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"MARCHING BARBIES": INFLUENCES OF GENDER BIAS IN THREE FEMALE
HIGH SCHOOL BAND TEACHERS
By

Sara K. Jones

A THESIS
Submitted to
Michigan State University

in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF MUSIC
Music Education

2010

ABSTRACT

"MARCHING BARBIES": INFLUENCES OF GENDER BIAS IN THREE FEMALE
HIGH SCHOOL BAND TEACHERS

By
Sara K. Jones
Through the years, women have ﬁlled roles in music that were deemed
“appropriate” by societal standards. After World War II broke out women entered the
music performance ﬁeld and began to participate in school band and orchestra programs.
Women ﬂooded the ranks of musicians and music educators and play an important role in
the music world today. However, there is still a lack of representation of women in
instrumental music education at the secondary level. This narrative study explores the
perceptions and inﬂuences of gender stereotyping in three female high school band music
educators. The interviews revealed gender to be a complicated topic of discussion for
each of the women involved, and each participant experienced gender bias at some point
in her professional life. The lack of strong female inﬂuences to aid them as they began
teaching high school band and the interplay of their personal relationships with family,
administrators, students and parents, and peers affects their decisions as they navigate

their way as teachers in a traditionally male paradigm.

Copyright by
SARA JONES

2010

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the members of my committee: Dr.
Leigh VanHandel, Dr. Cynthia Taggart, and Dr. Mitchell Robinson. I offer my advisor,
Dr. Robinson, special thanks for his advice, editing, mentorship, understanding, and
support.

I would like to thank the teachers who gave generously of their time by
participating in this research. I hope that their stories, expertise, and thoughts can help to
inspire others as they inspired me.

I must also acknowledge my own teachers for their example, help, and mentorship
at every stage of my education. Special thanks go to John Pritchett, Malcolm Randig,
Ernestine Seals, Karen Averitt, Myra Dehmel, Sharon Spiess, Barry Hopper, Jeff Grogan,
and James J oros for showing me the importance of excellence in teaching.

I also wish to thank my family for their love and support: my sister, Rachel Jones
Elliott for being the kind of person I would like to be when I grow up; my mother, Marcia
Jones, for telling me that I make the right choices, listening to my rants, and always being
only a phone call away; and my late father, Johnny Jones, for instilling in me a love of
learning, a drive to succeed, and a resolve to be heard.

Finally, I must thank my friends in Texas and Michigan for their help and support,
especially Sara, Lance, Vanessa, Corey, Amber, Amanda, Sam, Nancy, Julie, Stephen,

and Michelle.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
Rationale for Study ......................................................................................................... 2
Purpose and Problems ..................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2
RELATED RESEARCH ..................................................................................................... 4
Appropriate and Expected Roles for Women in Music ................................................... 4
Female Wind Musicians .................................................................................................. 4
The "Lady" Orchestras ..................................................................................................... 5
Women in Authority--Conductors ................................................................................... 6
Women in Music Education ............................................................................................. 7
Sex Stereotyping in the Classroom .................................................................................. 9
Women as College Band Directors ................................................................................ 10
Gender Issues and the Female Music Teacher ............................................................... 12
Women as High School Band Teachers ........................................................................ 13
CHAPTER 3
DESIGN AND PROCEDURES ........................................................................................ 15
My Personal Experience ............................................................................................... 15
The Only Girl in a Section of Boys ......................................................................... 16
Professional Life ...................................................................................................... 17
Methodology ................................................................................................................. 18
Participants .................................................................................................................... 19
Trustworthiness ............................................................................................................. 20
CHAPTER 4
PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................................... 21
Terry .............................................................................................................................. 21
Abby .............................................................................................................................. 22
Liz ................................................................................................................................. 24
CHAPTER 5
THEMES AND INTERPRETATION ............................................................................... 27
Inﬂuences ...................................................................................................................... 27
Formative Relationships ............................................................................................... 34
Family ...................................................................................................................... 34
Professional .............................................................................................................. 39
Peers ......................................................................................................................... 43

Navigating in a Traditionally Male Paradigm .............................................................. 49

CHAPTER 6
CONNECTIONS ............................................................................................................... 56
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ......................................................................... 59
Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 59
Implications for Future Research .................................................................................. 60
APPENDIX A
Individual Reﬂection Questions ................................................................................... 62
APPENDIX B
Individual Interview Questions ..................................................................................... 63
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 64

vi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Model of Thematic Connections ........................................................................ 56

vii

Chapter 1

Upon completing my undergraduate degree I became an assistant high school
band teacher. I worked with two male band teachers who always made me feel included
and valued my ideas. However, the other band teachers in the area did not feel the same
way. My worst experience was at a meeting for band teachers in the surrounding area.
There were about thirty of us seated in a dark, musty band hall, making a list of possible
judges for our upcoming band festival. 1 was the only female high school band teacher in
the region at that time. Everyone was tossing out ideas and calling out names. When I
called out a name, the portly white haired man leading the group acted as though I had
not spoken and kept asking for more names. I sat therefor a moment and blinked, trying
to understand what had happened. I decided to assume that he had not heard me, and
called out the name again in a volume that I knew he could not miss. Although I could tell
that he had heard me, he ignored me and continued on with business, saying, “Come on
guys, I need some more names. ” I sat back in my chair, nonplussed, and looked at one of
the men with whom I taught in a state of outrage. “Did you see that? ” I asked. He said,
“Let me try, ” and then called out the exact name I had suggested in the same volume.
The man leading the group acknowledged him and immediately wrote down the name.
This was the most obvious discrimination that I have experienced, even to this day. I was
furious and said no more at the meeting, but I could not bring myself to leave. I did not
want to give anyone the satisfaction of getting me out of the way. They had made it clear
that I was unwelcome, and I knew nothing that I would say would change their ideas and
behavior. Later when I vented my outrage, the men with whom I worked expressed their

sympathy, but did not address the issue with the region leader for fear of retribution.

This attitude has followed me throughout my career as a music educator in the
band world. These events have led me to wonder what the experiences of other women
band teachers have been, and if they have experienced similar gender related obstacles as
female band teachers. It also made me wonder whether gender discrimination is related to
the reasons why there are so few women in secondary band teaching.

Rationale for Stuay

Researchers have studied gender stereotypes of adults and children in instrument
selection (Griswold & Chroback, 1981; Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994), and others have
explored the obstacles and attitudes that women face in choral and general music
education (W endel-Caraher, 1999; Brenneman, 2007). Gould (1996; 2003; 2005) studied
the absence of women conductors in college bands, focusing on role models, cultural
exclusions, and the experience of the female band educator. Likewise, Jackson explored
the relationships between the imbalance between the numbers of women and men college
band conductors and the issues women face (1996), and Grant (2000) pursued the impact
of mentoring of female college band conductors. Unfortunately, there is little research
that examines the experience of the female band teacher at the secondary public school
level. The number of female high school band teachers across the nation, even with the
abundance of women studying music education in universities across the country, is still
much lower than the number of males in similar positions (Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998;
Payne, 1996, Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994). The most recent study on this topic was a
1998 investigation of the demographics of women high school band teachers in Georgia,
but no research exists that gives female band teachers a voice with which to tell their

stories (Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998).

This leads to the question, why are there still fewer women in the secondary band
teaching world, and what implications does this have for women who are considering
teaching band in secondary schools? One possibility for this underrepresentation is the
historic bias against women in music, and more speciﬁcally, band (Harrassowitz & Scott,
2004; Hinely, 1984a; Pucciani, 1983; Tick, 1973). Women who manage to break into
secondary band teaching need to have their stories told, so that younger women know
what is possible, what their predecessors have overcome, and if the same obstacles are
still blocking them from entering the ﬁeld. If gender bias still exists, it might be keeping
women from reaching their full potential as instrumental music educators.

Purpose and Problems

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how perceptions of gender bias
towards female band teachers in secondary instrumental music education affect their
careers. The questions that serve to focus this study are as follows:

1. What sorts of problems, if any, have selected female high school band
teachers experienced (i.e., sexism, inequality, lack of job opportunities,
harassment) in fulﬁlling their roles?

2. What has been the impact of facing these problems on the participants’
band teaching careers and how has this shaped their characters and career
paths?

3. How have issues associated with gender stereotyping affected the personal
self-image and identity of these selected female high school band

teachers?

Chapter Two

Appropriate and Expected Roles for Women in Music

Men have usually been encouraged to aspire to ambitious career goals, while
women have been discouraged ﬁ'om leadership roles in music (Pucciani, 1983). Active
and aspiring females in the music world have had their participation blocked by cultural
ideas, lack of educational opportunities, and opinions that equated female musical
performance to prostitution (Harrassowitz & Scott, 2004). The performance world in
music was deemed off limits to women who wanted to be considered ladylike. Women
did not begin to enter the world of public musical performance until the middle of the
nineteenth century. Before that time the education of wealthy women included some
training in piano, and although women could perform on the piano in the home, any
performances or training outside of the home were discouraged (Lawson, 1991). Women
who played instruments other than piano were considered to be going against cultural
norms (Tick, 1973). Things started to change in the mid 18005 when the middle class
grew and began to pursue music training for their children. Music was part of a well-
rounded education for young ladies, along with dancing, drawing, and deportment
(Reich, 1991). By the turn of the twentieth century, it was more acceptable for women to
play violin or piano in public due to the breakthrough of young female virtuosos, but it
was still unseemly for women to play wind instruments (Tick, 1973).
Female Wind Musicians

Societal norms made women believe that playing a wind instrument was
unfeminine and would make them less attractive (Hinely, 1984a). Women were not

thought able to manage the instruments and were said to lack the physical power to

produce music on wind instruments. Even their mental stamina endured scrutiny —
women were not considered dependable or capable of making it through long rehearsals
or extended tours (Hinely, 1984a). Female brass players were considered to be low class
street musicians and used as comic relief. Illustrations portrayed women with ridiculously
puffed out cheeks and female brass ensembles were given names like the “Petticoat
Quartet”. Vaudeville variety acts placed women onstage in suggestive clothing while
playing various wind instruments. This made women who were already reluctant to play
brass instruments because of their masculine connotations unwilling to do so because of
the seedy associations with playing these instruments (Gillett, 2000).

The ﬂute was the ﬁrst wind instrument to break through preconceived notions
about female wind musicians. It was considered more acceptable than other wind
instruments for women to play due to its size, high sound, and more natural embouchure
(Gillett, 2000; Macleod, 1993). It also was a horizontally angled instrument that did not
call to mind any phallic or indecent associations (Gillett, 2000). Once women were
accepted on ﬂute, acceptance on other wind instruments followed slowly, but brass and
large stringed instruments still had a masculine association for most people.

