The deep dive into specialised music study can be fraught with danger. Burn-out, impostor syndrome, and performance anxiety are among some of the many battles faced as we navigate a relationship with something so intrinsically linked to our identities. But for women, these battles are amplified tenfold by a systemic structure designed to benefit men.
A lack of gender diversity in classical music is, unfortunately, not a new phenomenon. Bred from the idea that men are bigger, stronger and more powerful, comes a damaging belief that men are inherently better players. In the classroom, we hear that flutes and violins are for girls, whilst saxophones and brass are for boys. Although...
Just to clarify – this article is essentially about men and women and makes fair enough points. In this sense though it is arguing about the biological reality of binary ‘sex’ in the traditional male/female sense. The author should use this traditional term. ‘Gender’, on the other hand, is a recently introduced artificial term designed by identity ideologues to confuse biological and scientific reality. It refers to an apparent ‘feeling’ of identity to one of a large number of gender identities and a confection of new associated pronouns.