Jenny Jones
I can completely understand if a woman wants to identify as a ‘female drummer,’ but I have to admit to being in two minds about this. For myself as a drummer and drum kit teacher, I’ve spent the better part of my career trying not to call attention to the fact that I’m female.
I would venture to say that most of us simply want to be known as drummers. But this is not always straightforward.
On her Facebook site, Kim Thompson identifies herself as ‘Kim Thompson [Female drummer],’ using hard brackets and a capital F for what I imagine to be strong emphasis. This accentuation seems audacious, deliberately focusing attention to her gender. [Note: this has been changed to 'Drummer & Educator' since this blog].
The majority of the covers of the big drum magazines are of guys in ultra masculine pose. Inside these magazines you can be guaranteed to see at least one drummer (usually a pro) flipping the middle finger. What does this say, ‘I’m a drummer so f-you?’ Is that supposed to be cool? I find it tiresome and uninspiring. One gets the overwhelming impression that these magazines are geared to teenage boys.
I’ll never forget a certain issue that put me off buying a particular magazine ever again. The featured article was about ‘wild drummers’ and their off stage antics. It was crude and loutish and had nothing to do with music or drumming. It only served to encourage the myth of rock star prowess. The interviewee made some horrendous comments about even sleeping with ugly women because they may have had a certain physical proclivity. Boorish twaddle.
I wrote to the editor of the magazine and received no reply. I haven’t bought it in two years.
At least 50% of my students are female. How can I suggest they buy one of these magazines with that kind of content? How does that encourage their participation in music and drumming? These magazines barely represent drummers who happen to be female. You might see a woman on the cover every several years. More often than not, these magazines do not speak to women and in the case of this particular issue, it also denigrated them. It promoted age old stereotypes for both men and women.
It is true that the big magazines are having more female contributors and features about female players -- there is a shift in the tide, though it continues to be a predominately male sphere.
