Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality
Year: 2024
DOI:
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The Work Behind the Melody: Lullabies as Songs of Reproductive Labor
Àngels Asensi Soto
ABSTRACT:
If language contributes to the construction of social reality, what we say and how we say it shapes our understanding of the world. Similarly, the performative act of categorizing lullabies as children’s songs rather than worksongs perpetuates symbolic gender violence, by framing these songs within the innocence of children’s music, rather than recognizing them as what they are: laments of reproductive labor. This project aims to highlight how the lullaby, historically classified as a children’s song in the world of musicology and literature, is in fact a song of reproductive work. Through the methodology of sociological discourse analysis, the results reveals that, just as motherhood involves both physical and emotional labor, lullabies are part of the sound of this workload. As other worksongs, it contains protest elements where mothers express frustrations, fears, and even hostility towards their babies, as evidenced in the lyrics with explicit threats, complaints, and the presence of monstrous figures that threaten children. Furthermore, a comparison with other worksongs uncovers significant functional similarities.
keywords: lullaby, worksong, motherhood, reproductive work, performativity