Music and Gender

Music and Gender? Where have I seen music and gender intersect?

I think we will go in chronological order.

First, must be as a child. I grew up hearing different songs on the piano from many of the students my mom taught in our living room. I would sit in my room and play, while listening to their pretty songs and my mom’s encouragement. She gave stickers and candy. Stickers and candy are always good. Most of the students I remember her teaching for long periods of time were girls of many ages. There were a few boys, but they either were artsy and exceptions to the rule or they didn’t stick with it for very long.

My brother played the drums in church growing up. I never, ever saw any girls playing drums or congas. It’s not that it was a rule in my church or anything, it just didn’t happen that often, if ever.

In sixth grade I joined the middle school band. I remember my band and my director laughing, on numerous occasions, about the comedy of having two girls in the percussion section. We had ONE male flute player. The other guys picked on him. And, we had one or two male clarinet players. They were picked on, too. The girls that played brass instruments were normally headstrong and tough. Why? They had to put up with guys all the time.

In high school, I was a drum major for my marching band. Obviously, there wasn’t a gender requirement, but at our school, the drum major was typically a girl. Why? I’m not really sure. However, our band required the drum majors to have extreme levels of attitude, compassion, organization, and charm. You have to have attitude to stay on top of your band. The compassion comes for the little freshman who is scared of the new world they are facing. The organization is for show music, pep music, drill sheets, meetings, competition schedules, etc. The charm is for smiling at parents who need to know that their “little baby” is on the right path in high school and for playing a symbolic poker game in the battle of getting a conductor to do what you want. No offense or anything, but attitude, compassion, organization, and charm are typically more dominant in females. But, I am biased, I know.

My last and most poignant observation is this- the role of looks and gender in music. Probably just as many girls as guys have record labels today, but… How often do you see an ugly guy on a record label and how often do you see an ugly girl? It’s slanted, isn’t it? Ugly guys can get deals much faster than ugly girls can. I’m not trying to be harsh with the word “ugly.” Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, right? But, based on the generally accepted look for men and women, aren’t women expected to have more perfection, skinniness, clear skin, nice hair, stylish clothes, and 24/7 good looks? It’s just something to think about.