Gender roles are in everything we do, no matter what it is. Music gender roles are something I honestly have not thought about. But once you reflect on music and gender, it is weird to think about and realize how there are gender roles in the music aspect as well. I have a lot of examples that I can think of, but I'm only going to talk about a few. My first example of gender in music is the type of instruments men and women play and what those expectations are. Drums are a great example of this topic. Men play the drums most of the time, and that’s usually how it goes. But what's cool is when you see a girl play the drums because girls are expected to play the piano or another instrument that doesn’t portray “masculinity.” I didn’t even realize that fewer girls are playing the drums than men until I thought about gender in the music and how it affects different aspects.
One female drummer I found while researching is Hannah Welton. She started playing the drums when she was younger, which has stuck with her. A fun fact I found about her is that in 2013 she was invited by Prince to play in his backing band 3rdeyegirl. She is also supervised by the most renowned drummers, including Pete Erskin and Louie Bellson. Many people use the excuse that “girls don’t play the drums,” but why? There is not a single instrument made just for one gender or another. People play what they like and what they enjoy. And if you're good at something, you're going to continue to play it no matter what the instrument is.
Another example of how there are gender roles in music is the type of music men and women are supposed to listen to. The genres men are supposed to listen to are what we would assume: Rock, Hip-hop, rap, and the list goes on. I'm not sure when men were expected to listen to these types of music began, but I think it is stupid. People can and should listen to whatever music they enjoy. This also goes for women; the assumed pop, contemporary hits, and dance-pop that women listen to should not be expected of them to listen to. Everyone is different and has different interests and things they like and dislike. Music is supposed to make people happy, feel good, and for us to enjoy. Gender expectations shouldn’t keep people from listening to what they like or want.
I totally agree with you on the difference between what men and women are expected to listen to. Even within my own family, there have been several times where men have been surprised that I listen to a certain genre, band, or artist because they considered it "boy music."
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ReplyDeleteIt was really cool to learn about Hannah Welton, I loved her energy in the second video. And I completely agree with your point that gender expectations should not restrict people from listening to what they want to listen to or make them feel bad for doing so. Music is subject to our opinions, it is and will never be a size fit all that should apply to the whole gender.
ReplyDeleteI can see why there are the stereotypes of what men and women listen to and why one genre could be more associated with one gender, but it shouldn't matter. I also can see the types of instruments that men and women are supposed to play, but it should by what you enjoy most like how Hannah Welton did.
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting reading this article. I love how you put so much into it. Reading about Hannah Welton was really cool. I had no idea who she was until now.
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