In continuation of the debate about the lack of female representation at festivals in the Faroe Islands and elsewhere, many wonder why it should even be a problem. Why the heck should everything be turned into a question of gender? Isn’t it all just about good music? The desire for more female musicians on stage doesn’t seem to have much support, neither among men nor women. As a woman, it’s disheartening to see all the negative comments on social media directed at those who dare to point out the lack of female representation. That’s one thing. But the most interesting question is why women are not missed much on the stage. Is it because people believe that women are less skilled or less musical than men? And are they really? Could there be something to it?
Many argue that it is simply nonsense to point out that female musicians are often underrepresented in music scenes. Women can just pull themselves together and do more to get better at playing if it is so important to them. Then they will surely succeed. Maybe they are just not as skilled as men? Maybe they just don’t make as good music, who knows? Perhaps it’s not so strange that women are not well represented at festivals and other music scenes? Or what?
Something that provokes people is that they believe that what female musicians, the equality council (and those unbearable whining feminists) ask for and want is for organizers of music events to place more emphasis on gender than on the musicians’ skill. One person put it this way on Facebook:
“What nonsense. Should it really be the case that both genders MUST be represented everywhere and for everything? Then I think no fishing boat should be allowed to leave the dock without at least half of them being women on board, no houses should be built without at least half of those building them being women, no daycares should be open without at least half of the staff being men, I could go on… No, democracy and abilities. If one gender is better at something than the other, you choose that. It makes no sense to push for equality everywhere if it compromises quality, in either direction.”
A woman expressed it like this:
“Oh this damn whining always about equality. One feels ashamed to call oneself a woman, just because of this equality nonsense. To go to a music festival, I must preferably like the music. Otherwise, I see no reason to attend a music festival. I couldn’t care less about what gender plays in which group.”
But is it really complete gender balance that is being asked for? No, no one is saying that there MUST be a 50/50 gender representation in all areas of society – not even when it comes to music. Of course, those who are the best should be allowed to come forward, regardless of their gender.
Are women really excluded because of their gender?
But what is the reason for women being so poorly represented compared to men when it comes to music events? Is it perhaps really because they are not as skilled as their male counterparts in the music scene? It is legitimate to raise that question.
As someone said on Facebook:
“It’s not ill-intended from any side – not even from women themselves, who, in the name of freedom, choose other priorities than becoming musicians. It can now be observed that women have been given all the rights they should have. Next on the list should be abolishing the ‘equality council’, before we lose empathy and respect for the women’s struggle, which now seems to have turned into women’s complaints. If women are to take the stage, they must embark on the long music path themselves. Quality must and should be prioritised over gender. It’s no solution to constantly pollute the public space with such nonsense. It’s so tiring that real news are pushed aside because of such things.”
But aren’t there women who have actually done that? That is, gone the long path to improve themselves as much as possible in music? Well, there are actually quite a few. Knowing that there are outstanding musicians who happen to be women, is it that strange that there are questions about why some of these talented musicians are not chosen by organisers to perform at music events? Isn’t it a bit odd that NONE of them are represented at a whole festival? None of the genders should be excluded if there are talented musicians of both genders. Or what?
Some believe that this difference is so striking that women must have been rejected because of their gender. Others think it is just chance that only men were chosen this time. A third group believes that women are to blame themselves. They could have just been better at their craft and more proactive.
Regardless of the reason, it is strange how consistently women are underrepresented in the music scene compared to men, not just in the Faroe Islands but also in the surrounding countries.
Women less recognized as musicians than men
It is a very interesting question why this is the case. Should women simply “pull themselves together” to become better musicians so that they automatically become more popular? Is it really that simple?
Probably, it is a much more complex and nuanced question – as it often is. There are so many factors that can influence and be the cause of the current situation. We are all influenced by society, by the history before us, and by the time we live in right now. No one lives isolated in the world in a vacuum, so the way we behave is often the result of influence from many different factors.
Or could it really just be that there is simply a biological difference between women and men, which means more men play music than women, and that they are better than women at it? Are they fundamentally more musical than women? What does the research say about it? I will come back to that.
If you look into it further, women – as a lot of research in the field shows – have historically faced far greater challenges than men in making themselves known in the music scene. How many female classical composers do you know, for example? Probably much fewer than male classical composers – if any at all, right? It’s not because they don’t exist. In reality, there are many, but they have never been highlighted to the same extent as men. It’s not because they are inferior to men. Just listen here. Here are some examples of underestimated female classical composers.
