Critical Reflections on Queer Thought, Music, and Therapy from a Multi-Cultured and Multi-Layered Israeli Perspective

This chapter will reflect on the multi-cultured and multi-layered aspects of queerness, music, and music therapy in Israel. Three perspectives are considered: ‘surviving in the margins’, that shows how difficult it is for people from extreme cultural environments to develop a queer identity, and how music therapy can help; ‘somewhere in between’, that focuses on queer singer-songwriters, how the Israeli environment challenges them, and how music reflects and sometimes supports this process; and ‘a bridge between extremes’ that focuses on musical dialogue groups between Arab and Jewish students in which queer alternatives for perceiving the otherwise binary political situation are offered. The examples highlighted in these sections show how music can reflect the changing shades of identity and help clients to form their own unique realities. They also demonstrate how queer knowing helps to see the potential for a richer world, with more possibilities to create, dialogue with others, and solve problems. Many of the insights shared in this chapter can be related to music therapists and musicians beyond the cultural context of Israel.