So Your Daughter Wants to Be a Drummer?

Susan Yank Porter; Harold F. Abeles

Music Educators Journal, Vol. 65, No. 5. (Jan., 1979), pp. 46-49.

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SoYour

Daughter
Wants To Be
a Drummer?

Susan Yank Porter and

Harold F. Abeles
In all areas of life, young and old are af-
fected by society's demands that both men
and women be cast into fixed and constricting
sex roles. This situation has often been main-
tained at great cost to the individual needs of
members of both sexes, including musicians.
In Libro del cortegiano of 1598, Baldassare
Castiglione wrote, "Imagin with your selfe
what an unsightly matter it were to see a wom-
an play upon a tabour or drum, or blow in a
flute or trumpet, or any like instrument: and
this because the boisterousness of them doth
Porter, formerly on the faculty of the school of music at
Indiana University, Bloomington, is now teaching part-
time at the University of Delaware, Newark. Abeles is as-
sociate professor of music education at Indiana Universi-
ty, Bloomington.
Photographs by Debra Rider
both cover and take away that sweete mild-
ness which setteth so forth everie deede that a
woman doth."' In a book published in 1898,
Sidney Lanier advised, "Let our young ladies
. . . address themselves to the violin, the flute, ,
the oboe, the harp, the clarionet, the bassoon.
the kettledrum. It is more than possible that
upon some of these instruments the superior
daintiness of the female tissue might finally
make the woman a more successful player
than the man."2 Even in this decade, sex re-
strictions in music are common. Conductor
Zubin Mehta once commented, "I just don't
think women should be in an orchestra. They
become men."3 In terms of achievements in
the worlds of science, humanities, all arts, and
generally everywhere but at home, women
have been influenced by such attitudes.
Since schools are generally considered to be
society's official socializing agents, it is impor-
tant to observe how sex roles affect various ac-
tivities, attitudes, and instruction within this
setting. Preschool girls tend to outshine boys
on tests of general intelligence.4 Yet because
of various roles they are expected to play, they
often fall behind by the time they reach high
school. Cultural conditioning permeates not
only IQ test scores but selection in everything
from dolls to drums. Children learn early that
girls play with dolls and boys with trains. In
school, certain subjects, such as English, come
to be thought of as "girls' subjects" while oth-
er subjects, such as math and science, are per-
ceived as "boys' subjects." What children
read in school most likely influences their
view of themselves as well as that of the
world. In children's picture books, females ac-
count for only 20 to 30 percent of the subjects
p i c t ~ r e d .An
~ analysis of sixteen different
reading series showed the major character role
in the story was a female only 14 percent of
the time.6
Schools can be influential in the area of ca-
reer choices made by students. Although 1972
statistics that 42 percent of the labor assigned to males and only 119 to females. In
force was comprised of females*only 14 Per- scanning the list of female career roles includ-
cent of the career roles that children read ed in the various reading series, only two were
about in their basic reading series were for directly related to music, those of pianist and
women.' Careers for girls were also more lim- The fictional males fared much better
ited in variety and quality than those assigned with more numerous and varied career role
The same study showed that of models to choose from, such as band leader,
630 different of career roles* 51' were composer, choir master, music conductor,
,Baldassare Casliglione, The Book of LheCourtier, trans. Sir
minstrel, music teacher. own-grinder, singer,
Thomas Hoby (London: 1. M.Dent & Son ~ t d . 1928),
, p. 194. trumpeter, violinist, and voice teacher. A re-
?Sidney Lenier. "The Orchestra of Today." Music and Poetry cent issue of Music Educators Journal on ca-
(1898; reprint ed.. New York: Haskell House Publishing Ltd..
1969). p. 39. reers in music further illustrates the p r ~ b l e m . ~
'New York Times. 18 October 1970. Section 2. p. 33. Pictorially, the entire issue was male-domi-
4Elizabeth Fisher. "Children's Boob: The Second Sex. Junior nated, beginning with the cover, where not
Division." in Judith Stacey. Susan BBreaud. and Joan Daniels.
eds.. And Jill Came Tumbling After: Sexism in American Educo- One female was found although nine persons
tion (New York: Dell Publishing CO..1974). pp. 1 1 ~ 1 2 2 . were pictured. The ratio barely improved with
Tisher. pp. 116-122.
6G.E. Brinon. "Sex Stereotypingand Career Roles." Journalof illustrations throughout the issue. Much of
Reading 17 (November 1973): 140-148.
'Elritton. Wusic Educators Journal 63. no. 7 (March 1977).
this was undoubtedly unintentional; never-
theless, the fact remains.
Sexism can even influence what instrument
a child plays. In a recent study a group of
adults were asked which of eight instruments
they would like their son or daughter to play
in a school music p r ~ g r a mThe
. ~ parents sam-
pled preferred clarinet, flute, and violin for
their daughters, and drum, trombone, and
