"Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality"

"Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality" is a book by Susan McClary that explores how musical compositions and their structures can reflect and reinforce ideas about gender and sexuality. The title refers to the musical practice of ending phrases on a "feminine" or softer note, which can symbolize femininity, vulnerability, or gendered stereotypes. McClary examines how music both shapes and responds to cultural notions of gender, highlighting that musical form and content are often intertwined with social identities and power dynamics related to gender and sexuality.