Klarinet Archive - Posting 000008.txt from 1995/08

From: Lisa Clayton <clayton@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Gender tendencies for instruments
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 1995 15:16:14 -0400

All the comments about gender & instruments bring up a lot of questions
about how gender stereotypes have changed over time, and how sexism
in the music business has changed (or not changed, as the case may be).
One of trumpeters in my band had a PhD in trumpet, and specialized
in Renaissance trumpet. After graduating, she found that a lot of her
fellow graduates, all male, had no trouble finding music jobs, whereas
she ended up in business admin after a few years of fruitless searching.
Neither she nor her professors thought she was any worse than her classmates.

In high school during the 70's, I saw a lot more girls take up trumpet,
drums and low brass in elementary school than when I first started (late
60's). I figured this had a lot to do with how feminism at the time
challenged stereotypes. The flip side was that you didn't see any
boys taking up flute, despite visible male flautists in classical, jazz
and even rock at the time. A small indication of how we feminists
failed to make a dent in male stereotypes.

It would be interesting to hear from folks who deal with kids at an
elementary/junior high level-- have the gender of instrument players
changed over time? Is there still the kind of teasing that went on
when I was a kid still happening, particularly with boys who play flute?

I think a lot of the prejudices that we acquire when we first start
music stay with us, which is why music is still so gender and race
segregated (the Clarinet Page article on Don Byron has a take on the
latter), despite some of our best efforts. Comments?

____ Lisa K. Canjura-Clayton The obligatory homepage:
/ clayton@-----.edu/~clayton
/ Band=Life COMING SOON: Virtual Barstow!
"There is nothing more onanistic than playing the bass clarinet by yourself"
-Steve Trier

   
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