Greetings fellow woman performer/busker!

I am sending this Women Buskers Questionnaire to you because it is believed you may have street performed (or “busked”) this lifetime. Even if it was just once, we want to hear your opinions about the experience.

My name is Kirsten Anderberg and I am currently a graduate student at the University of California, working on my Masters degree in History. I am documenting the History of Women Buskers and it is *really* difficult since practically nothing has been written down about this topic. I am doing research, reading books, looking through archives, talking to people, just trying to find leads as to where our own history is buried. I have been a busker for 28 years so I know some of our haunts and ways. I know some of the more recent history of some women buskers. (You can see more about my busker/performer history at  http://resist.ca/~kirstena/pagekirstperformingresume.html.) Women buskers break gender stereotyping, they work in a male dominated environment, they deal with the front lines of free speech and street issues, children and busking is another issue, women buskers spread a different message than male buskers, the reasons to interview and document the lives of women buskers are many. I want to begin documenting some of our own history and to tap into the community of women out there to see if we can find some women busker history out there, beyond the last 30 years, something from say, the 1920’s! I would like to eventually find a university that would like to house a Women Buskers Museum Collection where we could donate busker items and information, leaving a cache of resources for future generations of women buskers, something we did not have access to.

Please feel free to email this questionnaire to any women buskers you may know. Return the completed questionnaire to  kirstena@resist.ca. Please include a contact email so we can contact you for more information later.

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WOMEN BUSKER QUESTIONNAIRE

What is your name?

What is the name of your act?
Do you have an email address or contact info?
Do you have a website?

What kind of act do you do/have you done on the street?

When did you start busking?

Where did you start busking?

What made you want to start busking?

What keeps you busking or what made you give it up?

Did you start busking as a solo or with someone else?

How is busking solo as a woman different than busking with other men and/or women?

I am looking for anything that has to do with the HISTORY of women buskers. Do you know of any legendary women buskers? Have you heard any stories about busker women in past decades or centuries?

Women buskers are quite rare compared to male buskers. I would love to know about any and all women busker acts you have seen in the past.

What do you think makes being a woman busker different than being a male busker, and what is the same for both male and female buskers?

What is the most impressive woman busker act you have ever seen and where and when did you see it? Why did it impress you?

What do you think about the issue of women using sexploitation (such as dressing sexy/scantily, etc.) to increase tips in busking acts? What are the pros and cons in doing that?

How old is appropriate for females to begin to dress and act “sexy” in busking acts on streets? And is that appropriate for young girls to see on streets? Why or why not?

How old is appropriate for males to begin to sexualize their acts as buskers on streets?

How are roles different for women and men in busking environments?

Why do you think there are so few women buskers compared to male buskers?

What do you think could be done to inspire more women to busk?

If you have never busked alone, is there a reason you do not busk solo?

Little has been written about women busker history. What should be done to document the history of women buskers for future generations?

Do you have anything from your busking career (old photos, tips, costuming, props, etc.) that you would be willing to donate to a Women Buskers Museum Archive, perhaps to be shown as an exhibit sometime, as well as being housed at a university permanently?

Do you have any pictures you can share with us of you busking or of other women busking? (I will contact you personally for permission to use any of the photos in exhibits, on webpages, etc.)

What has been your favorite, most memorable, or most endearing tip ever received busking?

Would aligning with other women buskers help you in any way, and if so, how?

How do you stay in touch with other women buskers/performers and/or other buskers in general?

What do you think about motherhood and busking? Do they go together? Why or why not? Have you seen any parents busking with their kids in tow? Who and how did that work out? Did they incorporate the kids into the act?