From the New Journals Shelf:

Canadian Music Educator/Musicien éducateur au Canada vol. 50 no.2

In the Winter 2008 copy of Canadian Music Educator I came across a very interesting article concerning gender stereotypes and musical instrument selection.

Sommer Buttu, a music teacher in Toronto who has taught in American schools in Kuwait and Israel, was intrigued by the gender stereotypes that still seem to plague instrument selection in school music programmes, so she conducted a small study on whether or not these stereotypes effect students in all-girls' schools the same way they seem to effect students in co-education schools:

"Perceptions of Female Students in a Same-sex School: Gender Stereotypes and Musical Instruments".

I have to admit I hadn't actually considered gender stereotyping in the band before. Somehow, I naïvely thought people just picked up instruments they were interested in playing, and then they either took to them or they didn't. Sommer Butto seemed to feel the same way when she started teaching music, then the parents of her students showed her the error of her ways.

She describes a scene in which the mother of one of her female students (in a co-ed school) took issue with the girl having the horn assigned to her because "it is not a girl's instrument and is not an instrument girls should play". I personally found this something of a revelation, because I've always seen women in the horn section of a band or orchestra. If I was going to give generalised gender attributes to instruments, I would assume a horn was a fairly "girly" instrument, and not unbecoming of a lady at all. Certainly not like those nasty, masculine flugabones.

Sommer describes the frustration of trying to match instruments with children who just want to play, when society (particularly through their parents) tries to give gender values to things which should, in all honesty, be gender neutral.

She then goes on to talk about her experiences teaching in an all-girls' school. The fact that every single instrument in the orchestra would have to be played by a girl, and the supportive environment fostered by the same-sex groups, created a completely different approach to instrument selection. There was a more open approach to the instruments, and the girls' parents had no problems with their selections.

In the study she conducted, Sommer found that girls in same-sex schools felt perfectly free to take up low brass and percussion instruments, and only noticed issues with gender when attending co-educational band camps and competitions.

Tellingly, she also found they felt sorry for boys. Why? Because a girl can take up an instrument that isn't considered "girly" and be considered a pioneer worthy of respect. Should a boy try to take up an instrument that wasn't considered to be "manly", though, he wouldn't be given the same kudos. Particularly male flautists. Apparently the flute is an exceptionally "girly" instrument.

Sommer gives some recommendations to pedagogical practice (which basically consist of "let the children play, but give them a lot of support") and suggests another study on boys in a same-sex schooling environment should be undertaken.

Some interesting quotes from the article:

"Research indicates that parents, peers and society all play a major role in dictating the constructed ideas of gender roles and expectations in the area of musical instruments" (p. 31)

"From a very young age, the girls see ensembles that are comprised of all females; thus the sight of a small grade seven girl transporting a tuba is neither a surprise nor an anomaly, rather a reality that is encouraged and celebrated" (p. 31)

"Many participants in this study who have broken gender stereotypes commented that prior to playing their instrument, they were unaware that women could play low brass or percussion instruments" (p. 32)

"In furthering the scope and depth of gender research in music education, it is my hope that our profession can come closer to lessening the damaging stereotypes to the point that they will no longer be a factor in the lives of our young instrumentalists" (p. 33)


Butto, S. (2008). Perceptions of Female Students in a Same-sex School: Gender Stereotypes and Musical Instruments. Canadian Music Educator. 50 (2), 30-33.