Klarinet Archive - Posting 000842.txt from 2000/04

From: "Diane Karius, Ph.D." <dikarius@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Music and gender
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 20:07:04 -0400

Bill Hausmann wrote:

> I would assume the comment was meant to imply that you played with
> confidence and a strong tone, not timidly and wimpily "like a girl would."
> It was clearly a compliment, however wrongheaded.

The thing that always amazes me about that particular comment
was that although yes, they did mean that I played with (as you
describe it), a strong tone and confidence (and some amount of
technical ability), the person saying this also _explicitly_ stated
that this was a NEGATIVE (!) and that I should not play up to the
level that I was a capable of because "women shouldn't do that". I
wonder what this person would have made of women with _real_ talent
at the clarinet like Sabine Meyer, Emma Johnson, etc...!

Needless to say, after hearing that "advice" I was so profoundly
moved that I went right out and did the "womanly" thing by earning a
doctorate in science as well as signing up for clarinet lessons! It
turned out alright for me, but what about the kids who hear these
statements (whether male (it's a girls instrument) or female (you
don't want to be too good))? It's their lives that are being messed
with by people who don't even really know the kids or what things are
meaningful to them or what they are capable of. That's the sad part.

Diane R. Karius, Ph.D.
Department of Physiology
University of Health Sciences
1750 Independence Ave.
Kansas City, MO 641o6-1453
email: dikarius@-----.EDU
http://uhsweb.edu/physio

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