4 ms·

So the boys-like-distortion gender norm trumps the pink-is-for-girls gender norm? No, that's not what I'm saying, nor what I believe the program is saying eith

So the boys-like-distortion gender norm trumps the pink-is-for-girls gender norm? No, that's not what I'm saying, nor what I believe the program is saying either. To my mind, everyone likes fun with distortion, and colouring the relevant guitars pink helps break down the "pink is for girls" gender norm, nothing more, nothing less. Actually, being perfectly honest, I'd never even heard of "boys like distortion" as a gender norm; is that a thing?

tdkl 11y ago
> To my mind, everyone likes fun with distortion, and colouring the relevant guitars pink helps break down the "pink is for girls" gender norm, nothing more, nothing less. What if boys prefer different colors then pink ? Dat oppresion.
coldtea 11y ago
>I'd never even heard of "boys like distortion" as a gender norm; is that a thing? It obviously IS a thing. Check out the predominantly buyers of distortion pedals, or the near absolute majority of workshippers of "shredding" guitarists and heavy players. Also check any magazine about those kind of things, incudings any advertisments of heavy guitar gear, amps and distortion pedals. You will of course find 2-3 counter-examples. You'd be hard-pressed to find 10, much less 50.
- DanBC 11y ago
  Are you correcting for low representation of women in those magazines anyway?
  - coldtea 11y ago
    Is the low representation based on that publishers of said magazines not liking women's money [1], or that there aren't enough women players buying those magazines? [1] Especially considering that women are the most sought after group by advertisers/marketeers, even more so than men.
- tjr 11y ago
  I've not researched statistics on this, but anecdotally, I've observed more men than women playing musical instruments in general.
  - joeriel 11y ago
    What are you observing? If you are talking about rock instruments, you are probably correct. My son is highly involved in his high school band (concert and marching), and the gender breakdown is very instrument specific. A lot more girls play flute and clarinet while a lot more boys play sousaphone, trombone, and percussion. Part of it is physical - not that many girls can march around with a heavy sousaphone. But I do think there is a bias that pushes girls and boys at a young age when starting out towards certain instruments.
    - tjr 11y ago
      I'm observing my own personally biased sample set. :-) - I played in a jazz band in college: across all of the department jazz bands, probably 95% male participants. - Attending the local symphony: approximately half and half, and I do seem to find the male/female ratio in classical music performances tends to be more balanced. - Perusing musical instrument stores across the country: predominantly male shoppers. - Listening to recorded music: I don't consciously (or, I think, even unconsciously) select music based on the sex of the artist. Most music I've listened to has been produced either mostly or entirely by male participants. More specifically, I listen to a lot of jazz and jazz-related genres of music; it's rare that I even encounter a female performer in those genres. (Rare, as in, maybe 5-10% of the time.) - Playing music in local bands: most other participants have been male. I personally suspect that high school band participation is, at least in some cases, driven by external motivators besides intrinsic musical interest. In my (again anecdotal) observations, many people who were actively involved in high school bands put their instruments away more or less permanently after high school. Anyway, again, I have no concrete statistical data, and I certainly agree that high school participation is more balanced.
falcolas 11y ago
I doubt they intentionally colored the guitars; they bought the guitars and some were pink, so they decided to attach the distortion to those as a side effect. Children size guitars are frequently brightly colored, some of which are a brilliant pepto-bismol pink. By giving the children a choice of not only sound but color, they're sticking with some good punk traditions, IMHO.

tdkl 11y ago

> To my mind, everyone likes fun with distortion, and colouring the relevant guitars pink helps break down the "pink is for girls" gender norm, nothing more, nothing less. What if boys prefer different colors then pink ? Dat oppresion.

coldtea 11y ago

>I'd never even heard of "boys like distortion" as a gender norm; is that a thing? It obviously IS a thing. Check out the predominantly buyers of distortion pedals, or the near absolute majority of workshippers of "shredding" guitarists and heavy players. Also check any magazine about those kind of things, incudings any advertisments of heavy guitar gear, amps and distortion pedals. You will of course find 2-3 counter-examples. You'd be hard-pressed to find 10, much less 50.

DanBC 11y ago
Are you correcting for low representation of women in those magazines anyway?
- coldtea 11y ago
  Is the low representation based on that publishers of said magazines not liking women's money [1], or that there aren't enough women players buying those magazines? [1] Especially considering that women are the most sought after group by advertisers/marketeers, even more so than men.
tjr 11y ago
I've not researched statistics on this, but anecdotally, I've observed more men than women playing musical instruments in general.
- joeriel 11y ago
  What are you observing? If you are talking about rock instruments, you are probably correct. My son is highly involved in his high school band (concert and marching), and the gender breakdown is very instrument specific. A lot more girls play flute and clarinet while a lot more boys play sousaphone, trombone, and percussion. Part of it is physical - not that many girls can march around with a heavy sousaphone. But I do think there is a bias that pushes girls and boys at a young age when starting out towards certain instruments.
  - tjr 11y ago
    I'm observing my own personally biased sample set. :-) - I played in a jazz band in college: across all of the department jazz bands, probably 95% male participants. - Attending the local symphony: approximately half and half, and I do seem to find the male/female ratio in classical music performances tends to be more balanced. - Perusing musical instrument stores across the country: predominantly male shoppers. - Listening to recorded music: I don't consciously (or, I think, even unconsciously) select music based on the sex of the artist. Most music I've listened to has been produced either mostly or entirely by male participants. More specifically, I listen to a lot of jazz and jazz-related genres of music; it's rare that I even encounter a female performer in those genres. (Rare, as in, maybe 5-10% of the time.) - Playing music in local bands: most other participants have been male. I personally suspect that high school band participation is, at least in some cases, driven by external motivators besides intrinsic musical interest. In my (again anecdotal) observations, many people who were actively involved in high school bands put their instruments away more or less permanently after high school. Anyway, again, I have no concrete statistical data, and I certainly agree that high school participation is more balanced.

falcolas 11y ago

I doubt they intentionally colored the guitars; they bought the guitars and some were pink, so they decided to attach the distortion to those as a side effect. Children size guitars are frequently brightly colored, some of which are a brilliant pepto-bismol pink. By giving the children a choice of not only sound but color, they're sticking with some good punk traditions, IMHO.