For those interested in understanding the obstacles women in music face compared to men today, there is a particularly interesting video worth watching. The video explores the unique challenges female musicians encounter, backed by compelling interviews, references to notable research on gender differences in music, and telling statistics highlighting the disparities between genders. This eye-opening video is definitely worth watching.
The world of music, a man’s world
According to research referenced by the host and interviews conducted with various female musicians and music producers, discrimination in the music industry has many different causes.
It is related to societal attitudes, rooted in history as mentioned above, influencing gender perceptions. It is linked to upbringing, education in schools and music institutions. And it relates to the lack of role models, traditional gender roles, and… dare I say the word… sexism, among other things.
Just think of this phenomenon that many may recognize: When people see female musicians, they first and foremost see a woman, whereas when they see male musicians, they do not think about gender but just see… musicians. Everyone notices when there are only women in a group – or when just one woman plays bass or drums, while no one considers gender when men play. In the music world, being male is the “default” gender.
As the host in the video above states:
“You’ve probably spent most of your life only really seeing male producers, male engineers, male music writers. And if you saw a female on MTV she almost certainly had a male producer producing music for her. And maybe every now and then you would turn on PBS, and you would see a virtuoso female violinist sight reading music written by a man being conducted by a male conductor.”…. “I just think that a lot of us men, when we see a woman producing music, we don’t see ourselves. We see a woman trying to do something that we do.”
It is simply a fact that the music world is primarily a male-dominated world. Due to the fewer number of women in the music industry, they are less visible as musicians, leading many people – both women and men – to be somewhat skeptical of women’s abilities as musicians. This skepticism is stronger towards women compared to men, not out of malice, but simply due to old habits – most likely unconscious. Female musicians themselves hold this prejudice… about themselves.
This especially applies to rhythmic music, where men have long been dominant, at least in terms of being instrumentalists and producing, mixing, and mastering music, while women have mostly stuck to singing.
Female musicians have always existed in a music world where it has been an assumption that men are the better experts when it comes to music. They are so accustomed to being told – directly or indirectly – that men can handle things better than them. And they might also believe that they are not – or cannot become – as good, because men are often very talented. No doubt. Not least because men themselves are convinced of the same. The music world is therefore largely a male-dominated world.
More masculine than feminine to be skilled at playing
Boys have more male role models since childhood, inspiring them to pursue music – often with other boys, as they prefer doing things together rather than just talking. While talking may suffice for girls, they are not encouraged as much to do more than just talking.
Boys displaying great skill in playing an instrument well receive much admiration from each other – and from female fans as well. They may have a greater competitive drive than many girls, motivating them to do more. “Practice makes perfect,” as the Danes say, so they perhaps develop more courage and greater self-esteem earlier, believing they can succeed if they practice enough – and they seem to have more perseverance to practice than many women, maybe because they receive more recognition for their skills and thereby have more faith in their abilities. A positive cycle, one might say.
A bias both genders seem to face is that it is seen as more masculine – and not very feminine – to be an outstanding instrumentalist – e.g. on guitar, bass, or drums – likely due to historical reasons. According to the video above, women who are skilled instrumentalists and/or composers do not receive as much recognition for their abilities. They are not “feminine” enough, apparently. Moreover, they are often suspected of not being as skilled in reality, but rather “cheating” in some way, e.g. likely having a man behind them who has “assisted” (see video above on this phenomenon).
Many simply assume that male musicians are skilled in their craft – without questioning it, while women encounter challenges in being perceived as competent musicians compared to men. Especially historically. There is a significant bias – both from men and women, where people often automatically view female musicians with more skepticism and criticism than male musicians.
This bias can be confirmed by reading reviews of female musicians, for example in Danish newspapers. If they receive praise, it is not so much for being talented composers or instrumentalists, but often more for how they look and what they wear. Additionally, they are often heavily compared to other female musicians – for example, whether they sing better or worse than other women – more than male musicians are compared to other male musicians in reviews.
Do not question the competence of men in the same way
The same skepticism regarding women’s abilities as musicians is often internalized by women, resulting in many women being highly self-critical, self-censoring, and therefore struggling to assert themselves compared to more confident men.
