Musicians crossing musical instrument gender stereotypes: a study of computer-mediated communication

Abstract

This study examined computer-mediated communication (CMC) – blogs and responses to YouTube postings – to better understand how CMCs reflect adolescents' attitudes towards musicians playing instruments that cross gender stereotypes. Employing purposive sampling, we used specific search terms, such as ‘girl drummer’, to identify a sample of 32 English-language blogs addressing boys' and girls' instrument choices. The texts of these blogs were analysed and coded according to emergent themes. Online participants used CMCs to provide mutual support, seek out role models, highlight the relationship between physical appearance and playing a specific instrument, comment on the performance of musicians of the opposite sex, examine the relationship between music genre and musicians' gender, and debate sexual orientation issues related to instrument choice. Our results show that the web can be a supportive place for these instrumentalists as well as a place that replicates the harassment they may experience in person.

Keywords:

• musical instrument
• sex-stereotypes
• gender
• blogs
• role models
• sexual orientation

Notes on contributors

Dr. Harold Abeles is Professor of Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has written numerous articles, chapters and books on music education. He is the co-author of the Foundations of Music Education and the co-editor of Critical Issues in Music Education: Contemporary Theory and Practice. His research has focused on the evaluation of community-based arts organizations, the assessment of instrumental instruction, the sex-stereotyping of music instruments, the evaluation of applied music instructors, and technology-based music instruction. He currently serves on the editorial board of Arts Education Policy Review.

Dr. Mary Hafeli is Professor of Art and Art Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the author of articles and book chapters on arts education and is co-editor of the book Conversations in Art: The Dialectics of Teaching and Learning. Her research examines the ideas, ways of thinking, decisions, and judgments that characterize the practices of visual and performing artists, both adults and children, as they produce creative work. Current projects include a study of youth and adult perspectives on ‘good’ teaching and studio and literary forms and practices as methodologies for qualitative research. She serves as chair-elect of the National Art Education Association's Research Commission and on the editorial board of Studies in Art Education.

Dr. Colleen Sears is Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Music Education at the College of New Jersey. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The College of New Jersey and a Master of Arts degree in music education from the Eastman School of Music. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in music education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses primarily on gender equity issues in music education. Her interests lie in uncovering and examining gendered stereotypes that exist inside the music classroom and within the professional community. Dr. Sears' articles have appeared in Tempo Magazine, The Woman Conductor, and Gender, Education, Music, & Society.

Notes

1. In this study sex is used as a binary biological category, while gender is used to refer to the social/cultural construct of being male or female. Gender associations are defined as being subjectively internalised by upbringing and education to become part of the identity of instruments (Glasser and Smith 2008).

2. Posts preceded by a superscript ‘a’ use pseudonyms for the bloggers' names and the text has been altered as described in the method section. All other quotes use the original bloggers' name and original text.