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The study of sound has become established as a field of film scholarship over the last two decades. Early works on sound theory (Elizabeth Weis, John Belton, Rick Altman), the speaking voice (Michel Chion) and film music (Claudia Gorbman)1 have been followed by research which ranges across contemporary Hollywood sound and genre and sound design.2 Scholars have theorized the image–sound relationship, explored audiences and modes of listening, examined the impact of new technologies and interviewed sound practitioners. Sound in different historical periods has been interrogated, including the transition from silent to sound, the era of classic Hollywood, and the new Hollywood cinema of the 1980s. That the Screen Studies Conference in 2008 was devoted to ‘Sound and Music in Film, TV and Video’ testifies to the breadth and diversity of the field. How have questions of gender shaped these debates? There is a significant body of scholarship that focuses on how music contributes to the gendered politics of a film;3 and the issue of speech preoccupied feminist film studies of the late 1980s, not least because questions of language were a central concern of second-wave feminism.4 In 1988 Kaja Silverman’s The Acoustic Mirror offered one of the first sustained theorizations in film studies of the soundtrack and sexual difference. Silverman argued that the Hollywood soundtrack was gendered ‘through a complex system of displacements, which locate the male voice as the point of apparent textual origin, whilst establishing the diegetic containment of the female voice’.5 Scholars such as Elizabeth Cowie and Amy Lawrence built on Silverman’s work, illustrating how women’s dialogue, narration and commentary in classic Hollywood cinema were contested by the image-text, which ultimately gave narrative authority to their male counterparts.6 The works by Silverman and others remain cornerstone publications in feminist scholarship, interrogating film sound from a gendered perspective. Feminist research is now beginning to ask questions about women as cultural agents in the history of soundwork, and their roles as participants, contributors and makers of film sound. A 2015 special issue on ‘Women and soundwork’ for the journal Feminist Media Histories traced women’s contribution as music directors, feminist filmmakers and radio performers across different national contexts, historical periods and media.7 In June 2016 the Women’s Film and Television History Network, UK/Ireland, held a day-long workshop at the British Film Institute (BFI) in London, bringing together academics and practitioners to map the field of women’s contribution to sound in British film and television. The Network itself is part of a wider community of scholars, activists, practitioners and archivists who investigate ‘women’s work in and around cinema across its histories as they play out in different parts of the world’.8 Recent interest in ‘women’s work’, itself part of the now well-established historical turn in film studies, goes beyond recovery history; its goal is to interrogate what the forgetting of women film practitioners says about the dominant explanatory paradigms of film history, and in doing so to reconceptualize how film history is conceived and written. As Christine Gledhill and Julia Knight have argued, the questions that asking about women pose to traditional ways of doing film history demand new ways of thinking cinema itself. Insofar as these challenge the dominance of the director, recognise co-creation and collaboration, refuse dominant conceptions of cinematic essence, and reorganise notions of aesthetic value, it is not only women who stand to gain.9 Much of this scholarship to date has prioritized those at the top end of the production hierarchy, such as directors, producers, writers and composers, particularly in silent cinema. This essay marks a step-change in approach, focusing on a broader range of production roles than has typically been of interest to feminist film historians, and connecting that to the burgeoning interest in women’s work as sound professionals in the history of cinema. Using Britain as a case study, I address three questions: the extent to which the field of historical British film soundwork is structured by gender; whether women and men occupy distinct roles and how these have changed over time; and how research about women’s soundwork might illuminate wider questions about film historiography. I position this research in relation to Kate Lacey and Michele Hilmes’s recent work on sound, which asks us to focus not only on women as soundmakers on that and to women’s impact on and their in the historical is this to gendered and how their and that recent work in feminist including This essay is the first sustained of women’s to soundwork in the British film In the first I a of women’s work as sound and in the and Using a range of including and I map women’s and in the the roles and in which they work as sound and those from which they were I their work not only in the in and typically from film histories which have to the wider which British film production is The of the essay is a case study of the of the as they were in the British film a who in a of sound This is for because women were as to sound I the of the British who was in the and and is by British professionals as of I the of the and its in the of British film soundwork, focusing on and a case study of work on Lawrence of to of production in which women of us to a of central for feminist what is the and of this the and film The to about British film sound is the of historical film this challenge it is particularly sound because it has so to the the point that the of production in the system to and the A in the production of British sound from its was and in to which was as the of have been in the that film histories have sound to to a of In the of British film history, for producers, and writers the of the a of sound have been interviewed as part of the History from a of over their the of The soundwork of has been out for the Film is a case in point to date publications for sound that on a and British Film which a history of British from the of the and and and The and the to Sound to scholarship on the the focus on the the the of sound There is a for a history of British film sound, which a that is beyond the of this The of to sound is by women in a field in production the for only one is a the sound Christine whilst roles such as for which women were not the 1980s. one of the which women’s historical was and traced is a map of the history of women’s soundwork for the