Gender Microaggressions: An Examination of Existing Research on the Experiences of Female Band Directors

Sexual Objectification

Sexual objectification pertains to focusing on a woman’s body or appearance. Sue (2010a) defined sexual objectification as “perceiving the female body as an object for the pleasure and psychological ownership of others” (p. 169), which occurs any time “women are reduced to their physical appearance and/or sexuality” (p. 170). This can take a variety of forms, such as cat-calling, uninvited touching, staring at a woman’s breasts while speaking to her, or commenting on a woman’s looks or clothing rather than her work (Nadal & Haynes, 2012; Sue, 2010a).

Several studies of female band directors include instances of sexual objectification. Both Lawrence (2020) and Kincade (2021) described female band directors’ experiences with sexual comments or unwanted sexual advances made by male band directors. One of Sears’s (2017) participants recalled an administrator who would put his arm around her, kiss her on the cheek, and call her “babe” in front of her colleagues. Another of Sears’s participants said, “I hated going there” about her student teaching placement because “her cooperating teacher’s stares made her very uncomfortable” (p. 107). A participant in Fischer-Croneis’s (2016) study remembered a giveaway of Victoria’s Secret gift cards at a gathering at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. Almost 80% of Lawrence’s (2020) 82 survey respondents had an inappropriate comment made about their appearance in a professional setting, and Minette’s (2011) focus group participants “agreed that female conductors will be judged on their appearance first and then the performance of the groups second” (p. 47).

Use of Sexist Language

Use of sexist language entails any language that reflects and/or reinforces “the patriarchal nature of our society” (Sue, 2010a, p. 171). This can include both openly hostile language (e.g., calling a woman “bitch,” telling a sexist joke) or more subtle language used to demean women, such as calling a female coworker “sweetie” (Capodilupo et al., 2010; Nadal & Haynes, 2012).

Researchers have documented instances of sexist language experienced by female band directors. The most common was being referred to as “sweetie,” “honey,” “dear,” “young lady,” or something similar by adjudicators, instrumental music coordinators, administrators, or football coaches (Bovin, 2019; Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998; Kincade, 2021; Sears, 2017; Shouldice, 2021). One of Kincade’s (2021) participants recalled being asked, “Is this really your big band, little girl?” (p. 206), and one of Sears’s (2010) participants was “constantly mistaken for the band director’s wife” and called her name rather than being recognized as the assistant director (p. 163). Although one might try to explain away these experiences as mistakes, humor, or affection, the women felt demeaned and demoralized.

Restrictive Gender Roles

This type of gender microaggression relates to traditional assumptions regarding the roles women should play as well as “admonitions not to break them” for risk of being viewed negatively (Sue, 2010a, p. 172). Restrictive gender roles include beliefs that women should be nurturing, soft, polite, and “domestic” as well as assumptions that women should marry and have children (Capodilupo et al., 2010). Breaking these assumed gender roles “can result in punitive and negative consequences,” such as a woman being labeled “bitchy” (Sue, 2010a, p. 173).

Many instances of restrictive gender roles have been recorded in the existing research on female band directors. Most commonly, this pertains to perceptions about what types of music teaching jobs women should (or should not) hold as a result of assumptions about how women “should” be. One assumption is that women should teach younger students because they are more nurturing. For example, one of Lawrence’s (2020) survey respondents wrote, “Women are ‘expected’ to teach elementary or middle school band, and not high school band” (p. 109). Similarly, Shouldice’s (2021) participant shared a story of being steered away from teaching high school band and into middle school because they were “more nurturing” (p. 13).

Another example of restrictive gender roles in the literature on female band directors is a negative perception of their assertiveness. Bovin (2019) wrote, “The most apparent form of sexism [her participants] encountered was being considered or called a ‘bitch’” for demonstrating assertive behavior, noting that half of her eight participants “used the word ‘bitch’ without being prompted when describing how others view them” (pp. 39–40). At least five other researchers have described this type of restrictive gender role (Fischer-Croneis, 2016; Jones, 2010; Lawrence, 2020; Minette, 2011; Sears, 2010). One of Sears’s (2010) participants stated that “female conductors can easily be viewed as ‘bitches’ when they assert themselves, defend their programs, or are authoritative on the podium” whereas “a man can project these same qualities and be praised for them” (p. 194). Several of Fischer-Croneis’s (2016) participants referred to this double standard and the repercussions for female band directors when they act too confidently, one of them noting that “the assertive behavior she felt she must embody to be a successful band teacher did not match social conventions for women” (p. 192).

