Re-Mixing Identities

Like Sharilyn, I’m going to be focusing on the gender inequality seen in the British Asian music scene in the 1980s. I thought it was very interesting that Ranjit served as a pioneer for female DJs in the 1980s, even though she herself was still very young. She brought up the fact that she was hassled by the hundreds of men in the hall and that because she was one of the few females, they assumed that she ran “away from home” or that she was a “loose woman” (271). I admire Kaur for challenging the status quo and continuing to go to clubs and spin music, even though it was clear many of the attendees felt it was not her place and assumed that she was simply accompanying a boyfriend who DJed. I was also somewhat surprised by her mother and grandmother’s response to her career choice because I expected them, being from the old world, to object vehemently. However, to my surprise, her mother even assisted her in bookings and her grandmother did not object. I believe that part of Ranjit’s ability to help progress gender roles was because of her maternal figures (her mother and grandmother) and the fact that they helped, rather than hindered, her efforts.