There are exceptions, of course, where women stubbornly insist on establishing themselves as musicians, but it often comes with challenges. The – unfortunately few – women who strive to excel as skilled instrumentalists, composers, arrangers, or good music producers often face a different reaction from others (especially men) compared to their male counterparts. People do simply not have the same level of confidence in women’s abilities – at least not the same level of trust they have in the abilities of male musicians and producers.
It is not surprising, considering the larger presence of talented and more experienced male musicians on stage compared to women. Research and statistics show that female musicians for that reason often encounter greater obstacles than men – for example, in accessing larger stages with bigger audiences and having their works recognized and played in media, leading to underrepresentation at major music events. The problem perpetuates itself.
The intention is not to pit women against men
The intention of this blog post is not to pit male and female musicians against each other. On the contrary. It is a fact that many male musicians are very supportive and always willing to collaborate with female musicians. And this is greatly appreciated by female musicians. However, as a Faroese proverb says, “no one knows pain in another man’s leg,” so it can still be difficult for male musicians to see the music world from a female perspective. Many men, for example, believe that women can just do exactly as they do, and then they will be more recognized. But that’s easier said than done in this world as it is.
According to the conversations in the videos above, there is no shortage of advice from men to female instrumentalists, for example. This is undoubtedly meant as help – and well-intentioned. But men are often blind to how this affects women – that it may not actually help the situation. On the contrary, it can make women feel even more inferior because men think they need “help.” What women most need is recognition, primarily for what they want to do – and what they actually can do. And it is often more than others may think.
Perhaps it is difficult as a man to understand how challenging it can feel for a woman to navigate as a musician in a music world where men are so predominantly in the majority, and therefore so influenced by male assumptions, even though men themselves have difficulty seeing it that way because it feels completely natural to them.
Many women simply choose to surrender and let men take charge because the men are so good at it – and seem to enjoy it so much more. It may seem demanding to assert one’s will or make the men understand one’s perspective when the men are so skilled and also have opinions and are so sure of their views on how things should be done. So, perhaps for some women, it is easier to just choose the more traditional female roles in music, such as singing, where they may expect a little more recognition because they do not ‘threaten’ men’s expertise and therefore feel less ‘resistance’ or competition from men. Or they choose the third option: they simply give up in powerlessness and lack of self-confidence.
There is no biological difference when it comes to musicality
The interesting fact is that when gender is removed from the equation and one somehow bypasses gender bias, equality almost naturally follows. In the classical world, gender balance has significantly improved, for example, now that many orchestra leaders worldwide have opted for “blind auditions,” where those selecting musicians for orchestras cannot see the gender of the applicants but only listen to them play behind a curtain. It is noteworthy that this approach results in selecting many more female musicians than they would have otherwise.
Research shows (as mentioned in the above video) that there is no biological difference between girls and boys in terms of musical ability. On the contrary, it appears that girls often excel over boys in this aspect as children. However, for some reason, girls lose courage and drive due to the obstacles they encounter on the path to adulthood. It is undoubtedly necessary to intervene early, where girls are encouraged and supported to the same extent as boys in playing music, without risking losing anything – such as being seen as less feminine.
It would be so wonderfully enriching for all parties if gender played no role in the music world. But as long as talented musicians, who happen to be female, are not valued as highly and do not have as easy access to opportunities as male musicians, then we have a problem.
There has already been research showing that women face greater obstacles and biases than men when establishing themselves as musicians, and they have to fight harder to make themselves heard. If we do not acknowledge this fact, then nothing will change. If there is to be a change then it is necessary to first acknowledge that there is a problem. Otherwise, we cannot figure out how to solve the problem. The first step towards finding a solution must surely be to become aware of the reasons why there is such a relatively large difference between women and men in the music world, when we know that both genders have roughly the same musical starting point from childhood. Where does it go wrong? And why? And can something be done to correct it? What could that be, for example? We must find out, so that talented musical women can be allowed to flourish as musicians, as they deserve just as much as men.
Would you like to know more about why there are so few women in the music industry compared to men, there is a lot of research and statistics that shed light on and analyse the issue. Here are a number of relevant links to Danish reports and articles on the problem:
Scientific reports:
- https://www.dr.dk/static/documents/2022/03/01/2022_kvinderne_i_musikken_rapport_7724645d.pdf
- https://kvinfo.dk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Hvorfor-er-der-sa%CC%8A-fa%CC%8A-kvinder_marts2022.pdf
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