So as an artist who has been known to play a few instruments, I've been thinking about this recent thing radfems are doing, where theyāve decided, seemingly out of nowhere, to just wildly shit on ukulele music. And not just the music, but to brand it as ācringe transmasc music.ā
And look, even if that wasnāt deeply racist, it would still be stupid. And wrong. But the fact isā¦
The ukulele is a Hawai'ian instrument, descended from the machete de braga, a small Portuguese guitar brought to Hawaiāi in the late 1800s by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira. Hawaiian luthiers adapted and reimagined it into what became the ukulele. Itās a cultural symbol with a history of colonization, cultural appropriation, and resilience, born from the blending of immigrant traditions with Native Hawaiian artistry.
When you reduce it to some internet stereotype, youāre not just making a dumb music take, although you are also doing that, more importantly youāre participating in the long tradition of white mainland culture flattening and mocking Indigenous Hawai'ian traditions for sport.
Itās also worth noting that the ukuleleās popularity didnāt explode because itās āquirkyā or āinternet tweeā, itās because itās approachable. The instrument is physically small, light, and low-tension compared to guitars or violins. You donāt need huge hand strength to fret it, the (usually) nylon strings are soft, and it can be tuned in a way thatās forgiving for beginners. That makes it accessible to disabled musicians, kids, elders, and anyone without the privilege of formal music education. You can teach yourself entirely off the internet or even practice alone if you're dedicated.
I say this as someone who used to play violin and piano but now plays ukulele and ocarina because those are instruments my bad back and hand tremor will actually allow me to enjoy.
My own ukulele was an investment, imported from Hawaiāi, made of mango wood, rosewood, and bull bone. Itās a gorgeous instrument, itās one of the most expensive things I own (a very spicy $500), and I cherish it deeply.
But hereās the thing: you donāt need a $500 ukulele to make beautiful music. You can get a perfectly playable one for cheap, especially secondhand.
That means this is an instrument thatās accessible to poor and working-class people, including those from marginalized communities who often donāt get the same access to āprestigiousā music education or expensive instruments or expensive equipment and programs to make music digitally.
So when I hear someone mocking ācringe transmasc ukulele music,ā hereās what I know immediately:
Theyāre definitely not an artist making art with any real value
Theyāre transphobic toward trans men and likely nonbinary people too
And if someone is happy being a mediocre artist whoās also multiple kinds of bigoted, thatās their prerogative, but Iām not going to respect their opinion on art, or trans people, or disabled people, or Indigenous people, or poor people.
I genuinely donāt have much more to say. Thatās it.
You make fun of ukuleles like itās an aesthetic crime instead of a living piece of Hawai'ian culture and a vitally accessible instrument for marginalized folks, youāve told me exactly who you are.