Other restrictive gender roles documented in the literature on female band directors relate to tasks that have been traditionally associated with women. Lawrence (2020) and Greaves-Spurgeon (1998) both shared instances of female band directors being asked to do clerical work or provide the hospitality room at band events rather than being asked to judge. Another of Lawrence’s survey respondents was “asked to bake cookies for the monthly band director meetings and also take the minutes” (p. 101). Shouldice’s (2021) participant noted that the role of secretary was the only office held by women for years within their regional band directors organization. Researchers have also explored assumptions related to marriage or child-rearing and their assumed relation to a woman’s ability to be successful in the band director role (Cox, 2020; Fischer-Croneis, 2016; Lawrence, 2020; Minette, 2011; Mullan, 2014; Wilson, 2014). For example, one of Wilson’s (2014) participants was told, “You can’t be a good band director AND a good mom” (p. 52), and one of Minette’s (2011) survey respondents had “been told on several occasions that she was not granted various positions so she could ‘spend more time with her children’” (p. 38). Comments such as these imply that women either would not want to fulfill the job duties of being a band director or would not be able to because it is assumed that women are responsible for child-rearing.

Second-Class Citizenship

Second-class citizenship refers to words or actions in which women are “not given the same privileges, opportunities, or treatment as men” (Nadal et al., 2013, p. 196). This includes women “being unseen, unworthy of recognition, unimportant, powerless, and overlooked” (p. 175). Examples of second-class citizenship include men being given preferential treatment, men receiving more important or desirable tasks at work, men being called on or listened to more frequently than women, and women’s contributions being ignored.

Second-class citizenship is by far the most well-documented gender microaggression in research concerning female band directors. The most common example is a perception of secondary band directing as a “good old boys club.” Although there were slight variations in the name (e.g., “good ol’ boys network,” “boys clique”), more than 10 researchers have found this perception in some form, with many discovering it among multiple participants (Bovin, 2019; Coen-Mishlan, 2015; Cox, 2020; Fischer-Croneis, 2016; Gathen, 2014; Kincade, 2021; Lawrence, 2020; Mullan, 2014; Robinson, 2010; Sears, 2010, 2017; Shouldice, 2021). Six of Mullan’s (2014) participants “noted that the male band directors formed a tight knit, exclusive group, which was difficult for women to join” (pp. iv–v). All of Bovin’s (2019) participants “mentioned Good Ol’ Boys Club without being prompted” (p. 41), and six of Sears’s (2010) 11 participants “reported feeling isolated by male colleagues in the larger professional community” (p. 193). Robinson (2010) found the male-dominated culture of the band to be one reason his participants chose to teach elementary general music instead of their original intention to teach band, one describing it as “very much an ‘old boys club’ and it’s hard for female teachers. . . . to be taken seriously as directors sometimes because the system is so male-dominated” (p. 40). In Shouldice’s (2021) study of a band director who came out as a transgender man, the participant shared, “The boys are a lot more welcoming to me. . . . I definitely feel more included [now that I present as male]” (p. 16).

Beyond specifically citing the existence of an “old boys club,” many female band directors have reported being ignored, not listened to, or talked over by their male colleagues (Coen-Mishlan, 2015; Kincade, 2021; Lawrence, 2020; Sears, 2010, 2017). One of Lawrence’s (2020) participants shared, “My male colleagues do not ask for my opinions. I feel very small in a place where I want to grow, but it is so hard to grow without sunlight” (p. 114). Many female band directors also feel underestimated, not respected, and compelled to prove themselves in a way that men do not have to (Bovin, 2019; Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998; Kincade, 2021; Lawrence, 2020; Mullan, 2014; Sears, 2014). When asked if they felt acknowledged and respected by other band directors, only 22.8% of Kincade’s (2021) 206 survey participants responded in the affirmative. In Lawrence’s (2020) survey of 82 female band directors, only 16% responded “rarely” or “never” when asked if they have felt underestimated, and 48% responded “very frequently” when asked if they have had to prove themselves more than their male colleagues to be taken seriously. Researchers have also found that female band directors are often mistakenly assumed to be the assistant director, color-guard instructor, or choir director (Bovin, 2019; Fischer-Croneis, 2016; Greaves-Spurgeon, 1998; Kincade, 2021; Lawrence, 2020; Sears, 2010; Wilson, 2014).

