance floor, between men and women, but also between those in the gay subculture, the music can take on a very social aspect and have a strong message that can truly reach everyone, while also being appealing based on the music itself.
I partially disagree with Sharma et al. and Gopinath’s arguments that “there is an imbalance in the attention…[given to] the social…aspects of the music” (368) because while as Frith argues that “music has a social value being a way of affirming personal identity” (368,) I think that in the fact that the music is so inclusive, that, in a way, affirms the personal identity of inclusivity, because unlike cultures where personal identity is built around keeping others out, I think that much can be learned from including those of all genders/sexualities as well as races.
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