I recently took a trip to my old school, Carlsbad High, to watch the Carlsbad Sypmphony Band preform at a concert. As I watched the symphony preform their music, I noticed features that related to our culture that I did not realize until I started taking my English 202 course. I noticed that even in symphonies there appears to have been gender roles through what instrument a person is playing. Devour said that cross-gender behaviors "are labeled as inappropriate gender role behaviors. Although these behaviors are closely linked to sexual status in the minds and experiences" (568). I can relate to this myself because when i was in band, I only saw either men or women playing certain instruments. People would insult others for playing"cross gender" roles. I watched the symphony and viewed no men playing the Flutes or French horns. In addition, there were no women playing the Percussion instruments. It showed that our culture has accepted an idea that certain instruments should be played by certain genders because our culture has manufactured thoughts that playing a certain instrument shows how feminine or masculine you are towards people.
Works Cited
Devor, Aaron. "Gender Role: Behaviors and Attitudes." Signs of Life in the USA. Ed. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Print
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