Assumptions of Inferiority

Assumptions of inferiority pertains to messages communicating ways in which women are believed to be less competent or capable than men (Capodilupo et al., 2010). This can include assumptions about a woman’s strength, intellect, or temperament. One common manifestation is women being discouraged to enter certain careers, such as when “school counselors often discourage female students from entering occupations in mathematics, sciences, or in fields that require leadership, influence, and command” (Sue, 2010a, p. 172).

After second-class citizenship, assumptions of inferiority were the next most frequently documented gender microaggression in the literature on female band directors. Many women have observed the assumption that they are less equipped than men to be band directors, particularly at the high school level. One of Bovin’s (2019) participants was told by her principal that she shouldn’t have been hired as a high school band director “because I was a girl” (p. 39). Women in several studies reported being encouraged to teach at the middle school level rather than high school and/or had trouble securing a high school band teaching position, such as one of Mullan’s (2014) participants who lost a job to a younger male candidate with no experience because “I just think the principal at the school at the time just thought of this position as a man’s position” (p. 105). In a study of superintendents, principals, and music supervisors’ preferences for offering job interviews, Kopetz (1988) found that male candidates were preferred over women and that the discrepancy was wider for high school positions than elementary or junior high positions. In other instances, two of Coen-Mishlan’s (2015) three participants “question[ed] their ratings at contest . . . [and] whether being a female director was an influence” (p. 12). Shouldice and Eastridge (2020) found that bands conducted by women tended to receive lower scores than those conducted by men at performance assessments in Virginia. Shouldice (2021) explored the experiences of a transgender band director who received unanimous superior ratings for the first time in the first year he brought his band to festival dressed in male attire and using his male name and “felt like it took no effort” (p. 14).

Another common manifestation of assumptions of inferiority is “mansplaining”—when a man unnecessarily explains something to a woman or does so in a condescending way. One of Lawrence’s (2020) survey respondents described a colleague “mansplaining how to teach in front of my students” (p. 67) and another shared that a new male colleague took the microphone from her at marching band rehearsal and “explained that he was confident in his ability to run the rehearsal . . . and that I should step back and see how it was done” (p. 63). One of Kincade’s (2021) participants also reported feeling “undermined by male assistant directors who feel the need to explain and/or interrupt me in front of students” (p. 207).

Assumptions of inferiority can also manifest in communicating surprise when a woman is successful in the band director role. One of Cox’s (2020) participants was told, “You conduct pretty good for a girl” (p. 97), whereas one of Webb’s (2021) participants received “the most backhanded compliment I had ever gotten in my life. It was, ‘Oh, so a girl can teach’” (p. 28). One of Coen-Mishlan’s (2015) participants described having her band’s festival plaque presented to the first chair trumpet player because the judge “had no clue that a woman could have a good jazz band and it took him by surprise” (p. 11).

Environmental Microaggressions

Environmental microaggressions “are subtle forms of discrimination that are experienced through various systems and environments” (Nadal & Haynes, 2012, p. 90). Examples include having few women in a particular field, women earning less than their male counterparts, a lack of female leaders in the workplace, and denigrating portrayals of women in the media.

Researchers have documented the lack of female representation in secondary band teaching. The majority of those who participated in these studies reported encountering few or no female band directors in their own K–12 or undergraduate experience (Cox, 2020; Gathen, 2014; Lawrence, 2020; Mullan, 2014; Sears, 2010; Shouldice, 2021). One of Jones’s (2010) participants reflected that the experience of playing for a female conductor was notable “because what I’ve had has always been males” (p. 53), and another participant noted “the small number of women in professional organizations like the College Band Directors National Association and the American Bandmasters Association” (p. 44). In terms of media, McWilliams (2003) examined the 368 images of band conductors or “wind band experts” shown in The Instrumentalist magazine from 2000 to 2002 and found that only 9% of the 368 pictured were female. “Seeing very few women in a particular field . . . may send the message that women are less than or not capable of being successful in that arena” (Capodilupo et al., 2010, p. 205).

