Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Spring 2019 9 WOMEN COMPOSERS were afforded to women. Unfortunately, in the implementation of these work opportunities around the 1960s, there seemed to be jobs "set aside" for women based on gendered stereotypes. While society by the 1950s was definitely not structured around agriculture anymore, these stereotypes surrounding both men and women's roles in society stuck, and this dichotomy of what it means to be male and female emerged. We know it today as the gender binary, with one side generally defined by what the other is not; so you cannot have characteristics of both in this social construct. is is not how gender works in practice. Gender is a social construct, but we still get these gender-associated jobs, whether directly or indirectly. Most of the male-associated jobs require some sort of intellectual process or research: like professors, doctors, architects, and CEOs. While most of the female-associated jobs involve consistent use of emotions or children, especially: like nurses, teachers, interior designers, and elderly caretakers. e above examples are the most obvious ones, but some are not so obvious, especially now with the advancements made by women in the workplace. ere are now numerous women doing what were traditionally men's jobs. e opposite is also true; we are seeing an uptick in the amount of male nurses, therapists, social workers, etc. In both of these cases, however, these are still few and far between because of the societal binary construction of gender. is construct is so embedded in our society, we are now almost blind to it — we do not question it, nor do we talk about it — but its oppressive effects are still felt. e feminine mystique, as Friedan defines it, still exists, but has evolved to fit modern society. Marion Guck, a music theorist — a field which is still predominately men — wrote an article describing her experience as a woman in this field. Aer describing her struggle to find her place in her own field, she challenges her audience to ask themselves if it is "a woman's work if the process involves feeling, but a man is doing it?" and conversely, is it a man's work if the process involves intellect, but a woman is doing it? Guck argues no; there is no inherent man's work or woman's work. Careers should not be defined by the gender of those in the positions, but by the work itself being done by the individuals. Some women in the world have chosen to make their career in music composition simply because creating music is what they love doing. ey draw influence for their works from their musical experiences, including other composers, just like many before them. Standard music composition textbooks, especially those written in the last thirty years, outline intellectual techniques that are used by composition students. If we're conforming to the gender associations set by society, the composer then brings the intellectual process to music, and is thus the masculine part, and the performer brings in the emotional aspect, and thus is the feminine. But where does this leave male performers? Where does this leave women composers? In this discipline, which supposedly is one of the most accepting communities extant in America, where does gender equality exist? Gender equality in music is not easily found, even at a historic music school in the northeast. In spring of 2017, of the over 700 pieces performed during concerts and student recitals held on the campus of Ithaca College, only 45 were composed by women. Nationally, women composers are programmed at a rate of 1.8% to their male counterparts on professional orchestra programs. is question of how to attain gender equality is one that researchers have asked themselves multiple times in recent years. It's not easily answered because gender equality across academic disciplines is not easily defined. What would true gender equality even look like in modern musical programming? Several organizations have been attempting to attain this utopian idea over the last few years. ere have been several composition competitions specifically for non-binary and female composers newly created since 2012. e BBC Proms famously signed a contract to ensure half of all commissions will go to women by 2022. e New York Philharmonic's 2017- 2018 season featured 15 women composers, including one concert of only women. ese attempts, however, are futile if we cannot change the society in which the music exists. In a gender equal world, this research would be devoted to the pieces themselves and their musical contents, not the personal identity of their creators. Gender is just a cultural construct, not a standard with which to judge musical works. Works by women are increasingly being programmed on classical music concerts, but only because we have demystified the situation the evolved feminine mystique used to define. is enlightenment comes from years of struggle, many online movements like #metoo, and a commitment to revealing the voices of those who were once silenced. For there is no binary extant in music — no male intellectualism or female emotionalism — only the human experience, powerful performances, and great music. Brittany Giles is a doctoral student in bassoon performance and a graduate teaching assistant at Michigan State University. An initiate of Gamma Upsilon Chapter, she is currently affiliated with the Lansing-East Lansing Alumnae Chapter, here she serves as Editor. I n s p r i n g o f 2 0 1 7 , o f t h e o v e r 7 0 0 p i e c e s p e r f o r m e d d u r i n g c o n c e r t s a n d s t u d e n t r e c i t a l s h e l d o n t h e c a m p u s o f I t h a c a C o l l e g e , o n l y 4 5 w e r e c o m p o s e d b y w o m e n . N a t i o n a l l y , w o m e n c o m p o s e r s a r e p r o g r a m m e d a t a r a t e o f 1 . 8 % t o t h e i r m a l e c o u n t e r p a r t s o n p r o f e s s i o n a l o r c h e s t r a p r o g r a m s .

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