The “Lady ” Orchestras

Women in the early twentieth century were not permitted to perform in traditional
symphony orchestras and began to form all-female orchestras and bands as a response to
this exclusion (Green, 1997; Macleod, 1993; Hinely, 1984b). Since few women played
the larger instruments, such as string bass or tuba, there were gaps in instrumentation
(Macleod, 1993). Some groups ﬁlled in missing parts with other instruments, such as

piano or organ, while others hired men to substitute and cover the missing parts until a

female could be found (Macleod, 1993). These female orchestras typically performed
light music and were rarely taken seriously by audiences or critics (Green, 1997; Reich,
1991). Some groups used the prejudices to their advantage in ﬁnding an audience (Tick,
1973). People were curious to see women playing trumpets and tubas, and women would
wear ﬁ'illy, outrageous attire to exploit the novelty of their performances. When World
War II began, most male musicians went overseas either as soldiers or musicians in the
armed forces, and women began to perform in the major orchestras (Green, 1997).
Females ﬁnally were able to perform in mixed orchestras and play important roles in the
instrumental music world. After the war, most women were asked to leave, but once
women had their foot in the door, they began to have more representation in the
orchestral world.
Women in Authority — Conductors

In the nineteenth century, the role of the conductor gained prominence with
orchestras. Conductors typically were composers who began conducting as they gained
prominence in the music world (Lawson, 1991). Since female composers were few,
women had a harder time ﬁnding opportunities to conduct. Women were not allowed to
participate in conducting classes at schools and conservatories and were not asked to
conduct instrumental groups in the nineteenth century, but several created and led choral
groups. Singing was considered suitable since females could maintain their genteel
appearance and not take any paying positions away ﬁ'om men since soprano and alto
parts were written for women. Unwritten rules about attire and decorum for male
conductors were in place by the late nineteenth century, but the absence of these rules for

women made it difﬁcult for women to ﬁnd a place in the instrumental conducting world

 

(Lawson, 1991). Men and women conductors were judged by different standards. While
men were assessed by their potential and accomplishments, women were judged based on
femininity and appearance for most of their public lives (O’Toole, 2000). However, once
women began to perform in orchestras, female conductors began to ﬁnd limited
opportunities to lead music ensembles (Green, 1997). One of the other problems
encountered by women conductors was handling the role of leader in an ensemble
(Edwards, 1991;Lawson, 1991). Females were taught not to be demanding or assertive,
and most males were taught not to submit to females in positions of authority (Lawson,
1991 ;Hinely, 1984b). Also, in performances, the conductor was raised on a podium and
took the bow for the whole orchestra as a representative, and some males resisted having
a woman represent them (Edwards, 1991). These societal functions were in conﬂict with
the way that women were traditionally viewed. When paired with the historical
discrimination against females, this explains some of the reason for the lack of female
conductors (Edwards, 1 991 ).
Women in Music Education

Women began teaching music in the United States in the 18th century (Ammer,
2001). Singing schools usually employed men as music masters, and women were
employed as private music teachers. Private teaching was an appropriate female
occupation that could be pursued part time and not interfere with home and family. Until
the nineteenth century, group teaching was not considered a proper occupation for a lady
(Koza, 1990). However, more and more female teachers were hired as time went by to ﬁll
a shortage of available teachers and because women were viewed as nurturers who were

better equipped to teach children (Keohane, 1990). When women began to ﬂood the

ranks of music teachers in the early twentieth century, schools began to hire male music
supervisors to set up the instrumental programs and conduct the band and orchestra,
while the female instructors primarily taught general and vocal music (Macleod, 1993).
As marching bands moved out of the military tradition and into the public schools, the
question of what to do with females was solved by either forming female marching bands
or by placing females in the roles of baton twirlers and ﬂag wavers (Macleod, 1993). The
passage of Title IX in 1972 forced schools to ﬁnally make bands coeducational, and, as a
result, women ﬁnally were allowed to march on any instrument in high school and
college level bands after having been excluded for decades. Before this change, women
did not have a thorough marching band experience, and this omission from their
education limited female band directing opportunities, since marching band experience is
usually required for secondary band teaching positions (Gould, 2003). However, even
with the passage of this law, there is still an imbalance in the representation of females in
today’s classroom. Studies Show that people still identify certain instruments and
leadership positions as masculine or feminine, and that these societal attitudes still
inﬂuence young students as they choose roles and instruments based on gender
perceptions (Griswold & Chroback, 1981; Tanur & Zervoudakes, 1994).

The late 1960s and early 1970s brought societal change in the form of feminism
(Lawson, 1991). Women began to call for educational opportunities that had been denied
to them as a result of previously being marginalized (Lawson, 1991). There were more
women enrolled in university music degree programs than men by the end of the 19708,
but the faculty teaching these women were still predominantly male (Ammer, 2001). This

is important since female student interest in music is connected to the teacher’s values

(Green, 2002). Without women serving as role models, female students are not likely to
see themselves in band leadership roles, and this affects their participation in music
(Atterbury, 1992). Even today, young students are more likely to be taught by women in
the classroom, while more men teach older students in ensemble settings (Gould, 2005).
Payne (1996) found in her study that males made up 80% of all college level instrumental
music teachers, and as recently as 2003, Gould’s statistics show that American college
band directors are 95% percent male. The same problems exist on the high school level.
Although most people know few female high school band teachers, the women that are
known are regarded in one extreme or another. Either they are thought of as
extraordinarily successful or completely inept (Gould, 1996). Women also have a
difﬁcult time obtaining jobs as secondary band teachers, and those that are hired oﬁen are
not taken seriously by parents, coworkers, and peers (Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998).
Gender Stereotyping in the Classroom

Studies show that there are societal stereotypes in the music world, and, as long as
these exist, women will have problems being seen as equal to men. Koza’s 1994 study of
female representation in textbooks came to some disturbing conclusions. In the
textbooks she examined, she found no pictures of female band conductors, and, although
women conductors were depicted, they were never shown in front of an audience. This
reinforces notions that women should not be in positions of authority in front of bands
and the attitude that it is inappropriate for women to perform in public. She also found
that textbook materials affected student attitudes, and that texts reﬂect societal attitudes
and current power associations.

Studies also show that instruments are still gendered. In a study of undergraduate

college student perceptions, students, regardless of their gender, correlated gender with
instruments and music careers (Chroback & Griswold, 1981). Those instruments and
occupations found to have feminine associations were harp, ﬂute, piccolo, glockenspiel,
and choral conducting. The perceived masculine instruments and careers were
saxophone, drums, trumpet, string bass, tuba, and instrumental conducting. A more recent
study by Tanur and Zervoudakes (1994) surveyed instrumental concert programs from a
representative sample of schools and found growth in the number of females in school
and college instrumental ensembles. The percentage of women playing historically
“male” instruments increased, but so did the number of women playing “female”
instruments. This is more than likely due to the increase in the number of female
musicians rather than changing attitudes towards perceived instrument gender. They also
found that, although the proportion of women in ensembles had increased, there are not
more women in principal positions or leadership roles. There were no more recent studies
available on perceptions of instrument and career gender in the twenty-ﬁrst century.
Women as College Band Directors

Since instruments, ensembles, and music careers are gender stereotyped from an
early age, it is no surprise that women are also underrepresented as college band
directors. The late 1990s brought on a proliferation of studies and articles on the roles of
females in college band directing. Jackson (1996) conducted interviews with twelve
female college band directors to examine what motivated these women to pursue this line
of career and to uncover reasons for the discrepancies in numbers of female band
directors as compared to male band directors. Most of the women interviewed had taught

music in public schools, had dealt with gender discrimination, and had the opinion that

10

the military heritage of the band and earlier band traditions were reasons for the lack of
female college band directors. The older participants had experienced harsh gender
discrimination at some point in their careers, while the younger women felt they had not
experienced any or did not know that it was present. Many women admitted that they felt
the need to overachieve in order to leave no room for doubt about their abilities as a band
director. Most women also felt that men had an easier time as a band director, since they
already ﬁt the public expectations.

Gould examined the presence of gender-speciﬁc role models for female college
band directors (1996). She collected data through a survey, individual interviews, and a
small group interview. A majority of her participants were band teachers at the secondary
level prior to their college teaching, and most had experienced sexism from colleagues at
some point in their career. Most of the women connected their career and professional
identities, but eschewed the titles that came with their careers, preferring titles like

9’ 6‘

“music educator, conductor,” or “musician” to words like “professor” and “band
director.” Gould concluded that women tend to identify less with their position when
marginalized by the majority. When examining role models, it became clear that few
women knew of any female college band directors before entering the profession, and
that few male band directors inﬂuenced their career decisions. Most of their role models
were music education or applied graduate faculty members of both sexes.

Grant also examined the impact of mentoring and role models on women college
band directors (2000). She interviewed four groups of women at various career stages and

found that all of her participants had mentors and role models and that their help was

considered essential to their development. Those with more experience were less likely to

11

have female mentors than the younger musicians interviewed. All of her participants
experienced an obstacle at some point in their lives due to sexism, and all agreed that
men in the band world receive different treatment than women. Grant expressed concern
about all of the youngest women stating that they needed to see women in band teaching
and conducting positions to afﬁrm their choice to pursue college band directing. This
conﬁrmed the need for female mentors, even with the shortage of female college band
directors.
Gender Issues and the Female Music Teacher

A study by Wendel-Caraher (1999) focuses on the “voice” of the music educator.
Wendel-Caraher personally felt silenced as a woman in music education and used her
own story and the stories of two other female music educators via group discussion to
illustrate the different experiences of women and how women are silenced. All three
women (W endel-Caraher used herself as a participant in the study) noted the absence of
women in traditional music history resources and in positions of power and expressed
frustration with this exclusion. Another topic discussed by the participants was that of
exclusion ﬁ'om excellence. All three attended institutions in which music education
majors were viewed as “lesser” musicians than the performance majors. Since the
majority of music educators are women, this means that more women’s musical skills are
viewed in a negative light.