This imbalance is even more noticeable among leadership roles. Fitzpatrick’s (2013) participant was “the only female officer serving on the board of her district professional organization” (p. 13), and Leimer (2012) found that 83 of 84 adjudicators were male at State High School Concert Band events sponsored by the Florida Bandmasters Association during 2001–2011. Of the 602 primary conductors at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic between 1947 and 2008, Sheldon and Hartley (2012) found that only 7.6% were women, with most being at the middle school level and none at the university level. More recently, Shaker (2020) found that only 13.4% of the 149 bands selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic between 2009 and 2018 were led by women.

Leaving Gender at the Door

Leaving gender at the door involves an assumption “that characteristics and qualities associated with women should be prohibited in some way” and that women therefore must “keep feminine aspects of their selves out of the given scenario” or must appear or act in a more masculine way (Capodilupo et al., 2010, p. 205). Several researchers have discovered instances when female band directors have felt pressure to dress in a more masculine or less feminine way. One of Sears’s (2017) participants shared that she “strictly regulates her physical appearance to align with the masculine expectations of the profession” (p. 103). Another of Sears’s (2010) participants “wore suits in masculine colors like black and gray and . . . didn’t wear any pink,” advising other female band directors to “look kind of plain, you don’t want to be froufrou” (p. 123). One of Lawrence’s (2020) survey respondents had been told, “Band directors wear suits, not dresses” (p. 67), and one of Kincade’s (2021) respondents similarly shared, “I wore a dress to a concert instead of a pant suit. I was called out for this” (p. 207).

In addition to feeling pressure to dress in a more masculine way, several researchers have found some female band directors also feel pressure to behave in a way that is typically perceived as more masculine. According to Sears (2017), “female band directors are expected to perform traditionally masculine behaviors in their positions in order to earn professional credibility and respect” (p. 108). One of her participants “regulated personal attributes that could be perceived as feminine or weak” (Sears, 2014, p. 6) and another felt the need “to project a tough and confident persona” (p. 7). Several of Mullan’s (2014) participants felt “pressure to be more masculine” (p. 121), and Draves (2018) found greater “teacher identity support for the band director role” in “those exhibiting prototypical masculine traits” (p. 107).

Denial of the Reality of Sexism

Denial of the reality of sexism “refers to experiences in which women are invalidated and dismissed when they identify the sexism that they still experience” (Nadal & Haynes, 2012, p. 90). This might include a woman being told she is exaggerating when describing instances of catcalling or being told not to worry about it (Capodilupo et al., 2010) or an assertion that women “have an equal opportunity to succeed and that we operate on a level playing field” (Sue & Spanierman, 2020, p. 54).

Several instances of denial of the reality of sexism have been recorded in the research on female band directors. One of Lawrence’s (2020) survey respondents explained, “I do not share my experiences [with sexism] with my mentors or colleagues anymore because I am always told ‘it could have been worse’, ‘that sounds bad but you can find another job’, ‘he isn’t that bad’” (p. 87). Among Cox’s (2020) survey respondents, “women were more likely to indicate that gender had a strong impact on professional opportunities for women [band directors at the high school level] while men were more likely to report minimal impact” (p. 86). One of Sears’s (2010) participants, a successful female high school band director, also demonstrated denial of the reality of sexism, stating that she does not see gender issues in the profession because “now it’s equal” (p. 172) and attributing the underrepresentation of women at the high school level not to sexism but because “most females might be intimidated to take on such a big job” and would “prefer to be the junior high band director [or] assistant band director” (p. 171). These examples illustrate that both men and women in the field of band directing may assume that sexism no longer exists or may minimize its impact.

Denial of Individual Sexism

Denial of individual sexism is a microaggression that occurs when a person denies their own gender biases. Examples might include a person who says “I treat men and women the same” when they actually do not (Capodilupo et al., 2010, p. 198) or a person who says “I’m not sexist. I have a wife and daughters” (Sue, 2010a, p. 175). Denial of individual sexism was the only type of gender microaggression I did not find documented in the research literature pertaining to female band directors.