Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir

The act of making music together serves to connect people, creating a sense of belonging and unity while being a powerful tool to facilitate mental well-being. This case study concentrates on member motivation and how this is related to their participation in the Estonian LGBTQ+ mixed choir Vikerlas...

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Main Authors: Davidjants Brigitta, Raju Marju
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2025-0009
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author Davidjants Brigitta
Raju Marju
author_facet Davidjants Brigitta
Raju Marju
author_sort Davidjants Brigitta
collection DOAJ
description The act of making music together serves to connect people, creating a sense of belonging and unity while being a powerful tool to facilitate mental well-being. This case study concentrates on member motivation and how this is related to their participation in the Estonian LGBTQ+ mixed choir Vikerlased, with research questions being focused on the political and psychological identity aspects of group singing. Data collection was carried out by means of participatory observation, a questionnaire, and in-depth and focus group interviews. The findings suggest that singing in an LGBTQ+ choir serves multiple functions for its members, serving to support identity, maintain social, institutional, and musical aspects of participation, and promote mental well-being.
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spelling doaj-art-6a6cfd4348c54babb0ef196758a4f4df2025-08-20T03:33:03ZengSciendoJournal of Ethnology and Folkloristics2228-09872025-06-0119118920610.2478/jef-2025-0009Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed ChoirDavidjants Brigitta0Raju Marju11Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tatari 13, 10116Tallinn, Estonia2Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Tatari 13, 10116Tallinn, EstoniaThe act of making music together serves to connect people, creating a sense of belonging and unity while being a powerful tool to facilitate mental well-being. This case study concentrates on member motivation and how this is related to their participation in the Estonian LGBTQ+ mixed choir Vikerlased, with research questions being focused on the political and psychological identity aspects of group singing. Data collection was carried out by means of participatory observation, a questionnaire, and in-depth and focus group interviews. The findings suggest that singing in an LGBTQ+ choir serves multiple functions for its members, serving to support identity, maintain social, institutional, and musical aspects of participation, and promote mental well-being.https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2025-0009lgbtq+choral singinggroup identitymental well-beinggay pride
spellingShingle Davidjants Brigitta
Raju Marju
Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics
lgbtq+
choral singing
group identity
mental well-being
gay pride
title Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
title_full Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
title_fullStr Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
title_full_unstemmed Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
title_short Identity and Mental Well-being: A Case Study of the Estonian Vikerlased LGBTQ+ Mixed Choir
title_sort identity and mental well being a case study of the estonian vikerlased lgbtq mixed choir
topic lgbtq+
choral singing
group identity
mental well-being
gay pride
url https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2025-0009
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