This article actually really bothers me. I’ve been conducting handbells at all levels (beginner through advanced) for 3 years, something I never expected to do, and it’s been one of the most amazing and challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. And I’ve never gotten this sexism crap from anywhere else in the music world, so it came as a complete surprise. What the heck does my being female have to do with waving a stick to the proper beat and expressing musical concepts? I thought we did away with all of that along with the colonial age once women were allowed to play any instrument regardless of how their neck looked while doing it. This article felt like a literal punch to the gut and I almost cried, but then I remembered Betty White’s quote (I don’t think she was the first to say it, but she made it memorable and nobody remembers the other person):
"Why do people say ‘grow some balls’? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get touch, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding."
And then I said to myself, “Screw them. You’ve been trained for this. You live for this. Keep doing it.”
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