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 ninth grade is a time when students have a lot of change in their lives as they begin a new phase of their schooling. Students at this age develop a more fluent view of gender roles and expectations, which is likely because they start to question the world and people around them (Becker, 2022). These attitudes toward gender presentation increase as students continue deeper into their early adolescence (Becker, 2022). With the growing openness to less rigid forms of gender expression, it is important for educators to give students a space to learn about and experiment with gender. This will allow students to express themselves freely, as well as expose them to ways their peers might want to express themselves.
It has been shown that adolescents rely heavily on the influence of popular music on both their social and personal lives (Wang, 2018). However, at this age, students are conditioned to take in gendered messaging without processing what they are hearing (Wang, 2018). It is important that teachers provide students with a space to critically analyze and discuss this messaging so that they are aware of how it might be influencing their behaviour. Wang also argues that this both enhances students’ interests and inspires them to express themselves (Wang, 2018). In a study that investigated students’ participation in popular music bands based on their gender, it was found that the female and male students interacted differently at rehearsals and on stage (Abramo, 2011). For example, male students were more likely to take leadership positions, whereas female students valued teamwork (Abramo, 2011). Students need to be guided in recognizing and understanding ways that music industry norms push them toward certain behaviours so that they can make informed choices toward developing their own authentic musical identities and ways of being and acting in the world more broadly.
This lesson asks students to research a North American popular music artist and examine their public persona through a gender lens. As students begin to question gender expectations, this activity will provide them with an outlet to explore something they care about with a critical lens. Ideally, this will also help students to develop skills that allow them to analyse other aspects of music. This activity additionally aims to provide students with insight into the ways in which the industry asks different people to present their genders. This will disrupt the way women and men feel the need to behave because of their genders. Students are asked to do a presentation in order to expose their classmates to multiple examples of gender issues in the music industry.
Grade 9 - Your Favourite Artist’s Favourite Artist
Lesson Objectives
- Students can acknowledge the gendered biases in the popular music industry.
- Students connect the experiences of a public figure to their own experiences.
- Students will have continued to develop their own musical identities.
Materials
- Slideshow (PDF 2.19 MB)
- Device for students to research and create presentations
Lesson
Present the slideshow below, or make your own. This lesson is an introduction to gender expectations in the North American music industry. It also serves to give students a couple of examples of artists who are acting to break gender expectations in the industry. I have used Madonna and Lil Nas X. Feel free to present artists that are relevant to your students.
- Have students choose an artist that goes against gender norms in the music industry.
- Have them create a presentation about the artist themselves including…
- How long they have been in the music industry
- What kind of music they make
- How gender expectations would expect them to present themselves and/or act
- How gender expectations have shaped their music
- How gender expectations have shaped their physical performance choices
- What they do to combat or conform to gender expectations
- Have students write a reflection about their artist’s experience and how they think the music industry would attempt to influence their own gender presentation.
References:
Abramo, J. M. (2011). Gender differences of popular music production in secondary schools. Journal of Research in Music Education, 59(1), 21–43.
Ullrich, R., Becker, M., & Scharf, J. (2022). The development of gender role attitudes during adolescence: Effects of sex, socioeconomic background, and cognitive abilities. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(11).
Wang, J. (2019, January 22). Popular music and gender equity: Integrating popular music into gender studies in grade 9–12. Scholaris.ca.