feminist to a narrative for female sound This is to those in of women’s film history in which women’s is the to and in the for In this essay I across a range of historical including the traditional and the histories and The map offered is and and that have to it a point in the history of British sound and the of women that field. The I to historical women’s work in British film sound Sound in Britain were of the of the which and in the British film the the film was a which that to this in to This not only and directors, and The a of its which for the and film from those in television. of and a a of the production across a range of and historical As part of I have been a in the and the on Screen to these and a research it is from that that I on in this Sound were of the sound which in its sound sound sound sound The the of sound who were in British film and men and a significant of of the women the in the across a range of sound including and and for a of such as the and sound the only one was in the a sound in were on a in the and the the of women in sound at one two the in the 1980s. that sound as a field of production was gendered and not of the in which women In their that it was only the of that the women in sound a that was such as and which were to at the sound roles women the women this the were in the in roles such as sound a that for the were in the in roles such as sound sound and sound these were that to they were at the than the end of the sound production a of women were on the as and and is to that their were and were on in and as sound for British Acoustic a of the that in and sound I have not been to of their work for the the sound of in as a film two in the of British Acoustic a film for in the I have so been to of their film a in the of as a sound is that was the of and who was from about in and London, in a in has two film as a Sound to at and That which the goes The of sound a of how women were the of the was on in the sound of the well-established film in A in as a and been at a out and for The of was to women and the sound the in film sound not beyond the and to in That in sound was than is by special in the journal The in is that for women in sound were in the and not the 1980s. A of and is The of women’s work was to whilst the in and sound roles as a of that were in the and women were on as sound sound sound and sound were women in were in sound roles and to the over men the This is not to that women were as soundmakers in the British film and two and and the late a contribution to British cinema sound. interest was in film work to for the and Film in the in for in the was at the and for significant contribution to sound. In a for the film journal and Sound on it as of which of its and in a for by such as of and The for and to a of the and is the film work of the and of the a system of sound as the and is a in the history of for and including a by for the on the film as sound and and sound, which the of and the sound the than to the sound of the film The of The of the The film is as a in cinematic its of out for its soundwork is The the and were The is in the it such as and and to what as the of and significant to British film sound they in the history of women and sound. As and their work the British film and they were for their on a than part of the the narrative around women and sound which women they at in than How women’s in sound work to so their from the of sound roles from in the the of cinematic sound. has as the film the transition from silent to sound it on from the sound were in established and the of production that to the film sound was women were to and were at the point of a that was in such as and In the a on gender in the film and that and historical how were on by film and at as whilst were in the they gendered male and sound, they and the female and production This system it for women to a a In a of to that sound to have around a as of and were to the of In the for a male sound about women’s and their to that were of a wider of and cultural and that women’s in sound This gendered system to the of that were for women to women in the to a in sound such as they on their A female the to a because the was by male to were the in a of and that women’s as sound in the British film in the the and the 1980s. In of these and such as were for women to work in sound in and ways the film in the of and The of Christine the only female sound to interviewed for the History on a of for women in sound in the work in as a for and a who for cinema and the including their As a the a of out the was on of from the to and music and sound for the to and in a in to to and as a sound the the of the This for the that as a a was were doing a of commentary and one of sound to that might from of at to and these music and from of sound from only music to that as to date and they The so audiences that the the from to established of the genre of the and a part in its sound the its the in to Film a that in and and as in the sound the of the sound and the for the and sound As in about two three I I was in The was including the and and work from sound in a to how to the who was a and for a film about as a sound and from the the that for women in film than in There is work to to how research I have on women as and that the film which in Britain and the to women filmmakers than the in to women of the who to sound, including as at This as history of women’s soundwork, whether the to that history is is that as a sound only Film because the was so it the of This one of the of as a which to the work of film this to men and it is to gendered as women for production is these of and that women’s is and their contribution to British sound history This how the of women’s film history on how British film the to and to beyond the for soundwork in the and 1980s, now were the of second-wave women to work the in others the feminist of and it to film In a for was held at the Film the of women in the film to about including sound and a The and as women about their from the film and its and they were to to the that of the new soundwork for women were in the of production that the over sound. The sound who for the Film in the 1980s, that first to sound on a film was the because to sound. not the were by the who as a by as a sound in the the to the of sound to on was a of and production which a of of production the of the that the of women as sound in the 1980s. from the that of the of female sound the of the in this in roles such as sound sound and sound for and the and in sound the women the as sound in the 1980s, others for in and were by the that in Britain from the such as the Film