Razer's Edge: Styling Vocality for Youth Radio

Abstract

This paper examines the vocal performance of Helen Razer in her Triple J programs. It argues against established accounts of radio as a disembodied medium in favour of considering the physiological techniques of all vocalising as having social and cultural meaning. It sets out to ‘read’ radio voice as conscious performance of style — in Razer's case, a radically gendered style in opposition to the various performances of masculinity pervasive on the youth network as well as in more dominant forms of radio.