In a similar vein, the focal point of Brenneman’s 2007 study was the personal
experiences of three exceptional female choral conductors and how gender issues
affected their careers. While all of the participants had mentors, only one conductor had a

female mentor. However, all of the participants had female role models both inside and

12

outside of music who contributed to their success. These women also resisted gender
labels. They wanted to be teachers who also happened to be female, rather than female
teachers since they believed that the term “gender” carries negative connotations.
Brenneman recommended that future researchers start with the positive associations of
gender to make participants more comfortable with the term before delving into the
negatives. Being on the podium as a conductor also carried issues for the participants.
Most felt exposed and unprotected at times when others called their musicianship into
question. In the end, none of the participants wished to be like men, but they did accept
that they had to adjust and function within the model of male conductors and teachers.
Women High School Band Teachers

The only research found speciﬁcally on female secondary band teachers was an
examination of the demographics of female band educators in Georgia (Greaves-
Spurgeon 1998). It investigated role models, mentors, and gender issues. Only 37 female
band educators were on the membership lists from the state’s music education
association. Of these, 28 women responded to the questionnaire. Issues that the women
stated they faced included peer perceptions, difﬁculties obtaining jobs, difﬁculties
obtaining high school band jobs, prejudice, focus on appearance, and recruiting. Most
women interviewed offered advice to future female educators to work hard, set a good
example, and continue to apply for high school positions, even if denied at ﬁrst.

Though many of the studies of female college band directors mention that most of
the participants taught public school at some point, there is little focus on female band
teachers at the secondary level. Most of the focus is on the lack of female mentorship,

but, until more women are teaching band in public schools, few women will advance into

13

the college band-directing world, and that means fewer female mentors. Also surprising
is the lack of literature available regarding the experiences of women directing marching
and athletic bands. This research study will focus on several of the same ideas that the
literature focused on female college band conductor studies researched, namely their
personal experiences, their role models and mentors, and how they manage to navigate in

a typically male-dominated profession.

14

Chapter 3
My Personal Experience

As a beginning music student, I joined band late. I spent six miserable weeks in
art class before deciding that my talents did not lie in that domain. After discussion with
my parents, I decided to join the band. The next day after school, I gathered up my
courage and sat in the counselor’s ofﬁce to plead my case. I was a good student, well
behaved, and responsible. I would do whatever it took to catch up with those students
who had been enrolled in band for weeks. I sat shivering in his cold ofﬁce waiting for the
verdict, and the counselor looked at me appraisingly, possibly recalling facts his wife,
one of my favorite elementary teachers, had given him about me. It was a small school
district in which everyone knew one another. As we sat there staring at each other, the
band teacher happened to walk past. “Hey!” the counselor called after Mr. Pink. Mr.
Pink, the band teacher and woodwind instructor paused. “Sara wants to quit art and join
the band. You got any room for her?”

Mr. Pink gave me a quick glance and replied, “She can play trumpet, trombone, or
tuba. That is all we have room for.”

And that was that. I was now a band member. I elected to play the trumpet
because it was the smallest, and I had never seen women playing the trombone or tuba.
When I told my parents about it, my father decided that trumpet was acceptable since
there was a female trumpet player in Sly and the Family Stone, one of his favorite bands.
One of my best friends was also in band and played the alto saxophone. “The trumpet is
ﬁne for girls,” stated my father, “but the saxophone is a man’s instrument. Girls don’t

play the sax. I guess it would be all right for her to play the little straight sax, but the

15

other, curved ones are for boys. She must be butch!” From that moment on, my ﬁ‘iend
was known to my father as “Butch.” He told her his opinion and referred to her as Butch
every time he saw her or answered the phone. Even years later, after graduating from
high school, my father would ask me how “old Butch” was doing.
The Only Girl in a Section of Boys

In middle and high school band, I thrived. I loved playing the trumpet and was
considered talented. I loved the attention that I received from playing the trumpet, and
decided to compete in all-region band competitions. These competitions brought schools
from surrounding areas together, and students auditioned for spots in what became an all-
star band. I auditioned and placed towards the bottom of the section as a freshman. I
attended the special all-day rehearsal that was to be followed by a concert, and was the
only girl in the section. I did not notice initially and sat down in my assigned seat. I said
hello to the people around me but only received cold glances in response. I realized
quickly that the boys in the section had made an agreement not to speak to me, since I
had the nerve to audition and be the only girl in my section. No matter what I said or did,
I was not acknowledged, and it resulted in a long, lonely day. The more I ruminated on
this injustice, the angrier I got, and I vowed to come back next year and beat all of the
people in my section. I came back and won ﬁrst chair for the next three years, but the
damage was done. I never felt like I was truly part of the group or that I ﬁt in my section.

After graduating from high school, I decided to pursue music education as a
career. I ended up attending a small, private, Baptist university because of scholarship
opportunities. The inequality between men and women at the School of Music was

shocking to me. I had never been so aware of the discrepancies in the roles and treatment

16

of women in music before this point in time. There were no female conductors in any
performance area. The only females that taught music classes that I took for my degree
taught music history, piano, and education. No female professors taught any band-
centered classes. Similarly, no male professors taught any elementary or general music
classes. Female composers and conductors were almost never mentioned in any lecture.
Male brass players were always the ﬁrst to be offered paying jobs or performances, even
before females that were placed higher in ensembles. Sexism existed but was never
discussed. When I would try to point out cases of discrimination, eyes would roll. Any
time 1 exhibited dissent, fellow male students would tell me I was a “bitch” or a
“feminazi.”

Professional Life

When I ﬁnally got my ﬁrst job teaching high school band, numerous people let
me know that I was not one of the boys, and that I was not to be taken seriously. This was
indicated to me through rude remarks, having parents go over my head to other male
teachers, and blatant snubs in which I was not even acknowledged. After two years of
teaching high school band I decided that it was time for me to leave and pursue an area of
teaching in which I felt more personally fulﬁlled.

My next teaching position was a band position again, but at the middle school
level. I was the lead teacher and had a male assistant. Parents and teachers usually
assumed that he was the person responsible for the program and directed all queries and
comments toward him. It was awkward and uncomfortable every time it happened. He
always corrected them immediately, but the assumption that I could not lead a band

program stung me.

17

Currently I am a graduate student and my duties recently included assisting with
the athletic bands. Even as a graduate student in 2010, the perceptions of male dominance
in the band world exist. Last spring at an athletic band event, the female leader of a spirit
group came over and asked a male student seated in the front row if the band could play a
piece at a certain time, oblivious to the woman standing in front of the entire band,
making decisions, and conducting the group. The student looked at me in a rather
helpless and confused manner and told her that he was not responsible for the band and
that she should talk to me about it. She turned to include me in the conversation, but still
directed most of her questions to the poor, uncomfortable male undergraduate student
with whom she spoke with originally. She was unable to overcome her expectations that
a man would be in a place of authority over a woman in the band world.

These events have happened to me over a span of twenty years. Although I see
some changes in opportunities for female band teachers, the pace of change is slow. As a
female band teacher, the gender issues that women in music have experienced and
continue to experience hold my attention and are of personal and professional interest to
me.

Methodology

This study was based on a narrative research design. The participants were asked
to complete an open-ended personal reﬂection before the in-person interview process to
help guide the direction of the interviews. The personal reﬂection questions were devised
to help the participants begin to reﬂect with a critical eye about the direction their careers
have taken, who inﬂuenced their career, and how being a female music teacher affects

their personal identity. The reﬂective questions also aided the researcher in understanding

18

the experiences of each participant and her personal history and personality. The
interviews were semi-structured, using a set of questions derived from the literature and
previous studies, with follow up questions emerging from the participants’ responses. All
interviews were audio recorded using both an Olympus VN-6000 1 GB audio digital
recorder and the Garage Band ’08 program on an Apple MacBook Pro computer for
back-up, and the researcher also took ﬁeld notes during the interview.

Participants

The participants were selected using a “purposeful sampling strategy,” which
means that the participants were chosen because they met the criteria for the study (i.e.,
have each taught high school band at some point in their career, are knowledgeable about
the topic at hand, and currently live in the state of Michigan) (Creswell, 2007). The
participants’ names and the names of their schools have been changed to protect their
identities.

The ﬁrst participant, Terry, taught music for thirty-one years, twenty-two of
which have been spent as a high school band teacher, four as a university band professor,
and ﬁve as a university orchestra professor. She left public school teaching to pursue
higher education and teach at the university level, but has since returned to her roots as a
high school band teacher. Terry is well known by her peers for her exemplary teaching
and musicianship, is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, and
will soon be inducted into the American Bandmaster’s Association, an honor that is only
bestowed by invitation to recognize outstanding achievement.

The second participant, Abby, has been teaching for 20 years. Abby has taught

band in four different states at all levels but is currently a band and choir teacher,

19

teaching elementary and middle school students on three different campuses. In addition
to her public school teaching she founded and continues to be active with a local New
Horizons Band, a band for senior citizens. She has also been adjunct faculty at two
colleges where her duties included conducting bands, teaching courses in music
education, and maintaining a private clarinet studio. She taught high school band for four
years.

The third participant is the youngest and least experienced of the three
participants. Liz is a recent college graduate and has only been teaching for a year and a
half. She taught a semester of middle school band and currently teaches band and a
section of choir at a small high school.

T rustworth iness

The primary technique used to determine trustworthiness of the data was a
member-check in which the participants conﬁrmed that the interview transcripts were
accurate portrayals of what was meant, implied, and said. Peer review by female doctoral
students with high school music teaching experience was also employed in order to
provide an outside perspective to ensure the trustworthiness of the researcher’s process
and ﬁndings. The transcripts were reviewed multiple times before the researcher analyzed
the data for codes. Codes were grouped visually, and the “constant comparative method”
of data analysis was then utilized to ﬁnd emergent themes within the data (Creswell,

2007)

20

Chapter Four

Terry

The ﬁrst time I met Terry in person was at the interview I conducted at her home.
AS she ushered me into her home I felt instantly at case. She was ﬁ'iendly and gracious as
she welcomed me and introduced me to her dogs, but she displayed an undeniable air of
conﬁdence, efﬁciency, and focus. To me, this was a woman who exuded a quiet power
and was a force to be reckoned with. We discussed the interview that was about to take
place and decided to sit at the bar in the bright, airy kitchen that would accommodate my
various notebooks, recording equipment, and computer. We lost no time before jumping
into the interview. Terry was animated during the interview, waving her hands around as
she spoke and occasionally hitting her hand on the countertop for emphasis. She was
open and frank and held nothing back.
T: I hit a period of time when I was in the early stages of teaching where I’d see a picture
of the band, with me standing in ﬁont of it. Or I started, after I’d been teaching maybe
eight years, where I started to think, “T hat doesn ’t look right. ”
SJ: Why didn ’t it look right?
T: Because it should have been a man.
SJ: Because that’s just what you see?
T .' Because that’s what you see. I went through this period of time where I felt. . . I ’m not
the one who should be standing up there. It should be a man standing up there, and I
don ’t know why I went through that period. Because now I don ’t have any doubts about
that. And when I went to teaching at the university, by the time I went to teaching at

Southern University (researcher’s note—this is not the school’s real name), I had gotten

21

over that. But there was a period of time where I really struggled with that. And struggled
with doubts about who I was and should I really be doing this.