trumpet for their sons, with cello and saxo-
phone being selected for either boys or girls
In a second investigation both musicians and
nonmusicians ranked the flute as the most
"feminine" of the eight instruments, with vio-
lin next, and then clarinet. The drums were
the most "masculine," followed by trombone
and trumpet. The cello and saxophone, ap-
pearing in the middle of the scale, were con-
sidered more neutral.
Another study was initiated to investigate
the age at which such instrumentlgender asso-
ciations begin. To do this, preferences of chil-
dren in kindergarten through fifth grade from
several schools were studied. The results sug-
gested that while the sex stereotyping behav-
ior in music instrument preference is not
strong in young children, it is quite evident in
children above grade three. It also was inter-
esting to note that the boys' selections re-
mained relatively stable at the masculine end
of the scale from kindergarten through the
eventual selection of an instrument. The girls'
selections consistently moved toward more
traditionally "feminine" instruments, the dif-
ference between the sexes maximizing around
third and fourth grades. Following the opin-
ion generated from the women's movement
that males are often more constricted in be-
havior and latitude of choices than females,
the girls in the study chose a wider variety of
instruments, while the boys chose from a rela-
tively restricted group at the masculine end of
the scale.
Although it is probable that more than a few
children and adults have never been troubled
by whether or not an instrument is considered
"masculine" or "feminine," it is apparent that
such associations do exist. The question mu-
sic educators need to consider is how atti-
tudes and behavior surrounding this issue can
be modified. Here are a few suggestions.
Care should be taken in the initial presenta-
tion of instruments to small children. Since
these gender associations exist outside the
music class as well, consistent reinforcing by
parents and music teachers seems necessary,
at least until instrumental selections are
made. Teachers need to take a good look at ad-
vertising and published materials. How many
of us were introduced to the tuba by "Tubby"
9 H ~ ~ F.l dAbeles and Susan Yank Porter, "The Sex-Stereo-
typing of Musical Instruments," journal of Research in Music
Education 26 (Summer 1978):65-75.
or to other instruments by seeing charts show-
ing a girl demonstrating the proper position to
hold a flute or a boy the trumpet? Even though
music teachers are sometimes limited in their
choice of such materials, an awareness of the
problem could lead to eventual modifications.
Encouraging the music industry to avoid pre-
paring sexist advertisements also would seem
appropriate.
On the secondary and college levels there is
still considerable evidence of a predominance
of males in band programs and females in or-
chestra programs. Until recently college
marching bands were often as exclusively
male as are college football teams. As late as
1973 one of the Big Ten schools was reported
to have had an all-male band.l0 Such a pattern
of predominately single-sex instrumental en-
sembles creates several serious problems.
First, there is the obvious exclusion of com-
petent performers who would like to be in-
cluded. Second, millions of Americans watch
marching bands perform each fall and are in-
fluenced not only by what they hear but also
by what they see. Finally, of the relatively
small number of women who teach instru-
mental music, many have been excluded from
certain playing experiences, particularly with
regard to marching bands." A less sexist pol-
icy regarding membership in instrumental en-
sembles would benefit both the musicians and
the audience. Major changes have been occur-
ring in recent years, but greater freedom of
choice based on performance competencies
seems necessary.
A child once summed up the broader prob-
lems of freedom of choice in an essay entitled
"Two Lives." "I wish all girls in school were
like me. If you ask them what they want to be
when they grow up they will say a model,
movie star, or nurse. Boys would say ugh
you're a girl, and girls would say ugh you're a
boy. When I go to school I don't like to be left
out from others, so I act like them even though
I hate it. It's like I'm living two differentlives a
liberated one at home, and a nonliberated at
school. . . . I am at the age of nine, and I'm
trying to make my way through life, trying to
live one life but I can't. It's hard for me. I want
to be free, but I guess if I stay like this living
two lives I don't know what will happen to me
or what I'll be."12
Music ought to provide the kind of freedom
that not only this little girl, but all adults and
children are seeking, regardless of their sex. 3
lW'Womenin Big Ten Marching Bands." The School Musician
Director and Teacher 45 (December 1973): 58-59.
"A. Mayer, "Women in Applied Music." The Status of Worn-
en in College Music: Preliminary Studies (Binghamton. New
York: College Music Society. 1976).pp. 30-34.
12Carolyn Karkosza. "Two Lives," in Judith Stacey, Susan Be-
reaud, and Joan Daniels, eds.,And jill Came Tumbling After: Sex-
ism in American Education (New York: Dell Publishing Co.,
1974),p. 137.