Klarinet Archive - Posting 000843.txt from 2000/04

From: "Kevin Callahan" <kionon@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Music and Academic Achievement
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 20:07:05 -0400

>From: "Kevin Fay" <kevinfay@-----.com>
>Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: RE: [kl] Music and Academic Achievement
>Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 11:10:17 PDT
>
>Kevin Callahan wrote:
>
><<<Cool for you, but we still have some of the instrument predjudices. In
>fact the only male flute player we have, who happens to be my best friends
>and was so before I even knew he played flute, is teased immensely.>>>
>
>My best friend in high school -- the guy I bought my first car from, and
>the
>best man at my first wedding -- was the only male flute player in the band.
>Consistent with your friend's experience, "Crazy Eric" was teased a great
>deal for playing such a "girly" instrument. Much of the teasing was based
>on immature homophobia; he was graced with all of the unfortunately
>familiar
>epithets.
>
>. . . which in the end made no sense. Eric was not a particularly good
>flute player, but got to hang out a lot with girls, an activity he enjoyed
>immensely. (FWIW, he ended up marrying one of his section-mates.)

Brandon isn't a very good flute player either, but then, all the flute
players we have are perfectionists, so he may be good and no one notices.

>Gender stereoptyping by instrument is stupid, which I define as the
>emotional maintenance of prejudice in the face of contrary empirical
>evidence. "Everyone knows" that females can't play trumpet
>(notwithstnading
>the existence of Barbara Butler, Susan Slaughter, Laurie Frink, Jeanne
>Pocius) and that males are physically incapable of playing flute (but see
>Julius Baker, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal et al).
>
>Now it appears that the clarinet is a "female-only" instrument? Heck, it's
>not that long ago that Sabine Meyer had trouble with the Berlin
>Philharmonic
>for BEING female. Give me a break.
>
>kjf

Preaching to the choir, I love playing clarinet, remember? :)

Kevin Callahan
DS9 Theme in Treble... Now that's an audition piece.
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