SJ: What do you think got you past that struggle?

T: I think the conﬁdence that other people had in me. . . and having some more successes.
You know, having more successes and having people, again you know, saying that I was
doing a good job and really backing me up.

It was surprising to hear that even a woman with the conﬁdence and drive Terry
displays had such moments of doubt. Terry does not have a shy or cautious personality,
but she still experienced struggles in her professional identity as a band teacher. If
someone with Terry’s determination went through such internal conﬂict, how do women
with less self-belief fare within the ﬁeld of high school band?

Abby

I met Abby a couple of times before our interview at various band events. We had
a difﬁcult time setting up a meeting, but after a couple of months of emailing back and
forth ﬁnally met for our interview at a local coffee shop. “It’s across the street from the
church, and this way I’m there to pick up the kids after their class,” she explained. I was a
little early, so I set up my equipment and ordered a coffee. I saw Abby enter from across
the room. She grinned and waved and strode over to our table. Abby is what people call
“a ﬁrecracker.” She is only about ﬁve feet tall but radiates energy. One gets the sense that
everything she does is done with a sense of purpose. Once we were both seated we spent
a little time catching up and then began the interview.

A: I never felt any of that stuﬂ to be honest with you. I think maybe it ’s. . . how I perceive

everything. And it was interesting, because it is a male dominated ﬁeld, and I taught

22

high school band in South Dakota. . . talk about good old boys. . . But to me it was
almost—I don ’t know if it ’s deﬁance or just, pﬁt (changes to a mocking tone) like what,
you think because you ’re a potbellied man in a polyester suit you ’re better than me?
(laughs) I just never. . . you know, plus when I taught high school I was an outsider
already. I was from New York (and when you ’reﬂom somewhere else other than South
Dakota you ’re already an outsider), I ’m 5ft tall, and I ’m a female. I mean it was like the
trifecta of outsiderness. (laughs) I don ’t know. . . maybe the men felt more of that and I
just so didn ’t care. . . I’m like, oh please. Anyway, so it was not external, although it
could have been. I ’m sure people said stuﬂ? Who knows?

SJ: So just a non-issue.

A: It was a non-issue. For me.

I found Abby’s words to be a complicated paradox. I know she fully believes that
gender played little or no role in her career, but within the same statement she
acknowledged that high school band teaching is a male dominated ﬁeld, the existence of
“good old boys” grouping together in the profession, and that being a woman contributed
to her “outsiderness.” She even explicitly suggested, “. . . maybe the men felt more of
that and I just so didn’t care.” This indicates to me that at some point she made a choice,
albeit perhaps unconsciously, to ignore or not acknowledge the gender issue. This is an
excellent illustration of how complicated this issue is, even for the women attempting to
carve out a place for themselves within the profession. Different personalities deal with
the “outsidemess” in different ways as illustrated by Terry’s complete acknowledgment

of the issue and Abby’s rejection of the problem.

23

Liz

I ﬁrst met Liz when she was an undergraduate student teacher intern. I was
assigned to her as a supervising teacher and observed her teaching several times. Liz was
a thoughtful student and teacher and emitted an aura of quiet calm at all times. Nothing
ever seemed to shake her, and she was always receptive to ideas and suggestions from her
cooperating teacher, her professors, and me. I met her late one evening after a jazz band
rehearsal in her office in the band room. Students loitered around the room, some playing
their instruments, others just hanging out and talking with their friends. They paused to
eye me warily as I followed Liz into her ofﬁce and then resumed their activities as we
shut the door and settled down to talk about her teaching experiences.
L: I noticed even still in undergrad before I got out of college. In my graduate-level
conducting seminar I was the only girl. Everyone else was a boy. Most of the TA ’s we
had for band were boys. You know, one girl and that was about it. And when I applied for
this job the kids thought I was the cheerleading coach at ﬁrst here to interview.
SJ: How did you ﬁnd out they thought that?
L: They told me later. “Like, honestly, we came in, and we were wondering why the
cheerleading coach would walk in the band room. ”
(laughter)
SJ: So the perception is there. . . right?
L: Oh, yes. Yeah. I was very professionally dressed. I had on a nice suit. But just, you
know, blonde hair, young looking woman, they thought I was the cheerleading coach.
(laughs ruefully) And over the summer when I’d tell people. . . obviously my close

ﬁ'iends, when I heard I got this job, they’d say, “Cool, high school band, that ’s what you

24

wanted to do. ” Everybody that I knew just vaguely or ﬁrst met, they ’re like, “Music? Oh,
you ’re teaching elementary? ” No. “Middle school? ” No. “Choir? ” Yes, AND band.
(assumes a tone of incredulity) “Really? ”

That perception is all over the place. It really is. Even when I ’d make phone calls over
the summer—because I started with very low enrollment from my predecessor. . . he had
a lot of health problems, so the program had reached a decline—to grow the program I
made a lot of calls home. I knew people were very surprised to hear a young woman ’s
voice saying she ’s the new high school band director, would your kid like to come back
and play. I think I anticipated there being a gender barrier when I was studying science,
because my science teachers always told me [about] that growing up. But I don ’t think I
ever anticipated it in music. I had a female middle school band director but a male high
school band director. I didn ’t notice there weren ’t women high school band directors
until I got into my upper level conducting classes and saw how it’s very much male
dominated.

Liz’s experience is indicative of how societal expectations assign gender to
different roles. To her future students, the young blonde woman touring the band room
must be the cheerleading coach. The possibility of her teaching high school band never
crossed their minds. To acquaintances and new contacts, the natural assumption is that a
young woman who teaches music must teach young children either general music or
choir.

Although each of these women has had different experiences, a common thread
among them has already been exposed. Terry speaks of questioning her place in teaching

band because she thought she didn’t “look right” for the part. She had an idea of what a

25

secondary band teacher was supposed to look like, and she did not ﬁt the expectation.
Abby mentions being an outsider due to her sex, her appearance, and her origin of
teaching. Liz recalls how her students assumed she was a cheerleading coach and her
acquaintances presume she will teach young children. There is an unspoken societal norm
connected with teaching high school band, and each of these women failed to live up to

that societal expectation. Or perhaps they are simply exceeding expectations.

26

Chapter Five

Influences

The inﬂuence of others, and in some cases, a lack of inﬂuence via role models
and mentors, plays a great part in how the participants became teachers, in shaping their
professional identities, and in the choices they made in the past and continue to make as
teachers. Terry knew that she wanted to teach band from an early age, and she pursued
her goals despite the lack of females in the ﬁeld and her parent’s disapproval. Terry never
had any doubts about what she wanted to do, and even moved out of her parent’s house
and in with another family that would support her goals. She confesses that she was
conﬁdent to the point of being “cocky” as a student and as a new teacher never
anticipated having any problems because of her gender. When I asked about her
conﬁdence she replied:
T: The conﬁdence came from [my mentor] being so helpful and me being so stubborn. I
was just a stubborn kid. . . ﬁom 8“ grade on, that’s what I was going to do. I know that 's
what I ’m going to do, and nobody ’s going to stop me.
In the reﬂection questions she answered prior to our interview she related how important
her own band teacher was in her life:
T: My junior high school band director. . . was a major inﬂuence on my life (not just
musically, but also personally). I guess I wanted to be a band conductor because I loved
playing my horn, I loved watching conductors, I loved music, and I loved my band
director (not literally). I had never seen a female band conductor before so I wasn ’t sure
how my dream would work out, but he made sure that I knew that I could do it and he

helped. He took me to concerts, band director meetings, got me into private lessons,

27

drove me to Ann Arbor for those lessons, taught me how to fix instruments, etc. He even
bought my horn for me and gave it to me with the understanding that I could pay him
back whenever I had the money. So I had a wonderful role model and mentor and I
wanted to be just like him.

Role models and the lack thereof was another crucial theme in my interview with
Terry. As a young student Terry never saw women teaching high school band, and even
went to far as to ask her own high school principal if he would ever hire a woman for the
job. His response was an important point in her decision to pursue this career.
T: I just thought, “Well, this is what I want to do, so I’m going to do it. ” But then by the
time I got to high school I began to think, “Hmmm, I haven ’t seen any people like me. ”
So I asked my high school principal... “Wouldyou hire a female band director? ” and he
said, “I would hire you. ”
Terry later admitted that she was a very driven person, but could understand how other
women might need to see a woman in a band teaching role before feeling like it was an
achievable goal.
T: I think people do need to see [women in that role]. I think that not everyboay—and I
don ’t mean this in an arrogant way—but not everyboafv was as driven as I was. . . And
when you never see a female conductor, some people just don ’t even know its possible to
do that as a woman. And some people don ’t realize that diﬂerent personalities can lead
in their own way. . . So you need to see somebody who has a diﬂerent style of conducting,
a different way of doing things, and a more—I hate to use this word—but a more

feminine way that it can be done.

After this statement I asked Terry about women that try to act like men in their

28

band teaching style. She felt that trying to assume a tough, “male” facade would not work
for women unless that was already part of their personality. She also pointed out that
some women try to go to the other extreme and how ineffective that is as well. Her
solution to this problem is for the universities to bring female band teachers in to speak to
students about their experiences, showing that a different model is possible and to show
female students that women can be successful band teachers.

Abby relates a different experience. In a discussion of the differences between
how women and men teach she spoke of how she was unable to generalize because there
are so few women teaching high school band. This led to a discussion of people who
inﬂuenced her decision to teach band.
A: How many of us are there? How many have I seen? I mean, I can probably name ﬁve
high school female band directors.
SJ: That’s true.
A: You know what I mean? So I don ’t even have. . . one of your questions was who is your role
model. I could say ***** *******, but that ’s a lie.
SJ: Well, yeah.
A: She ’s just someone I could name.
SJ: Just a woman who happens to be a. . .
A: She was never my role model. I saw her conduct once. I’m like, that ’s nice. I like her hair.
Good stick technique. (Laughter) So there are no role models. There ’s no. . . I can ’t think of how
perception would be. I ’m going on assumptions. I would assume that women would think they
need to be bitchier, or sterner, or act more like men. That has NEVER been my way of being.

And my bands have done pretty well I mean, not. . .

29

SJ: You ’ve managed to have success in your own way.

A: Yeah. With being just the way I am right now with you.

