Music and Gender

I think that there are differences in gender in the world of music. I personally don't think that will ever change. You have female artists who write with a sort of "women empowerment" theme or style and you have men that write about beer, trucks, and girls.

***Flawless (feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) by Beyoncé

Boys 'Round Here (feat. Pistol Annies & Friends) by Blake Shelton

They might not be the best examples but neither gender could do the other's in this situation without it being perceived as weird or wrong on a social level to some capacity. Humans feel more connected to something they believe in, so when something isn't like they imagine, their liking towards it decreases. There are also times that people relate certain themes of music to a specific gender like "breakup songs" even tho they often aren't just female, although typically assumed to be. These situations are just social norms popularized by specific artists that shaped people's image of the theme of music, such as Taylor Swift and Adele. However there are some male artists that have popularized a song in the same space despite there being a gender difference such as Bill Withers (who wrote "Ain't No Sunshine" which I should've added to the music in me because its been one of my most played songs on Spotify for a few years here and there.)

Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers

In my own experiences whether it be church choir, a school performance, or some musical related event i've noticed that men tend to take a more instrumental role whereas women take a more vocalist role. For example growing up my mom always sang in the choir at church, however out of everyone there in the choir only men played instruments. At my high school's orchestra more women played violin, and more men played viola, cello, and bass. My high school didn't have a band but more men in my county tended to partake in drums and brass than females did. I am not the most experienced person in the world, but at a school level and a county level to my experience this holds true. Another situation I think of in my life where different genders tended to be attracted to different roles was in plays and musicals. Back home my high school didn't have a theater but I enjoyed watching the plays and musicals, so i'd go to some of the local schools to watch them. At these schools I noticed more men chose to be a stage hand (theater tech) rather than be in the performance themselves. Zooming out a little more and I noticed that there are more women than men in theater and more women than men in singing as well. I think this is due to the stigma that men who participate in these activities are seen as less masculine. I had never thought about any of the differences of gender in music in my own life until this assignment.