Gender, Music, and Me.

(I started writing this a few weeks ago, and I never really decided where to go with it after the first round, so I'm putting it here, just in case anyone feels a need to read.)

I suppose I should preface this all by saying that I grew up in a relatively sexism-free environment. I'm from Southern California, I don't subscribe to a religion, and the best students in my high school were mostly girls. My mother has always worked, and she's definitely the power figure over my dad. I guess my mother would qualify as a feminist- by setting a good example rather than fighting for causes. She has always been pro-gay people, against wimpy women, and all for women in the workforce. Growing up, my mom wouldn't allow me to have Barbies, and my toys were a combination of "boy" and "girl" toys. (American Girls, racetrack for cars, a pirate ship...etc.) So, I'm quite different from other Jucispeakers {Jucispeak is a blog promoting women's issues, tolerance, love, etc.} in the environment that I am used to. I frankly never experienced much of any sexism growing up, at least towards myself or peers, and I knew it existed, but it never really affected me directly except in classroom situations when I was arguing for Emily Dickinson's bold poetry or how Othello's fears are a product of gender bias. Until now.

This year, I have really become more aware of the issues facing women in society, whether in music, arts, politics, or other fields. I realized that my teacher was the only full-time tenured female string faculty at Eastman. I was informed that the results of my auditions may have been due to sexism, according to certain adjudicators voting for me. I have experienced a conductor who is so masculine, insensitive, and brutish in his interpretations and treatment of others that I have realized that I am different. As a violist and woman, I have something different to say---and not everyone will listen to what I have to say. And that's sad. So let's proceed.

Most of us classical musicians can safely say that the major part of the classical canon is made of music by dead white men (most of whom were heterosexual). Classical music has long discriminated against race, gender, and sexuality, and today is no exception. Historically, orchestras were all male endeavors, compositions were by men (since women couldn't get published or be respected by their peers), solo performers were male, and even now, it is rare to see a successful female conductor (aside from Marin Alsop). Fortunately, many female composers have been recognized for their prowess in the last 40 years, but that is only 40 years out of hundreds of years of classical music! Women have been composing, performing, and creating since the beginning of time- they just aren't always remembered in history. Maddalena Casulana has a book of her madrigals published in the 1560's- the first instance of a women composer's works being published. Does anyone teach this? Nope. (I just took a whole semester of the Renaissance, and women's music was maybe discussed for 5 minutes) How many music textbooks (theoretical or historical) refer to women's works? Well, my copy of the Grout certainly doesn't do much, nor does Alex Ross' newish book "The Rest is Noise." Aside from Hildegard von Bingen, how many other women composers pre-1800 can anyone name? Probably not many. Barbara Strozzi? Rarely mentioned in Renaissance books. Do any books actually make a point of the MUSIC of Clara Schumann rather than her illustrious relationship with Brahms? Not many. Women throughout the ages have been slighted by history; scores of them: Fanny Mendelssohn, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Ellen Zwilich, Rebecca Clarke (whom most people only know for her viola sonata). When these women make works of art that are notable, HIStory (Aka. the past as remembered by males) is not fair to them. If classical music as a field has been mostly male dominated, the same is true of music scholarship, such as music theory and music history. When all aspects of classical music have been largely controlled by males, it's really no longer that there has been some gender issues over the years.

Today, orchestras are mostly equitable in their treatment of gender. But in the early half of the century, when women were graduating from music school, there were few, if any, orchestras that would accept them. Instead, "Women's Orchestras" were founded, and by the 1940's, there were 30 women's orchestras in the US. However, like other fields of work, WWII called away many men, and orchestras were now desperate to fill those positions, thus resulting in gender integration in professional orchestras. While women have been accepted as performers, teachers, and orchestral musicians, women are still fighting for recognition as conductors and composers. Most of these conductors and composers were trained exclusively by men, and had to forge their ways into male-dominated fields with support and mentorship of other women. Ultimately, when men have been in power, it has been extremely difficult for women to be treated equally in all aspects of music. My teacher has told me stories of sexism, even in the 1990's at Juilliard, when most of the faculty was male, and I have seen how Eastman is a conservative, mostly male-led institution. So what can we do as women musicians? Good question.

The first step is to acknowledge that women are still discriminated against, even if it is more subtle than in the not-so-distant past. If an all-female chamber group wears clothing that is sexy, how are they using that image? Is it helping or hurting the cause for women? At the same point, do women have to dress in an androgynous fashion to be taken seriously? I don't know the answer. I think the answer is to be thoughtful of all possible consequences in such a situation. Women have the power to be sexy, but don't have to dress scantily to prove that they are women. I must admit that I am always bothered a little when I see a classical album that has T+A appeal. In a genre where sound counts so much more than image, it is sad to see women using that as a way to boost fame and success. At the same time, a sexy album cover can also dull the musical value of the artist's work, which is also unfortunate. (Think of the publicity photos for the Eroica Trio and the Ahn trio as compared to other all-female groups, like the Lark Quartet). Aside from images, it is our job as performers and musicians to push for other women, whether in music history, popular music, conducting, or in regular life. By being aware of discrimination, I think we can eventually reach a fairer treatment and equality for women in classical music.