I never really thought about it in my younger days, but the gender of a person does seem to affect the role in music that he or she plays. From a classical perspective, almost all of the flute players I have ever known are female (Dr. Chris Vaneman being one of the rare exceptions) – the same with harpists - while most of the percussion players are male. I would comment on singers, but to me, the stereotypes and behaviors are rooted more in voice type rather than gender. Look at popular music: how many 3, 4, 5 or even more piece rock bands (I’ve seen as many as 9) are all female? Not very many (granted, there are a number of bands of mixed gender). Rap/hip-hop artists? Again, they seem to be mostly men.
In 1998/1999, I was in the 6th grade and Brittany Spears had just burst onto the scene. I remember taking a trip by bus to a choral festival. Someone had her CD was playing it what seemed like non-stop. People behind be kept singing “Baby One More Time”. It aggravated me to no end. I realized that most of the voices I heard were of girls. The only thing the guys seemed to like about her was her looks. Exactly what the girls liked about Brittany
Several years later (mid 2000s), most of the girls I knew seemed to be into either Dave Matthews Band or Jack Johnson. I found them both okay, but they were not aggressive enough for me. The circle of people that I hung out with in high school who were into the same music that I was consisted almost exclusively of guys. In my mind, the girls just didn’t seem to get it. What they liked to listen to was, to me, mindless bubblegum. The music sounded it like it took all of five minutes to write (both the lyrics and the melody). Having a good time and love were two subjects that just didn’t click with me. They were here one minute and gone the next. I was sort of lonely and felt rejected, and heavy metal was my outlet. While there were girls who also like it, it wasn’t quite as obvious and they weren’t as numerous and the guys. The guys sported the t-shirts and the conversations openly. Even the bands with females were regarded as “softer” and kind of put off as “lame.” More emo oriented bands that seemed to wine out their emotions in their music and wear tight clothes were also looked down upon. But hey, things can and do change.
Jason, thanks for sharing your thoughts! I wanted to read your blog on this topic, just because you happen to be the only male in our class. :) We had the same experiences in a band-related setting. And although, I'm younger than you, I remember Britney Spears' "break-through" into the music world pretty clearly. My parents wouldn't let me listen to her because they thought she was "not a nice girl." Haha. I suppose they thought she was bubblegum too. Which she is! :)
ReplyDeleteJason, I like how you point out that men and women could have a different taste in music and could select listening to (and watching)different artists for different reasons. It is true that most of the pop music culture have women musicians that "look good" and they market themselves with their looks so that they may attract the male market. Look at the Pussycat Dolls! Now which straight guy would not stare at the TV screen if a video of their's in not on?
ReplyDeleteJason, I can totally relate to you! I even touched on it in my blog. I was into a lot of the same music you were, and yes I was the only girl! The other girls thought I was weird because I didn't like Britney Spears and preferred Nine Inch Nails. As girls I feel that we're geared through the media (and somewhat by nature) to be interested in the less aggressive side of music.
ReplyDeleteLike Kaylee, I wanted to read your blog because you're the only male in my class. Back when I was in middle school and high school, I hated a lot of the popular music my friends were into. I was into a lot of bands that many of them had not heard of and when I tried to get them to listen to the music, they hated it. These bands included Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, and Opeth, although I did have more "tolerable" music tastes in my friends' opinions such as The Beatles, The Wallflowers, and U2. I find it really interesting that you pointed out that a lot of guys were only interested in Britney Spears' looks. I managed to befriend the few men my age in high school who were actually turned off by the looks of many pop stars out there.
ReplyDeleteBahahaha, 'mindless bubblegum'. I have to agree with you that male flute players are an exception, and I too loved Brittany Spears. When I was younger my male neighbors listened to Limp Biskit and Eminem, so my direction of preferance changed. Females in the media are meant to look sexy and have sexy, airy voices. Whatever the T.V shows, people will buy. It's sad but true. Women screamo artist and rock artist just aren't as recognized. They don't have the current media sex appeal.
ReplyDeleteYes, there does seem to be a loose line in who listens to what in American popular music: girls/pop, guys/rock. It's always sort of intrigued me, especially when I started to realize that most of my favorite artists are women--not all, of course, but most.
ReplyDeleteOh, and it reminds me of something Chris told me about once. At his inner-city Detroit high school, there happened to be a really vibrant harp program (it was an Arts Magnet school) which produced skads of really excellent black male harpists. And I actually toured with one of them when the American Wind Symphony went to Europe. Calvin was very, very cool, and a fantastic harpist. Just something to think about!