SJ: You started talking about no role models. That’s one of my questions. How has a
lack of female role models and mentors affected you? I also assume you didn ’t have a
female mentor as well.

A: No, I can ’t think of anybody.

SJ: So do you feel like you missed out on something by not having that?

A: But, you know what, Sara? Maybe a lot of it has to do with my upbringing. I grew up
in a very (pounds ﬁst on table) like, my mom had four sisters, I had four sisters, we ’re
very—all strong women. And it never occurred to me—this is it. It never occurred to me
that I don ’t have female role models.

When we discussed the situation ﬁirther, Abby told me who her main role model and
inﬂuence was, and like Terry, it was her male band instructor.

A: I guess I’m pretty clueless because I pretty much thought the world was mine for the
taking even though—(laughs)

SJ: No, but that’s good! That’s how it should be.

A: Right. But I didn ’t. . . what led me, what gave me that conclusion? It ’s not like I saw
five other women doing it.

SJ: But you also said you had four sisters and a mother who had four sisters. You
know, I think that. . . I think that is a lot of it probably.

A: I wonder if that ’s what it is. It just never occurred to me that you can ’t be anything. I
mean it. . . (shakes head and shrugs)

SJ: And if nobody ever told you you couldn ’t. . .

30

A: Yeah, and the person who encouraged me the absolute most was my high school band
director, a white man in his 30s. He was the biggest reason why I went into music
education. He totally inspired me. You know? It was great. He took me under his wing.
He gave me conducting lessons.

Abby’s lack of female inﬂuences within the band-teaching ﬁeld seems to have
been replaced by having strong familial female inﬂuences. Also, again we hear of a
young female student having their male band teacher play a major role as a guide to the
profession and mentor. This leads to the question; does it matter if you have a male or
female inﬂuence in the band-teaching ﬁeld?

According to Liz, it does make a difference. In her written reﬂection she listed her
inﬂuences, and most were men. One woman listed was her middle school band instructor,
and the other was one of her college music education professors. The other four band
teachers listed were all male. When we sat down to talk I further pursued the topic.

SJ: Do you perceive a lack of female role models and mentors out there?

L: Yeah. Yeah. That ’s a tricky thing. Physical gesture in conducting—all my teachers
have been male. The female anatomy is just different. When I try [a male conductor 's]
moves, they don ’t look right, they don ’t respond right. Looking at high school teachers, I
mean there are some great people out there. . . but as far as someone right now who ’s
practicing teaching high school musicians, as a female, they are a lot harder to come by,
sure.

SJ: How do you think not having those has affected you?

L: It’s kind of scary and it’s kind of exciting. I like blazing my own trail and the fact that

I’m not stuck in a niche because this is how every male band director does things. It ’s

31

kind of nice. My relationship with the kids is diﬂerent. I think the way that men treat
students sometimes is diﬂerent than the way a woman interacts with a student. . . it leaves
a lot of room out there to wonder, what should my role be here, where do I put down my
foot here, how do I grow things here. Ultimately the highest level of musicianship and
the highest level of being an educator should be the same regardless of gender. I think
the ways it manifests itself are deﬁnitely different. And it would be glorious to have a
nearby female high school band director role model. It would just be amazing for sure.
SJ: Just someone to call and say, this happened . . what would you do?

L: I do frequently still call my middle school band director, a female. She was my private
ﬂute teacher too and a huge mentor. She did teach high school before she taught middle
school. When she was young, starting out, she did teach high school so there are some
similar issues there I can talk about with her and it helps. But she ’s not in the thick of
high school things now. I do remember being at Midwest my ﬁrst year there and seeing
something about a women ’s band director association. Now that ’s something I would
love to look up and see what they do if that would be a good network, a good place to
turn. . . I’d deﬁnitely be curious to see. . . especially being here too where I don ’t even
have another colleague in the district or a music department in the entire school. It can
be isolating, especially coming right out of undergrad.

SJ: Oh yeah, I’m sure.

L: And being a woman on top of it. . . it ’s fun. (laughter)

SJ: You talked a little bit about. . . women doing things in a different way. Do you

think that a lot of women try to act like men when they teach?

32

L: Probably because that is what our examples are. I mean, a lot of the things I catch
myself doing are things are things [my student teaching cooperating teacher] did,
because I just loved how he taught. And then I try things on and then every now and then
I realize that it’s not quite for me. Or yes, I can do that, no, I can ’t do that. Whether it be
something physical gesturing-wise or something mentally, emotionally, verbally. . . there
are things I try on for size that do work and things that don ’t.

Liz is acutely aware of the lack of women in the high school band-teaching ﬁeld. I
recall that upon our initial introduction Liz told me how glad she was to meet a woman
who taught band. “There are so few of us,” she remarked. Although she does have people
to contact for help and guidance, she misses having a female mentor or role model who
currently teaches high school band. This made me wonder if this was also due to her
status as a new teacher. Terry has been teaching for many years, and started in a time
when female role models and mentors did not exist, but developed a close bond, almost
that of a replacement parent, with her male teacher to ﬁll the need for a strong inﬂuence.
Abby taught middle school for several years before moving to high school band teaching,
so at that point her “new teacher” status was over, and the need for a mentor had
subsided. Liz is in a stage of career where she is still working out her own teaching style
and identity, and for her the lack of a female inﬂuence probably is a pressing issue and a
gaping void.

Female role models and inﬂuences can play an important part in encouraging
women to become music educators. By observing different types of people in what is a
traditionally male role, young women considering teaching band at the secondary level

will see band teachers that look different from what they typically see and learn what

33

possibilities exist. They can witness different teaching and leadership styles and
incorporate those styles as they ﬁt with their inherent personalities. A mentor can also be
instrumental in helping new teachers make contacts, learn teaching and coping strategies,
and giving young female music teachers encouragement and conﬁdence to continue in
the profession. If a new teacher lacks a mentor, she must go into the ﬁeld and create her
own mentor from people she meets.
Formative Relationships

Within the theme of formative relationships there are many different types of
relationships that inﬂuence the participants’ personal and professional experience. There
are the familial relationships between the participant and their parents, siblings, and
children. There are also the professional relationships that exist between teacher and
student, teacher and parent of student, and teacher and administrator. Then there are the
semi-professional, semi-personal relationships between the participant and their peers,
both male and female. All of these interactions, past and present, affect the participants
and shape their day-to-day lives as music educators.
Formative Relationships - Family

Within the familial relationships each participant spoke of different issues. Terry
discussed the lack of support given by her parents and her choice to move out of their
home at a young age. Abby spoke of the sudden shift in her professional identity that
came with the birth of her children. Liz talked about the pressures ﬁ'om her peers to
continually look forward to the day when she would start a family and the implied
sacriﬁce of career that came with having children. Although each of them is in a different

stage of her personal and professional life, there is no denying the profound inﬂuence of

34

family.

Terry knew she wanted to teach band ﬁ'om a very young age. As a teenager she
butted heads with her parents who insisted that girls do not need to attend college. Her
music teacher supported her and tried to intervene, but with no success.

T: The only people that were not supportive were my own parents. . . who were saying,
“Girls don ’t go to college. And they certainly don’t become musicians. ” They were the

J

ones who said, “You ’re not going to college. ’. . . Eventually my high school band
director came to my home and tried to talk them into it, saying, “She needs to go to
college. ” But eventually I leﬁ and lived with another family. They were the only ones who
weren ’t supportive. Everybody else was supportive of me doing this.

Terry’s foster family was supportive of her in her endeavors, and she continued to have
the support of her high school band teacher and mentor. Losing her family likely was a
terrible experience, but Terry’s drive and determination, coupled with the encouragement
provided by her foster parents and mentor, navigated her through the difﬁcult time.
Instead of causing her to fall apart, the trauma shored up her resilience, possibly
preparing her for ﬁiture obstacles within her path as a female band teacher.

As previously mentioned, Abby spoke of the strong women in her family that
replaced the lack of female mentors within the band teaching profession. However, she
encountered a shift in her identity and altered many of her career choices when she had
her ﬁrst child. She discusses that shift and how it affects her choice now to no longer
teach high school band.

A: va career spans 20 years. 1 never gave gender a thought, ever, ever, ever, and I ’ve

taught in four diﬂ"erent states and I never thought. . . my gender had any impact on

35

anything at all until I taught high school band. This was in South Dakota, and I had my
ﬁrst child. He was born in December and my band was slated to play on the state
convention, which was in February. I realized that I had to juggle nursing (laughs) with
childcare issues with teaching high school band. And I just have this distinct memory of
one of the band directors at the state convention saying, “Are you all nervous? ” You
know, all this was such a big deal, and I just looked at him and said, “I just had a baby.
This is just my job. ” And it. . . was a paradigm shift to me. It became less. . . I don ’t
know. I didn ’t become any less successful. But the importance of it totally shifted. And it
has for fourteen years; my son will be fourteen next week. And I ’m not doing any less of a
job, but how really important it is totally shifted.

. . . There ’s those of us that went on the mommy track who now teach middle school, you
know? And I never. . . I never saw myself here, ever. My career path was going to be this:
high school band, be successful, then get a college teaching job, because I had a music
ed. professor in undergrad that I didn ’t feel was very strong and I was going to be that
person. At the time I didn ’t really have my sights set on a college ensemble. . . I was
really thinking music ed. You know, instrumental music would be my deal. And then I did
almost the unthinkable in the feminist, women ’s lib or whatever. . . I alreaay had it
ﬁgured out. I was going to drop my kid off at daycare. . . and then I had my son. I love my
children. All of that type A and going to the top—I literally overnight did not care. I
literally overnight did not care. And so that ’s why I don ’t care that I took the mommy
track. Like I said, it was a paradigm shift. If I interviewed myself 20 years ago, I ’d be
like, oh my gosh, she gave up. (laughs)

SJ: It’s not giving up, it’s just choices.

36

A: I don’t even care, it ’s. . . funny because I have parents ask me if maybe I would ever
want to teach high school band. My answer is, “I love my family too much. ”

For Abby, starting her own family was the end of her high school music-teaching
career. Although her initial goals included teaching high school band and college level
music education, her priorities changed with the birth of her child. She refers to teaching
middle school band as “the mommy track,” implying that the time commitment of
teaching middle school band works best for women raising a family. This might be the
reason for the underrepresentation of women in high school band teaching and the
abundance of women teaching young children music.

Liz is already experiencing similar attitudes to Abby’s from her peers in music
education. Although she is not married or starting a family the topic of conﬂict between
raising children and teaching high school band is brought up to her often by her ﬁ'iends
who teach elementary or choral music.