Christine and a distinct and and The of the of that were to sound women in the 1980s. a in and film at in the music and as a sound on a range of feminist and including and and and on and Christine Film this was to of the for that were offered by new production in Britain such as In a that filmmakers have the traditional and were to and genre the to that not so and have a different on the of film they to and this to the of they to the from and work on and The The of is by the and sound and who a to work in the because who have of women’s This including about and the that have to in a that men was to was the only female and to sexual The was on to out of it in as a as because have to these for three and the to the gendered and production in which women sound at this The was a of for women sound in the than in and across range of and women for soundwork, the of male sound sound women on the British such as The and A to research is to whether this the and and how women to the production such as the of the workshop and the film production of That the of this essay and the to the work by the sound and to scholarship on this contemporary history of women and British sound women in film production was in the of the and it is to and to the of of that I now as a in the British film from the to the end of the the was so established that as of us was the and for a significant of the is to as not the 1980s, research a of at least as central to film history, from such as Lawrence of A and the and to including The and to was and by for contribution to the a for Sound in and a for a Sound in for work on of as a beyond the film to the and in was the of sound at the the as the for as a in Britain to in the as in research for this essay that was not as a in this of the those of in and of of and As work is a of the British and professionals at one the of women in the is The body of scholarship on work, in its as of a sound is and focuses on contemporary This the historical of in British cinema and what to the of the in the British is to the and its focusing on and on to in and work on Lawrence of is to a of the the of one of its and from that to on questions of gender and film The as and of and sound in to the film the and of the were the by a the of now to of from to The British the and of the to a first the might the to the to and to have to the and that from A of of not and out of is a in by of their it as about a sound, about the a of that the the out of a sound have to the and the of which and and performers from a in music in and might have to and a as in have in how to and the of in a on their a so have to work at a sound which the film sound have to they not the that is the of the the contribution that sound to the who on film how the the on the of the the sound on the As a is of the ways in which such as a significant contribution to the of In of work, performers a sound and the sound that they on of and what is to the on that their as than the sound of it is they a sound that contributes to the narrative in a and than sound. In research on sound as and out and the of the The on work for it as of and point to the contribution and its to the and how to their work a new to of film and how is There to and particularly as the of that work, such as and sound by and it in the their contribution to British film sound. This is by the in the as a distinct the for and the of film production In the for it was the of was to as and performers were the of the Hollywood sound production were of the Screen and others of the at Britain followed a performers not in the whilst the sound was in the to to who and and performers were not part of the sound that on the film were by a sound who This in and their to the production was by the of work was as the British sound and it that their contribution is not to that from that about of practitioners and of is and wider questions about which of work were the and by performers not have a in the of publications one might the journal The for the of British Sound and Television the of from that how research and film In of I have on the and of as commentary by has to I this of a from Lawrence of to which sound. these I together a narrative about and for in the first for work on Lawrence of a by the sound as of the at from and of a well-established and was as a that the film as as for There is to The sound and who was one of for that was by the at was doing The only film which and on together was which as late a who in the 1980s, it to and a speaking part on The and to been a of the in a for in the late and and As typically and have been in which date of at around these of a and for to There two of how the transition from of the late to established of the they not in for the sound to In that as to and two sound men who in the British film in the The have of to the men at work and Sound men have been in a as part of the as historical that were in a for of one and one In of Hollywood, that women were to than which a in in sound to whilst in the British men were to sound such as in in the sound not have these gendered the for have and women the from and is a of the in and one which is in to the of the extent of work in the and those who is not in the of a is who as on the The in in history first on the film the and in that by work have been of for to a the of performers in for is not film production were in the that work was the sound who on three and in the of and the for and others have been that by the was such that work on such as Lawrence of and I to soundwork on this film in is not how of Lawrence of was to sound the in British in the been to the a in a music and for film that was for of was a film its and a for it is that the work was is the only on the in for on the The of how the together is and such as the at the not to sound on This is one of the to out of contribution in roles that and of work Lawrence of The film is a historical the and of Lawrence across the As the ranges from to in the on and the of and in of and I to focus on the in which first Lawrence at a In and a on the and the by a Lawrence and The is has and is around of and a the two out as commentary typically focuses on and the of work, significant the of the men on the and their in and from to and of and sound the of at the to out a whilst is by the of to the The is the sound of the as it its the of the and they a in the as and a of the its body to the as to to the the sound is as in the and that in on in a of the of for Lawrence of The of the was by the who that out of the in the of the a sound, it to the of the the of it the soundtrack is as as
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