This is part of a Master of Education research project called Gender in Music Education: Lessons Addressing Gender in Music in Grades K-12 (PDF 4.8 MB) completed by Laura Anne Smith.
The twelfth grade is a defining year in the lives of many students as they are tasked with figuring out what to do after their regular schooling comes to an end. This is also a vital time for students in their understanding of gender expression and gender identity. People around this age were becoming more open to differing expressions of gender and seeing themselves as distinct from older generations because of their more progressive beliefs (Allen et al., 2020). While the state of society is always changing, students have the capability to be in a good place to be encouraged to continue delving into issues of gender. Although today’s students are, on average, more accepting of gender diversity than people from previous generations, the same study also found that a smaller portion of students showed resistance to gender fluid concepts due to different political sentiments (Allen et al., 2020). This group of students may be growing with the rise of manosphere concepts which makes it more important than ever that these students are pushed to broaden their horizons so that they can continue into their careers to help make a more accepting environment for themselves and their colleagues. This can be done by ensuring that negative attitudes toward gender are interrupted, and binary stereotypes of gender expression are not forced upon students (Jones, 2022). Jones also suggests giving students role models in order for them to have tangible inspiration for their own goals (Jones, 2022). Popular music is known to have a significant impact on the personal and social lives of students (Wang, 2018), which will impact the important decisions students have to make in grade twelve. The music industry can be used as a space where students can explore and analyze gender on a deeper level (Wang, 2018). In this lesson activity, students will use their understanding of gender expectations to come up with ideal ways to destabilize gender expectations in a specific music industry.
As a culminating activity in this project, students will be asked to create a fictional artist who, in their eyes, is a perfect example of someone standing up for and acting against typical expectations of gender presentation in a particular music industry.
Grade 12 - The “Perfect” Artist
Lesson Objectives
- Students will have the knowledge about gender in the music industry to recognize an artist who positively impacts or advances the music industry.
- Students will be able to acknowledge faults in the music industry.
Materials
- Activity sheet (PDF 75.8 KB)
- Devices to research and create artists
- Paper + writing utensils
Lesson
Have students get into groups of 3-4 with a piece of scrap paper. Instruct them to come up with a list of as many artists as they can in 1 minute. Then, have students come up with one way each of the artists contributes to gender stereotypes in the music industry (positively or negatively). This can be the clothes they wear, the content of their songs, their performance style, their presence on social media, or anything else they come up with!
- Have students create an artist that they believe breaks gender expectations and supports the industry in positive change in a specific genre. Their final project should include…
- The artist’s name
- What industry/genre they are in
- What their stage show looks like
- Are they in a band?
- Do they play an instrument?
- Do they dance?
- Are there other people on stage with them?
- What does their physical stage set-up look like?
- What their music is about
- What they wear during shows
- What they wear in their everyday life
- One thing they do to acknowledge gender activism
- OPTIONAL: Use the worksheet as an outline and have students write an essay based on the information they come up with.
References:
Allen, K., Cuthbert, K., Hall, J. J., Hines, S., & Elley, S. (2021). Trailblazing the gender revolution? Young people’s understandings of gender diversity through generation and social change. Journal of Youth Studies, 25(5), 1–17.
Jones, K. (2025). Challenging sexism and gender stereotypes in education. My College.
Wang, J. (2019, January 22). Popular music and gender equity: Integrating popular music into gender studies in grade 9–12. Scholaris.ca.