Sexuality and Popular Music
We are looking at this with separate identities of sex and gender;
“both sex and gender are socially constructed because the
discourses on gender urge subjects to conceive biological sex as a
binary and require individuals to shape their bodies into these
binaries.” (Abramo 2011). With that in mind, music is also
influenced by society, with heterosexual desires perceived as
normal and homosexuality as abnormal. Fred and Armando, two
heterosexual males, were very conscious of appearing straight in
all of their practices. Fred used his guitar proficiency to dominate
the boys the group. While in the mixed group, he wrote lyrics
about a girl that didn't like him back, a heterosexual gesture to
make up for the feminine soft rock. A female student pointed out
that people call him a "f**" for listening to emo music like that.
Armando was in a metal all-boys group, and refused to sing the
song in the correct higher register. He kept using homophobic and
sexist slurs to refer to higher singing.
Political Discussions with Multicultural Music
“How can we not talk about those issues if our goal is to improve
cross-cultural understanding through music?” (Bradley 2012). A
lot of the time, k-12 classrooms focus on the purely aesthetic
parts of music, like notes and rhythms, but fail to teach the
context.  Without exploring these politically infused movements of
music, you can’t explore the complicated emotions that go along
with is, which shape music as well. (Bradley 2012). Bradley states
that, “Perhaps the students' fear was not about discussing politics
per se (as in state budgets), but politics utilized as code for race.”
(Bradley 2012). Every culture experiences and uses music in
different ways, so teach and look into what makes these contexts
different. Disregarding the history and politically charged
movements of music separates the truth from reality. This erases
the history of racism itself by acting like it doesn't exist. Bradley
states, “Politics as terror manifests as fear of disciplinary action or
even loss of employment. Politics as terror provides powerful
motivation to remain mute on sensitive topics." “Although music is
a universal phenomenon, it is bound to social context, and thus,
the culture that produces the music also constructs its meaning”
(Bradley 2012).
Transgender Students
How do gender roles in young children’s classes affect
transgender children later in life? Remembering spaces like this
later in life may be harmful. One point was made that health
classes assume heteronormativity, and never speak of genders
outside the binary. A lot of these students experienced a lot of
bullying from other students and were treated differently from
the adults as well. There was one classroom that had everything
divided in blue and pink, and when a student chose a pink sticker,
it was taken away and they were scolded. Generally, there were
mixed feelings of the classroom being a safe-space and not so
much. Some students got to express gender, but usually it was
hidden in a book.  Gym classes were feared because of changing
in the locker rooms and excessive teasing from the other children.
On the flip, Music and Arts classes were adored by these students.
They felt like they were treated with respect in these classrooms,
and even received special treatment for being
transgender. Bathrooms were a terrible experience. Often times,
these students felt uncomfortable using the bathrooms they were
told to use. Some were bullied in the bathrooms and hence tried
to avoid it at all times. Most of the bullying I’m seeing in this study
is boys calling these students feminine words with negative
connotations like “sissy, girly, f**”. (Sullivan 21).  of different backgrounds.
Teaching Tolerence
Darrow discovers the need to teach tolerance in classrooms and to prevent
discrimination. In this article there is more of a focus on children with
disabilities. This research also gives ways to handle bullying and prejudice.
Darrow makes her opening point that it is educators jobs to create and maintain
a safe environment where every student has the opportunity to learn. Her
definition of tolerance she uses is, “recognizing and respecting others’ beliefs
and practices without sharing in them” (Darrow 2017). Intolerance in schools
usually takes on the form of bullying, which is usually both aggressive and
regular behavior. Bullying can leave a long lasting imprint on both the
aggressor’s and victim’s life, even leading to depression and suicide. Darrow
connects that bullying and hate crimes are similar in ways. The targets are
different, with a difference of power and privilege, and the aggression is fueled
by the difference. A lot of hate crimes against disabled people go unreported
and unnoticed, maybe due to a sense of shame, or they do not have the
communication capabilities.