L: A lot of my peers, my female friends—although actually, it ’sﬁmny my male ﬁ'iends
don ’t give me so much of a hard time, I think that ’s more a generational thing for the
men—but the women actually give me the hardest time.

SJ: Really?

L: I have women ﬁiends who are teaching middle school and elementary school. They ’re
like, “Wow, you ’re after school that long? Gosh, I teach elementary school. I ’m gone, I
do all my planning during the day, I don ’t have fundraisers, I don ’t have boosters, I don ’t
have evening rehearsals, musicals, football games. How do you do that? What will you
do when you have a family? ” And obviously, I’m single. I don ’t have a family yet, and

that is a concern of mine, how to balance it. But this same question is not posed for a

37

man band director. “What are you going to do when you have a family? ” Why does the
woman have to stay home? But yeah, actually I do get that from my female peers. . . that
is where that ’s the worst, because it ’s assumed [women are] nurturing, care giving. . .
and with a career like this where ’5 room for your family? I’m not even to this step. I
don ’t even have a boy picked out, much less a kid.
(laughter)
SJ: Right, right.
L: But. . . that ’s the perception from my female ﬁiends. Long hours, you know? I don ’t
see the sunrise; I don ’t see the sunset, unless we ’re out for marching practice. So. . .
yeah, it ’s actually the females who give me the hardest time there.
Liz’s female peers are reinforcing societal gender roles in which women are the
caregivers and men are the breadwinners. She makes an excellent point when she argues
that men do not get asked, “What are you going to do when you have a family?” The
concerns of her peers also show that this question of family versus teaching high school
band begins early, even before making the choice to have children or get married. It is
entirely possible that if Liz chooses to start a family she might make the same choice
Abby did to stop teaching high school band, but Liz did not like the assumption that she
would even have to make a choice. Either way, there is no right or wrong answer, but this
illustrates the pressures women face in balancing teaching high school band with having
a family that men do not face.

Terry has been married and has a son who is a high school band director himself,
but the issue of balancing children with teaching high school band simply did not come

up in our conversation. There are two possible reasons for this. The ﬁrst is that it might

38

not have been an issue. She taught high school band while married and continued after
her divorce. As a married band teacher, she might have had the support she needed from
her Spouse, and after her divorce it was probably a non-issue because she had to be the
breadwinner for herself and her child. The other possible reason is that Terry has been
teaching longer than Abby and Liz. Her son is grown and on his own. Since she is an
“empty-nester” she is removed from the thick of balancing work with children in day-to-
day life, and it is not at the forefront of her mind like it would be for Abby or Liz.
Formative Relationships — Professional

In day-to-day instruction, teachers navigate their way through relationships with
students, parents, and administrators. These interactions can set the tone for a class, a
day, or a career. I was particularly interested in learning about obstacles Terry had
encountered in her relationships, past and present, with students and their parents, and
administrators because of her gender since she became a high school band teacher at a
time when few women were active in the profession. In her opinion, high school students
and their parents presented no obstacles because of her sex. Administrators were, in her
estimation, the most concerned with gender and her role as a band teacher.

Administrators were the only people to ever openly express doubt directly to
Terry about her abilities as a music teacher. The primary example she used was from her
experience as a college band director of the marching band at “Southern University.”
The president of Southern University broached the gender issue with Terry in her job
interview. She recounted the experience with a wry smile on her face.
T: [The president said, ] “Now, dear, do you think you ’re up to standing in ﬁont of

14, 000wpeople at Southern University Stadium and directing the marching band? ” Well

39

little did he know that I’d alreaay been in front of 100, 000 at Michigan stadium directing
the Michigan marching band. . . So no, I wasn ’t intimidated by 14,000 at Southern
University. It wasn ’t going to keep me awake at night. . . the only time I ever had the fact
that I was a woman mentioned to me was always by an administrator, a male
administrator, and it was always in reference to the marching band. Like I was going to
have to lift the marching band. Like it was a big heavy object and I was going to have to
carry it on my shoulders.

When asked why she thought marching band was an issue, Terry noted that it was
typically thought of as a physical, athletic pursuit that might be construed as too
demanding for a woman. She also acknowledged the military roots of the marching band
and that administrators seem to think that that sort of discipline could be a problem for a
female instructor.

This experience is in stark contrast to Abby’s experience. When I asked her about
attitudes of her students and parents, her response was, “Who knows what goes on behind
the scenes. You know, parents talk, I just. . . ” She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders to
show that she could not answer the question. When I questioned her further she
elaborated on her opinion.

A: Wow. I don ’t know. I don ’t know. Like I said, it ’s probably the stuﬂ that happens under my
radar. Now I have a colleague who is a high school band director who feels as though. . .
(pauses, speaks slowly as though choosing her words carefully). . . who is known for being
diﬂicult, and this person feels as though it ’s all gender bias. This would be a very diﬂerent
interview if you were interviewing this person. Because this person feels in order to—not to put

words in someone else ’s mouth—feels that her strictness and, uh, diﬂicult demeanor sometimes

40

would not be received the same way if she were a man. And I think there is a ﬁne line in some
ﬁelds where women do feel that they need to be. . . bitchy. Sony!

SJ: No, it’s ok.

A: Or they ’re perceived as bitchy when they ’re being strong, or. . . but I’ve not felt that.
Abby acknowledges that other women have had difﬁcult experiences either by the hand

of others or by their own doing. However, she again suggests that she has had no such
personal experiences. It is entirely possible that she has not had any issues, or that by
choosing to keep her head above the fray she has simply avoided such problems.

Liz has been teaching a short time but already had anecdotes to share regarding an
experience with an unruly student ﬁom a home where women are not thought of as equal
to men.

L: When I was teaching actually middle school, I was replacing a male director. I was
having discipline problems with one child and I phoned home and his mom said, “Well,
it’s because you ’re a woman. If you were a man he ’d listen to you. ” I remember being
appalled that a MOTHER would tell me that. I was thinking, “He ’s your child, does he
not have to listen to you? ”

Her other experience with a “problem parent” occurred when a student on the drum line
skipped a rehearsal.

L: The bass drum player showed no remorse, and didn ’t understand why he, having a
soloistic role, being a senior in the drum line, should have stayed. So I said, “Well, you
know if that ’s how you feel I have a place that ’s ready for your level of commitment. It’s
the cymbals. ” He responded no, that ’s not what he would do, that ’s not what he would

play. And he got very, very deﬁant with me, and just. . . I couldn ’t reason with him. So I

41

called his mother and told her what happened. She said, “Oh I ’m sorry to hear that, he
does have a temper. You realize he may drop. ” I said, “That ’s not at all what I want, I
just want him to understand how his actions aﬂect everybody else. ” She said, “I
understand, I agree. ” About half an hour later I see a woman walking around, mind you
I ’m new here so I don ’t know who she is, but I see her and I recognize the voice and say,
“Oh, you ’re the bass drummer ’s mom She said yes. She said, (assumes an angry voice)
“I talked to my son. That ’s ridiculous. Have fun with your band ll/liss Nazi. ” So
somewhere in there he must have told her a story diﬂerent even though she was ok with
the initial facts that I told her. But you know, “Miss Nazi”. . . I think that as a female
band director if we are assertive it ’s more often perceived as being overly aggressive and
catty. Whereas it seems that if a man were to do those some actions, and I ’ve seen men do
those same things, just the way it’s perceived is oh, yes, that ’s just how it is.
The notable thing about both instances is that the conﬂict is with the mothers.
These are women who raise children and either jointly or independently run a household,
but question the authority of another woman. It might simply be a case of mothers being
overprotective of their children, or they might be taking issue with Liz because of her
youth and inexperience. However, it hints at the possibility of a deeper and uglier issue.
Do women support other females in positions of power, or has it become every woman
for herself in the race to achieve the same level of power as men?
Liz’s students also experience some confusion about having a young woman as

their teacher. In order to show their appreciation for her efforts the students gave Liz an
award at the end of marching season. However, it was the “Marching Barbie” award.

When I asked Liz to explain, she said that the students gave it to her because she shows

42

them that they can be anything and do anything, just like Barbie. “1 think it’s also cause
they think I look like the cheerleading coach,” laughed Liz. I am sure the students were
trying to compliment Liz and thank her for her efforts, but I am not sure that equating a
young blonde woman with a Barbie doll is the most empowering association. I doubt they
would award a male teacher the “Marching GI. Joe” award. I also doubt that if asked
about their opinions of Barbie that much substance is associated with her beyond
appearance. Liz’s gender and youth appear to be a novelty to her students.
Formative Relationships — Peers

The most complicated formative relationships for the participants to navigate was
the relationship with their male and female peers. Terry’s male peers initially expressed
concern with a woman teaching high school band. After Terry was hired to teach in a
prominent public school music program she attended a summer class at the local
university. While waiting for the class to start she overheard two male band teachers
(who did not know who she was) discussing her job and talking about how all the
students would quit when they found out the new teacher was “a girl.” (They did not.)
Although this gender bias shocked and angered Terry, she is now friends with both men
and still teases them about being sexist. They express regret for the way they reacted and
say that they have changed. When I ask Terry if she thinks things have changed she
immediately gives an afﬁrmation and says that in her opinion women are now much more
likely to be hired for band teaching positions and that men are much more comfortable
with seeing women in that role.

Although Terry says she has not encountered obstacles with her female peers, the

lack of relationship between her and other women of her education and experience level

43

is signiﬁcant. Terry notes the small number of women in professional organizations like
the College Band Directors National Association and the American Bandmasters
Association but acknowledges that while they are all ﬁiendly with one another, they are
not close and do not seek one another out. She spoke about it with a tone of regret. Terry
explains the lack of female bonding:

T: [We] grew up when we didn ’t know anybody else. . . we did it ourselves, and we did it
with a bunch of men around us, and we formed friendships and allegiances. I don ’t know
what it is about being a buday with another woman, but they didn ’t help us get here. . .
we ’ve never been as close as I have been with all my male friends. . . I can ’t put my
ﬁnger on why that might be. Unless we ’ve all just been kind of scrapping our way to the
top.

SJ: Do you think that maybe if you guys had formed a little clique or a group that the
men might have ostracized you?

T: They may have.

Terry also explained her refusal to join the Women Band Directors International,
previously known as the Women’s Band Directors National Association, and admitted
that there are women in her ﬁeld that will no longer speak to her because of her views of
the association. Terry felt that, in the past, when the group had the opportunity to feature
scholarly work in band journals, they chose to focus on topics unimportant to music
education, like make-up and making meals for their husbands.

