"You want to learn the BASSOON? But Hafwen, isn't that a MAN'S instrument?" Ever heard anything like this?
Believe it or not, that's what a well-meaning family member said to me when I merrily announced that I was going to learn the unwieldly, deep-voiced BASSOON! And this was only in the 1980s - certainly not back in the Victorian era when young ladies were supposed to play, er, "feminine"instruments, such as piano or violin - certainly nothing "masculine" like cello, double bass, trumpet or - well, bassoon!
When I was at the Conservatorium in the 1980's, there were admittedly very few female bassoonists - and definitely no girls tackled the tuba or trombone back then - and conversely, there were no male harpists. Thankfully, though, things seem to be quite different now.
Have any people here have experienced such a thing? Now we're in the 21st century, are there still such things as "men's instruments" and "women's instruments?" Are all instruments now "unisex" - or have you recently encountered some of this peculiar sexism, regarding specific instruments?
I'll be intrigued to hear your responses...
Cheers, Hafwen.
Schumiszt2009-04-14T04:30:12Z
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Good question!
I've not thought about the bassoon ever being thought to be a 'male instrument' but I know of one instrument that here in the United States is still rather shoddy. Guys just don't play the flute in high school. I don't know why, but I think most of them think that it is feminine. Even at my school for the arts where all art is accepted in any form, we have no guys who play the flute.
Really, I think it's rather absurd... I don't know how it is in other parts of the world, but in the US gays are attacked in school constantly. Guys live under constant fear that if they do anything 'feminine' that somebody will accuse them of being gay. Quite sadly, there last year at my school of the arts, there was one male flutist, a darn good one too! And it was known that he was gay. So what happens if another guy wants to play the flute?
Unfortunately even in the world of arts the stereotype still is present.
Quite ironically, out of 4 bassoonists at my school, only 1 of them is male.
I agree that the harp is certainly a more 'feminine instrument.' Actually, the other day I realized that on finale there is a "plucked strings" category which has the harp guitar and banjo which I have never used before and didn't realize they were there. I was playing around with the harp and I was thinking "You know, it would be awesome if I could play the harp!" Of course I probably never will as I am already taking 3 (soon to be 4 with my oboe lessons this summer! wish me luck!) different music lessons, so adding a fifth (plus buying a harp! yikes!) makes it impossible...
It was only a fun little hope of mine... But, I do not know any males that play the harp, but I do know (lets think here... ... ...) six different people that play harp and they are all girls...
When I think of a harpist, I think of a beautiful woman with long golden hair in a magnificent dress strumming away at a heavily ornamented harp. Don't you?
Lets do an experiment... Lets think of a person of a particular instrument, so a pianist or whatever the instrument is, and lets see what gender they are... This is my listing...
Flutist: Quite clearly, a female... Clarinetist: Hmmm... I guess a male... Oboist: I thought of a female first... Bassoonist: You're going to hate me Hafwen, but I did think of a male playing this. Saxophone... ist?: Female Violinist: A male Violist: Quite strangely, I thought of a female first. Cellist: A male Bassist: Male Trumpeter: I thought of a female actually... 'Hornist?': Male Trombonist: Male Tuba'ist': Male Pianist: Male Harpist: Female Guitarist: Male Organist: hmmm... Interesting... I thought of a female playing first... Percussion: Actually... I thought of a female playing... Probably because the tympanist in the TSO is a female...
Wow... I don't know all of the "ists"
Anyway... I wonder how yours matches up...
Now, course, this is what I think predominantly has more musicians of their playing each of these instruments than the other...
I don't think there are any instruments that can't be played by the other sex and I hate the stereotypes that stop teenage musicians from playing a certain instrument...
Yes, this happened to a girl I met but not with an instrument.
I was in Japan with a couple friends, and we decided to go to the beach. I've always wanted to try surfing. So, when we asked a Japanese friend if she had a surfboard that I could borrow, she said she only had a boogie board. Apparently when she went to a shop to purchase a surfboard (which is what she originally wanted) the salesperson told her to buy a boogie board, because she was a girl: girls use boogie boards, not surfboards.
Isn't the crazy? I visited Japan in ... 2003, and I'm not positive when exactly the girl purchased her boogie board. So, hopefully things have changed. Or, perhaps this wasn't a common case... maybe the salesperson was sexist.
Yes, I've heard of these stereotypes, but most of them don't really exist in my high school band or youth symphony. In band, our bassoonist is a girl, and our tubist, who also plays the trombone, is a girl. So is our french hornist. A few of our trumpeters are also girls. There is only one guy flutist, but he is not seen as gay at all.
But I just realized that I do not know a single male clarinetist, and I probably know 10 or 15 female clarinetists. For some reason I still don't think of it as a "female" instrument.
I'm not going to lie, I'm extremely girly. Being dainty is a huge part of who I am. I'm a seventeen year old female bassoonist & double bassist, and it makes my day every time someone underestimates me on my chosen instruments. I know that my hands aren't the ideal size to play either of these instruments, especially when compared to some of the boxier ones that men possess, but I've gotten over it. Every year I beat them out for principle in our youth orchestras, district & all-state festivals. You wonder what it's like to be a female leader of an otherwise all-male section? Pretty damn sweet I'd say.