BULLYING
TOLERANCE OPPRESSION DIALOGUE
EMPATHY NARRATIVES
QUESTION EVERYTHING PRIVILEGE
REPRESENTATION DISCRIMINATION Gender Reinforcement
SAFE SPACES Male teachers that work these usually feminized teaching
TY NAPIERSKIE
CREATING AN
INTERSECTIONALITY
EQUITABLE MUSIC CLASSROOM
Research Questions and Proposal
1. How do we incorporate important topics of today without pushing
boundaries and without taking away from the music experience?
2. How do we make a safe space for EVERY child (race, ethnicity,
religion, gender, sexuality, etc.) despite how parents or faculty may react
Not only is it important for students to understand current events, but
also have a safe emotional outlet. Music can be a place of community,
understanding, and creativity. Engaging in music allows people to connect to
others across the room and across the globe. Music can be a healthy outlet
for students to express their emotions. Not many individuals learn how to
cope, and it’s not common to learn these things in public schooling. In order
to live a healthy, and prosperous life, people should have a fundamental
understanding on introspection.  Creating a safe space for my children is my
top priority. Not only do I want my students to feel welcomed the second
they enter my classroom, I also want to teach them lessons on how to treat
others that are different from them with respect. Learning to respect others’
differences is very important to building communities and a functional
society. Children who are not accepted in their families and communities
have a higher rate of mental illnesses and suicide. It doesn’t help that schools
has it’s bullies and by-standers, just like any workplace. It’s important for
each student to feel loved and accepted for EXACTLY the way they are! It’s
just as important for students to feel liberated in sharing spaces with people
Poverty
“How can music education organizations help remove potential
roadblocks to implementing strong music programs in high-
poverty districts?” (Mcanally 2013). Today, 22% of children live in
poverty. Looking into households, “Arkansas and West Virginia are
the most “affordable,” requiring 63 hours of work a week.
Washington, D.C., was the least affordable, at 140 hours a week. It
is not currently possible anywhere in the United States to afford
such an apartment on a 40-hour work week” (Mcanally 2013). 
Economically advantaged students tend to do better
academically, and doing so leads to higher job opportunities and
income later in life. Mcanally makes the argument that because of
this, poverty is a hard cycle to break. Within schools, those
deemed high-poverty rely more on state funding, and as
education cuts happen more and more, schools using these funds
are heavily impacted. Regarding attendance; Poverty-stricken
urban schools have 33% of students chronically absent, defined
as missing 10% of school days, while the counterpart of rural
schools have 25%
positions, tend to receive more questioning on purpose and
fundamental reasoning to be close to young children. Choir can
seem feminine for young boys and possibly frowned upon.
Fathers would put pressure to play sports instead of music, even
more so with African American families. One participant spoke of
having lots of fathers come into the class to play instruments for
the children. This shows other young boys that it’s possible and
fun for them too.  Another participant spoke of band in the 70s,
how there weren’t many women in it and hardly any role models.
Instead, women were rushed home to their domestic duties.
Gender is a relevant concept in music education, teacher should
"examine their assumptions about teaching and learning music,
and the ways in which masculinity and femininity are constructed
within school music program” (Rouston 2011).
Suggestions for Practice
- Test-free and textbook free zone
- Apply for grants to get more school owned instruments
- Allow space for dialogue to take place
- Accurate representation of history and current events
- Allow students to explore all kinds of music in all kinds of
settings, with equal representation
- Allow students to create narratives of how music is connected
to gender and sexuality
- Bullying: Confront excuses, help perpetrators build positive ties
with adults and mentors, promote genuine empathy, encourage
all students to report bullying, teachers and administrators must
intervene, safe spaces for victims
- Constantly Question your teaching: are you enforcing anything?
Gender roles? Whiteness? Heteronornativity? Ableism? Classism?
- Use Inclusive Language
Suggestions for Further Research
- After classrooms have dialogues of any kind of societal
oppression, are they more tolerant towards other minority
groups?
- What things can we do to have higher attendance with
children living in poverty?
- Are there marginalized groups more likely to be bullied than
others?
Sources Project