T: That sent me over the edge. . . [it was] minimizing my importance. It ’s like [lists
several prominent band conductors] and all those guys who love to cook, getting them

together and have them. . . exchange recipes in The Instrumentalist (researcher’s note—

44

this is a monthly magazine focused on teaching band). That would never happen. And it
shouldn ’t.

SJ: It’s interesting that what they chose to put in the journal was focused on
appearance and emphasized the differences between men and women.

T: Yeah. Which is exactly the opposite of what we want to have happen.

It seems that relationships play an important part in Terry’s past experiences, and
her willingness to overlook past misconduct on the part of administrators and male peers
and even develop friendships with some of them is admirable. This gracious behavior
was not only the right thing to do, but forward thinking as well. If she had written off
everyone who did not support women in music education she would have lost valuable
contacts and the friendship of some people that now support her wholeheartedly.
Nevertheless, the lack of personal connection between Terry and her female peers gives
me pause. Why would women in the same positions dealing with the same problems not
seek one another out and help each other?

Once more Abby could not say that she ever felt that there were any obstacles or
problems with her male and female peers, but upon ﬁrrther conversation she had a
revelation about gender bias and band experiences within the setting of the New Horizons
Band chapter that she founded.

A: I don ’t feel [gender bias] from the students, I feel it ﬁrom the directors. Oh my gosh, it
just dawned on me. This is where I feel it. Totally. I always go to New Horizons Band
camp and they always buddy you up with another director. The students in the band are
like, Abby, we love you. . . it ’s the other male band directors who are of that generation

that treat me differently. And there is where I put on my deferential hat. (mimics in

45

hushed, reverent tones) “Oh, you are so smart. ” Meanwhile I think the guy can ’t conduct
his way out of a paper bag. But you know, I know he needs to be. . . so he won ’t be
condescending and rude to me. That is where I ﬁnd it. Actually, now that we are kind of—
this must be why therapy must work.

(Laughter)

SJ: That’s right!

A: No seriously, now that we talk about it. Alright, so then I started New Horizons as my
mommy job. And most people [who teach the bands] are retired or. . . up and comings
and they have so much to prove, they 're all full of themselves. So. . .

SJ: So, how do they treat you differently? You said “rude and condescending. ”

A: Oh, gosh, I did a camp—and maybe this is more what you ’re experiencing—I did a
camp with New Horizons one time. It was just so clear that the other director was just
like. . . could I maybe get him coﬂee? I don ’t know. I wish I could say, oh he said these
words to me. You know.

SJ: It’s more of a feeling and a tone and a. . .

A: Yes. Oh, and arrogance. He was a clarinet player too, so of course he must be better
than me. I am never going to toot my own ham. 1 ’m not like—whatever. If it makes you
sleep better at night thinking that I suck, then go for it. It ’s ﬁne by me.

(Laughter)

SJ: But you know, I can tell just talking to you, you have a lot of conﬁdence. Like, you
are. . . you have to be comfortable and totally conﬁdent with yourself to be able to say
“if it makes you sleep better at night to think that I suck, go ahead. ” (laughter) Well,

don ’t you think?

46

A: Yeah, but men are like that. You know what I mean? This could be a different
interview than you think, because that is where I found gender discrimination. Not ﬁom
the founder, not from the members. Totally ﬁom my colleagues.
SJ: From the older, retired, male directors.
A: I didn ’t really think about it. So in like my real career, my teaching it never even. . .
New Horizons is where I see it.
SJ: OK. So it’s more of a generational thing?
A: I think it ’s more generational for me. And like you said, regional. . . maybe I haven ’t
experienced it in my job regionally because I haven ’t taught in places that are like that.

Abby’s revelation did not entirely surprise me. The older generation of retired
male band directors worked with few female band teachers, if any. She had no contact
with that generation of teachers in the public schools, so it was natural for her to only
experience gender bias from them in the New Horizons Band setting in which many
retired band directors still work and conduct. I still believe that her enormous self-
conﬁdence prevents her from being affected by the gender bias in ways that might be
wounding or harmful to other women. It takes a strong personality like Abby’s to be able
to defer to people with lesser skills so they feel better about themselves, and it is
incredibly difﬁcult to not be bothered by others thinking poorly of your skills just
because of your gender. Other women with less self-conﬁdence or self-esteem could ﬁnd
it a challenging experience in which the effort might not be worth the rewards.

In Liz’s case, her greatest difficulty has been in dealing with coworkers. The color
guard instructor sat her down early on and told her that she would get no respect.

L: The reason I was hired, my principal told me, was to bring about. . . changes. [The

47

color guard instructor] told me right away, “Look, people aren ’t going to respect you.
You ’re not what they think of as being a band director and you know, this isn ’t how we ’ve
done things, and you ’re changing things. ” Needless to say she said it in-a lot less nice
words than that. She ’s no longer with us. Right off the bat she told me that because I’m a
woman and because I ’m young I wouldn ’t be respected and that she didn ’t respect me for
the changes and the ideas that I had.

There could be several reasons for this attitude. Part of it could be gender bias, but
I suspect that the real issue at hand was change. People are uncomfortable with change in
general, but to have a woman with little experience come in, make changes, and manage
someone older who has been working with a band for a while was probably the larger
part of the problem. However, she did mention Liz’s gender as an issue and that cannot
be ignored. The other problematic part of the equation is that the man Liz replaced still
works in the district teaching middle school band. The color guard instructor might have
felt an allegiance to him and wanted to make her feelings clear to Liz. It was her decision
to communicate her feelings with Liz, and consequently Liz hired a new color guard
instructor.

This complication of replacing an older male teacher who was forced out of his
job plays itself out regularly for Liz. She sees this man often. He is one of her only
colleagues in music education in the entire district. Worse yet, he is condescending to her
and reinforces his superiority with seemingly innocent words and conversation.

L: Speaking of my predecessor, I do remember we were having a band booster meeting,
which we were having here at the high school. He came, well he didn ’t come to the ﬁrst

meeting because he was having his triple bypass then, but he came to the second meeting

48

and I was back in the back room in the library. I just hear this voice saying, “Hey,
sweetheart. You here, darling? ” I come out and it’s him. I wouldn 't think to address a
colleague like that who I ’m not familiar with. Yes, I ‘m a young woman, but “sweetheart”
and “darling? ” I was not pleased. I was wondering who it was and I came out looking
and. . . (shrugs, palms up in the air with a bewildered look on her face).

SJ: Is that my dad or what? Who calls me that? (laughter)

L: Exactly. That’s another old-man-to-young—woman kind of thing I wasn ’t so fond of I
think it must be awkward for him too though, to know that a young woman is doing a
good job, as is perceived by colleagues, better than he had done, but he just did not get
along with the administration at all.

That sort of seemingly innocuous language, the “darling” and the “sweetheart,”
can be terms of endearrnent among people that are close, but used in other ways can be
interpreted as unprofessional, diminishing, and paternalistic. The band teacher might
have been trying to be kind, but by using that sort of terminology with a new
acquaintance who also happens to be a young woman he is placing her in an
uncomfortable situation of assumed familiarity.

Navigating in a Traditionally Male Paradigm

The theme that permeated the entire reﬂection and interview was the idea of a
woman navigating in a traditionally male paradigm. Each participant has their way of
dealing with their gender and how it affects their teaching. Terry developed ﬁ‘iendships
with her male counterparts but neglected to make any real connections with her female
peers. Abby focused on her career and family and did not see any bias in her day-to-day

teaching, and eventually gave up teaching high school band to have more time with her

49

children. Liz sought out female mentors and role models with little success and continues
to do so.

Although Terry successfully adapted to her environment, she was not without
moments of doubt about her role and identity in teaching high school band. Her prime
example of this was illustrated in the earlier story where she recounted how she felt she
did not “look right” in front of the ensemble. When I asked Terry if she had any advice
for other women looking for a career in teaching high school band, she was quick to
respond.

T: Find somebody that you can have as a mentor. That would be my biggest piece of
advice. Find a mentor that you can go to, and talk to, and be honest with, that you can
call at any time. Don ’t give up. Don ’t give up, and don ’t think that your just going to
class in college is going to be enough, because it ’3 never enough. You ’ve got to make
your own education. Your education is what you make it. And what you learn, you ’re
going to learn outside of the classroom. I would say go to every band event you can go to,
go to every concert you can go to, volunteer. . . even if you have to hang out at
Interlochen and camp at the state campgrounds. . . go to concerts, hang out at people ’s
rehearsals, go visit people ’s rehearsals, meet everybody you can, get to know as many
conductors as you can. Because I ’m sorry, but it ’s who you know. And it ’s what you
know. So it ’s a combination of both, but it really is who you know. Somebody once said
that the band world is this big chessboard and that [important band conductors] move
people where they want them around the board from this university to this university. And
to a certain extent, some of that is true. You know, there are certain people who have a

lot of inﬂuence. It really is a lot of who you know, but it ’s really a lot of what you know,

50

too. You’ve got to educate yourself outside of the classroom. But you ’ve got to become a
great musician. You ’ve got to practice. You ’ve got to become a great musician. You ’ve
got to become a great conductor. Make opportunities.

SJ: Do you think that women, in order to be successful, have to go above and beyond
what others have to do?

(pause)

T: I think everybody needs to go above and beyond what others have to do.

SJ: Okay.

T: I think everybody needs to go beyond what people say are the requirements to be
successﬁrl—to be highly successful. I think everybody who just goes to class (smacks
counter) and just gets their degree (smacks counter) are not going to do as well. I think
(smack) EVERYBODY (smack) needs to go beyond the classroom and do more. Women?
Hmm. . . how do I feel about that? Do women need to do more? (takes a long pause,
looks at me rueﬁrlly) Probably. (looks grim) T o be thought of as equal. Yeah, you ’re
probably right.

Although Terry has achieved great success as a band music educator at the high
school level, her experiences and stories demonstrate the difﬁculties she has had. She
began teaching high school band at a time when few women were in the ﬁeld, and even
though she asserts that things have changed for the better for women, she still feels that
women have to do more to be seen as equal to men. I found Terry’s strong reaction to my
question about women having to go above and beyond to be considered as good as men
so interesting that I broached it in my interview with Abby as well.

SJ: Do you think that women, in order to be considered successful, have to go above

51

and beyond what others have to do?

A: That I do. That I do. . . and I don ’t know why, I can ’t give speciﬁcs why I think that,
but I do. I really do. I actually do.

SJ: To be considered as successful as men?

