Diva house or handbag house is an anthemic subgenre of house music that became most popular in gay clubs during the second half of the 1990s. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture defines handbag house as having "prominent female vocals, breakdowns, and a proliferation of piano 'stabs'."[1] Modern diva house compositions use synth stabs and four on the floor rhythms.
The term "handbag house" appears to be particularly popular on British dancefloors and refers to the notion of a group of female club-goers dancing around a pile of their handbags.[3] Dance culture's usage of the word 'handbag house' started life as a derogatory term.
In the 1990s, as gay clubs and gay culture became more mainstream so did house music. The accessibility of diva house lead to the mainstreaming of gay club music. In the UK especially, handbag house became emblematic of the clubbing culture. According to music historians Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, by the mid-1990s handbag house had helped to make clubbing into a "mainstream leisure activity."[4] With the mainstreaming of gay culture in the 1990s, "diva" was the word that bound house music to the gay dance scene, which was previously only defined by Italo disco compositions.
Music critic Simon Reynolds asserts that handbag house was "initially a disparaging term, coined by condescending cognoscenti vis-à-vis the anthemic, chart-penetrating house tunes that allegedly appealed to women, and above all to the folk-mythic construct of Sharon and Tracy."[5] According to electronic music producer Ewan Pearson and academic Jeremy Gilbert, "handbag house" is often derided as "plastic disco" by dance music fans who prefer "the more esoteric sound of musics which eschew the 'mainstream' musical priorities of melody and verbal language."[6] The mainstream appeal of handbag house caused underground dance music purists to flock to the spin-off genres of hardbag, progressive house, deep house, and garage house.[5] Sociologist Dunja Brill argues that criticism of handbag house carries a "misogynist slant in club cultural representations of the denigrated mainstream of 'Handbag House' against which Ravers define their subculture."[7] Brill maintains that bias against handbag house "is expressed most clearly in a femininisation of the denigrated 'mainstream' of pop culture against which subcultures define themselves."[8]
^Brewster, Bill; Frank Broughton; Frank Broughton (2000). Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Headline Book Publishing. p. 396. ISBN9781555846114. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
^ abReynolds, Simon (August 21, 1998). Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture. Picador. ISBN9781593764777. Retrieved 23 October 2012.[permanent dead link]
^Gilbert, Jeremy (September 19, 1999). Discographies: Dance Music Culture and the Politics of Sound. Routledge. p. 70. ISBN9780203012062. Retrieved 23 October 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^Brill, Dunja; Deicke, Wolfgang; Hodkinson, Paul (2007). ""Gender, status and subcultural status in the goth scene"". Youth Cultures: Scenes, Subcultures and Tribes. Routledge. p. 122. ISBN9781134184774.
January 01, 1970
diva, house, handbag, house, anthemic, subgenre, house, music, that, became, most, popular, clubs, during, second, half, 1990s, encyclopedia, contemporary, british, culture, defines, handbag, house, having, prominent, female, vocals, breakdowns, proliferation,. Diva house or handbag house is an anthemic subgenre of house music that became most popular in gay clubs during the second half of the 1990s The Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture defines handbag house as having prominent female vocals breakdowns and a proliferation of piano stabs 1 Modern diva house compositions use synth stabs and four on the floor rhythms Diva houseOther namesHandbag houseStylistic originsHouseR amp Bdance popsouldiscoEDMgospelshow tuneCultural originsEmerging 1990s LGBT cultureDerivative formsHardbaghouse popOther topicsCamp style divagay culturecomputer musicrecord labelsgay iconcircuit partygay anthemgay prideBackground editThe term diva house was in use as early as July 1992 when Billboard magazine described What Are We Doin by Dee Dee Simone as iron lunged diva house 2 It is known for booming unisex vocals sometimes sampled from other recordings Such samples come from soul disco gospel recordings and even show tunes performed by singers like Bette Midler Judy Garland Liza Minnelli and other gay icons This bombastic genre can include songs performed by dance specialists as well as club remixes of pop songs by singers such as Patti LaBelle Aretha Franklin Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston The term handbag house appears to be particularly popular on British dancefloors and refers to the notion of a group of female club goers dancing around a pile of their handbags 3 Dance culture s usage of the word handbag house started life as a derogatory term In the 1990s as gay clubs and gay culture became more mainstream so did house music The accessibility of diva house lead to the mainstreaming of gay club music In the UK especially handbag house became emblematic of the clubbing culture According to music historians Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton by the mid 1990s handbag house had helped to make clubbing into a mainstream leisure activity 4 With the mainstreaming of gay culture in the 1990s diva was the word that bound house music to the gay dance scene which was previously only defined by Italo disco compositions Music critic Simon Reynolds asserts that handbag house was initially a disparaging term coined by condescending cognoscenti vis a vis the anthemic chart penetrating house tunes that allegedly appealed to women and above all to the folk mythic construct of Sharon and Tracy 5 According to electronic music producer Ewan Pearson and academic Jeremy Gilbert handbag house is often derided as plastic disco by dance music fans who prefer the more esoteric sound of musics which eschew the mainstream musical priorities of melody and verbal language 6 The mainstream appeal of handbag house caused underground dance music purists to flock to the spin off genres of hardbag progressive house deep house and garage house 5 Sociologist Dunja Brill argues that criticism of handbag house carries a misogynist slant in club cultural representations of the denigrated mainstream of Handbag House against which Ravers define their subculture 7 Brill maintains that bias against handbag house is expressed most clearly in a femininisation of the denigrated mainstream of pop culture against which subcultures define themselves 8 See also editCamp style Diva Gay anthem Gay club Gay iconsReferences edit Childs Peter Mike Storry 1999 Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture Routledge p 260 ISBN 9780415147262 Retrieved 29 December 2014 Flick Larry Jul 11 1992 A Little More Stansfield Erasure Heads For Covers Billboard Billboard p 23 Retrieved 28 December 2014 handbag house Everything2 com Everything2 com 2001 12 14 Retrieved 2011 02 10 Brewster Bill Frank Broughton Frank Broughton 2000 Last Night a DJ Saved My Life The History of the Disc Jockey Headline Book Publishing p 396 ISBN 9781555846114 Retrieved 28 December 2014 a b Reynolds Simon August 21 1998 Energy Flash A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture Picador ISBN 9781593764777 Retrieved 23 October 2012 permanent dead link Gilbert Jeremy September 19 1999 Discographies Dance Music Culture and the Politics of Sound Routledge p 70 ISBN 9780203012062 Retrieved 23 October 2012 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Brill Dunja Dec 15 2008 Goth Culture Gender Sexuality and Style Bloomsbury Academic ISBN 9781845207687 Brill Dunja Deicke Wolfgang Hodkinson Paul 2007 Gender status and subcultural status in the goth scene Youth Cultures Scenes Subcultures and Tribes Routledge p 122 ISBN 9781134184774 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Diva house amp oldid 1203220620, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