A: I think so. And maybe that just comes from me. I can ’t think of any external reason
why I feel that way. It really comes from here. (Gestures to her chest)

SJ: Do you think that in music education or is this just a music thing or is it just a
teaching thing?

(Pause)

A: I think it ’s a life thing. I think it ’s how women feel to be honest with you.

I was surprised by Abby’s response. It was almost a contradiction from her earlier
responses in which she professed to be unaware of any kind of gender bias. In my
opinion, this reinforces my earlier suspicion that gender bias might not be as foreign to
Abby as she would maintain. I believe that her method of coping is to ignore the potential
for any kind of discrimination, and this has altered her perception of it occru'ring in her
career. I then asked her what recommendations she had for future female high school
band educators.

A: You need to be yourself You have to be who you are. Students, kids, and dogs can sniff
out fake. If you are not by nature stern and strict, don ’t put on that hat because people

are going to see it. AND, the sky ’s the limit. My advice is to just be good. You have to be
good. You have to have the goods to back it up. I mean, that ’s all there is to it. And you
don ’t need to tell people you have the goods to back it up, you just have to have it.

Because nobody wants to hear anyone, male or female, talking about how great they are,

52

or this person they know, or this job they had, and unfortunately sometimes. . . if you ’re
female and you do that, it almost comes of like the little girl tugging at the skirts, “Listen
to me, listen to me. ” You ’ve got to just let your work be your advertisement. And be
patient.

Liz echoed the sentiment about being the best in her advice to future female high
school band teachers. She also agreed that women have to do more to be successful.
SJ: Do you think that women have to go above and beyond what men have to do to be
thought of as successful?
(Pause)
L: In some respects, yeah. And it’s interesting too. I—when I play for female conductors
for some reason it feels diﬂerent because it ’s ingrained in my brain that ’s how it should
be. Because what I’ve had has always been males. I mean females for my basic level
things. Yeah. It does seem entirely diﬂ'erent. It ’s like that urge to establish yourself as not
just being merely maternal. Not just, ok children yes, it ’s happy we ’re playing music. But
it almost seemed manly [to be] nit-picky, making it good, making them adhere to those
standards. I think it ’s something every good musician would have regardless of gender,
but those seem to be the images. When I think in my mind of a woman director versus a
male director the woman [is] being nurturing and inclusive and getting all the little
ducklings in whereas a man would be, “No, that ’s not good enough, let’s try that again.
Here we go. No, don ’t play that part. ” I want to be somewhere in between. I don ’t want
to be harsh, but I don ’t want to be too soft to the point where it hurts as well.
SJ: What advice would you have for other women wanting to pursue teaching high

school band or just starting out teaching high school band?

53

L: Deﬁnitely go for it, but seek out help ﬁom the best, whatever it is regardless of
gender—the best conductor, and the best educator, and the best musician. Deﬁnitely have
women role models because it ’s so important. We just still face issues that men don ’t. . .
that men won ’t, luckily for them. It ’s doable, and honestly I think it ’s getting better. I
think I ’m extremely blessed just because my predecessor wasn ’t making everybody happy
so that makes things a lot easier for me than had my predecessor been extremely
successﬁrl. But I think the proof is in the pudding. They came around, but it wasn 't like if
I were a middle-aged man walking in. . . I don ’t think immediately the respect I would
have gotten, had I been a middle-aged man walking in. But they came around. I think at
the end of the day a happy, successﬁrl musician is a teacher worthy of being respected

Excellence is a connecting thread throughout each of their responses. This also
reinforces the idea that women must be superior teachers and musicians in order to
function in this male dominated ﬁeld. Another prominent idea was that of not letting
anything stop ﬁrture female high school band teachers. “Go for it.” “The sky’s the limit.”
“Don’t give up.” “Make your opportrmities.” According to the participants there is no
room for doubt if this is a career you want to pursue. One has to have a goal and strive for
it no matter what obstacles or issues you encounter.

Women in secondary instrumental music education still walk a ﬁne line between
being identiﬁed as a female band teacher and band teacher who just happens to be a
female. Sometimes this happens at the cost of losing their identity as a woman, and
sometimes this happens at the cost of losing their identity as a high school band teacher.
Many people would say that gender is no longer an issue in teaching high school band,

but I think the experiences of the participants speak to a different reality. Although

54

gender discrimination is no longer overt in most cases, it is still a quiet but important

variable in the lives of female high school band teachers.

55

Chapter Six
Connections
The three themes of inﬂuence, formative relationships, and navigating within a
traditionally male paradigm are interconnected and represented by the model in Figure 1.
The overarching theme is that of women navigating in a traditionally male paradigm.
This theme encompasses and is inﬂuenced by the other two themes, inﬂuences and

formative relationships.

Figure 1. Model of thematic connections

Women
Navigating in a
Traditionally
Male Paradigm

Personal
Relationships
(Family,
Professional, Peer)

Inﬂuences
(Presence vs.
Absence)

+ -

 

The theme of inﬂuences has a continuum depending on the lens with which it is
examined. If examining the theme only for a presence of people who inﬂuenced the

participants by being role models and mentors, each of them had people that inspired

56

them to be music educators. If the theme is examined with the intent of ﬁnding female
inﬂuences it ranges from strong inﬂuences (Liz’s middle school music teacher, Abby’s
mother, aunts, and sisters) to no female presence (as lacking from Terry’s life and Liz’s
current professional life).

The inﬂuences on Terry, Abby, and Liz affect their formative relationships. Their
role models and mentors and lack thereof inﬂuence their day-to-day interactions and
relationships with their families, students, parents, administrators, and peers. The
participants emulate the people who inﬂuenced them and even contact them currently for
professional and personal reasons. The lack of female inﬂuence has made some question
their role and identity as band music educators. This lack caused Terry to eschew forming
relationships with other women in the band teaching ﬁeld, although now nearing
retirement she is looking forward to seeking out and building those relationships. The
lack of female inﬂuence caused Liz to have difﬁculties in ﬁnding her own identity as a
high school band teacher, but she is now interested in ﬁnding strong female inﬂuences
and building peer relationships via professional women’s associations.

Terry, Abby, and Liz’s formative relationships affect their methods of navigating
in a traditionally male paradigm. Terry navigated her way into the profession via the
strong relationship she had with her mentor, but managed to be successful by becoming
close with her male peers and deemphasizing the differences between men and women.
Abby navigated her way through teaching high school band by ignoring gender
constructs and being unconscious of the possible negative reactions of peers, students,
and parents. She then decided to teach middle school band instead of high school band

because of her desire to spend more time with her family. Liz found her footing in

57

teaching high school band by ignoring the doubts of her female peers and the
condescending attitude of others. She currently tries to ﬁnd a balance between masculine
and feminine styles of leadership. “I want to be somewhere in between. I don’t want to be
harsh, but I don’t want to be too soft to the point where it hurts as well. ” The inﬂuences
and formative relationships formulated the method with which each of these women
navigated teaching high school band and the recommendations they made for future

female high school band educators.

58

Chapter Seven
Conclusions

There are steps that can be taken to help make the road to becoming a secondary
band teacher smoother for women. Women must ﬁnd their own kind of motivation and
make their own opportunities. This means that females looking to enter the band teaching
profession should go out and seek chances to learn from others outside of the university
classroom. Terry, Abby, and Liz each spoke of becoming the best at teaching music and
seeking educational training from people they consider to be the best in band music
education. Women should volunteer to help with local band programs, take extra lessons
to excel at their instruments and conducting, attend extra concerts and rehearsals, and
ﬁnd occasions to meet people already in the profession. Women seeking to enter the ﬁeld
of high school band education have to be successful musicians and superior educators in
order to have the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

Women also need to ﬁnd a strong mentor ﬁgure, be it man or woman, to help
them gain easier entry into a career in teaching band. Each of the participants spoke of
male band teachers being a major inﬂuence in their decision to teach band. Liz still turns
to a former female music teacher with high school band teaching experience for help and
guidance. Having someone to help when there are questions to be answered or turn to in
times of trouble is a major asset that many new teachers lack. The help of a mentor in
navigating the ins and outs of the profession and assistance in making important contacts
could make the difference in being hired for a job or being overlooked. It could also
potentially affect a woman’s decision to teach high school band.

Women that have had success in the secondary band-teaching ﬁeld also have the

59

chance to help other women entering the profession. By reaching out to young women
and being a role model, offering mentorship, and building relationships with those
women, they can have a profoundly positive inﬂuence on the professional and personal
lives of future educators. Some men have extended a helping hand to women who wanted
to be band educators and helped to make their dreams a reality. It is time for females in
the profession to make the same step and cast off the unspoken rules of years past.
Female band teachers need to form positive peer relationships with men and women
alike. Strong female band educators like Terry and Abby could be invaluable resources
for young women just entering the ﬁeld like Liz. As a new teacher Liz feels a void in her
choice of role models, and women with experience can help new teachers like Liz by
being guides and positive examples of women who have succeeded in teaching. Women
need to embrace the differences between themselves and the men in the profession and
make those differences their strengths. Until women unite to make strides forward in the
secondary band teaching world, change will be slow and few women will make it to those
positions primarily held by men.
Implications

By giving these women an outlet through which to share their experiences this
study can help others to better understand the complexities of gender and teaching high
school band. Women are considered equal to men in the eyes of the law and open gender
discrimination is becoming less common, but the stories told by Terry, Abby, and Liz
show that it is still present in the band teaching ﬁeld (U.S. Equal Opportunity
Employment Commission, 2009). Future research might examine the issue ﬁrrther by

speciﬁcally focusing on the students of female high school band teachers and their

60

perceptions of the role gender plays in their music education. Another perspective to
consider is that of the women teaching middle school band and their motivation for
teaching that age level as opposed to high school. It is my hope that this and future
studies can inspire an open and honest dialogue about the role of gender in band music
education and encourage more young women to overcome any perceived obstacles in

reaching their goals.

61

Appendix A
Individual Reﬂection Questions
. Why did you choose to become a band teacher?
. As you look back over your career, what important events and experiences have
contributed to your sense of professional identity?
. Who have been your role models in music education, and how have they

inﬂuenced you?

62

Appendix B
Individual Interview Questions
. How has being a female in a male dominated ﬁeld changed your perceptions of
music education?
. What obstacles have you encountered with students and parents because of your
gender?
. What experiences have you had in which peers or administrators treated you
differently (positive or negative) because of your gender?
In your teaching career, what changes in attitude towards female band teachers
have you experienced or observed?
. How has a lack of female role models and mentors affected you?
. What advice do you have for young women just starting out or wanting to pursue

band teaching?

63

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