Are any of your guy's lines sexist? I.E. don't allow girls to be in the battery? Mine isn't, i am a snare drummer, but while in a marching band competition in Florida, i talked to a few other lines, and they said Girls aren't allowed in the battery? Anyone else's line like that?

My line holds auditions that are open to all. But we rarely get girls to try out. When we do have girls try out, they usually make it. But the 6 yrs I have been involved in this line (playing or instructing), I think we have only had 2 girls in the battery. The girls are usually section leaders in our frontline though.

yea, one of our local schools around here is like that. but mine isn't. But I think it's a bunch of crap!!! girls are just as good as the guys are. and some of us are even better. considering that I am a girl myself...I have been on the line for 2 years now, and i have learned so much from it, now, how is that hurting anyone????... this subject really makes me so mad!!! I really think that it shouldn't be allowed to happen in any band program. if band directors are allowed to be a man or a woman, (it really doesn't matter to me what they are,) why can't a girl play drums? but, I am very thankful that I am not in a school like that! gosh.. it felt really good to get that out!! thanks for bringing up the topic!!!

i agree with rscdrummer2007. my school's drumline has open tryouts. this year we actually have more girls on the line than guys. 3/5 snares are girls (i'm one), 2/4 base drummers are girls, and 1 of the two tenors is a girl.

While i'm all for girls on drumline if they can hack it, there are many who can't... but of course, thats why we have auditions. But i think it isn't too smart to have a rule in place prohibiting girls from even being considered.

yeah..i think everybody should have an oppurtunity, and your right.. If they can hack it. But also again, some cant. But I know some girls from some corps recently. Little advise. I wear a gallon of makeup to rehersal or performances girls. then again. One good question can be found in Snare Equipment for girls. Which, comfortly, do you approve. Straps or harnesses?..

Yeah, we've had some girls try out in our line. In the 9 years our Line as existed, I think there's only been two or three permanent members. Last season two girls tried out for Snare, made it, then got kicked out for sucking at Drums. Heh.

Girls are allowed to be in the batterie where I've marched. Usually I'm the only one though. I've only had one year where there was another girl in the batterie... and there was only one other girl.
Actually, I really like being the only girl in the batterie... not because I like to flirt with the guys, but it makes me feel... special. Like I'm doing something most girls wouldn't do- like a pioneer almost, lol. I know that's probably stupid, but it gives me such a good feeling.
Kristina

Girls should be allowed to try out... Whats it gonna hurt? If they arent good enough you don't let em on the line... if they do then that makes your drumline bettter. Theres only been 2 girls that I know of being on our drumline in the whole time its existed though but they were really good.

AHS Percussion Ensemble 04-05- Lead Marimba
^^^^^^^^^Song-Ruslan and Ludmila^^^^^^^^^^^
AHS Drumline 05- Tenor
^^^^^^Magnifica^^^^^^^
AHS Drumline 04- 1st Bass
^^^^^^^^^Gloria^^^^^^^^^^

Hey, I was just calling a spade a spade. That's kind of what those lines are. Sexist! Anyway, not to be conceited or anything, because i am definitely not trying to be, but i am a girl, and i am the best player on the line. I totally show up all of the guys. Kind sucks for them to get beaten by a girl, lol. Anyway, i just find it totally ridiculous that girls aren't allowed in some drumlines! I can play better then a lot of guys! So i need a few good reasons why we should be prohibited from the line!

i found this in another forum and figured i would show it to all of you who's reading this. http://www.dci.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=c0056a96-f2e8-44ac-af09-80ab2ab685d4

Our line is open for everybody but the two girls never try out for the battery. They were given chances but they never showed up.

I've put this up before, and I'll do it again because it's sweet This is Renee. (link and attachment)




The reason I'm putting this up is due to the fact that Renee will possibly be the last girl cymbal player to ever be on the 110 line. This is because someone wrote/called our director complaining that there was a girl up there shaking her booty and how 'horrible' it was for her to display herself in that fashion. Our director decided that there would be no more girls then on.

I personally don't agree with it. There's a fine line between sexist and just wanting to play. She's up there shaking her butt, yeah, we all hoot and holler at her, but so are the guys - they get way more attention than Renee. AND she's one hell of a player. I just don't see why it's such a big deal. I guess being PC can go a little too far sometimes.

i really see no need in banning girls from trying out or even making any drumline. they have just as good, if not better, chops than guys do. plus i speak for all drummer guys i think when i say that female drummers are sexy, a definate plus

For auditions, our drumline only auditions members of the section. This past season, we had four female basses (out of six), one female snare, and two female plates. Our line was a total of eighteen people this past season.

Yet, the females are still treated differently by a lot of the guys within the section. A lot of the guys look down on the playing abilities of the females in our line, and I'm not saying that doing so is right, but the talent pool is not very great in our line.

[What I am about to say is not meant to offend, I'm just being honest. I love females... especially Kelly Clarkson...]

I think part of it is that percussionists, for the most part, are protrayed mostly as males. We have a big problem with practicing in our line because a lot of the females lack confidence in their playing abilities.

I often hear some of the females in our line saying "Well, I'm not as good as the guys... I can't get this" and it seems like this idea just manifests itself when they are young and grows.

The majority of the males have some confidence in their playing abilties, so the difference can be seen.

I have talked with the entire line before about being confident with their playing and about all that stuff, but it doesn't sink in, because I think the image of good percussionists has been drilled into their heads as being males.

my line is the same way the females dont realize that they cam be just as good if not better than the guys of the line. but i guess it's really just that stereotpe that guys are the only good percussionist

One drumline in my area this year was all girls!

They beat us, too!

My opinion on if a girl wants to join? If she has decent chops, then Bass or Snare. If no chops at all then Pit, if she blows all the other guys out of the water, Tenors or snare. Accept the fact that girls are around the drumming world and let them play. Heck, Shenandoah Sound has 2 girls on the line as of right now on snare. One of them was a Jersey Surf Alumnus. Both can play very well.

I wouldn't say our drumline is sexist because girls are permited to tryout but since I've been in the line our better players do tend to be guys. Last year I was the only girl in battery (2nd bass) and there were six girls in the front ensemble. At tryouts this year we had nine girls tryout. For next years line there will be three girls on battery, two on bass and I'll be on tenors and five in the front ensemble.

The two years i've been in marching band there have always been two girls on our line, a snare and a tenor, One was a senior this year, but the tenor player is a shoo in for section leader. She refuses to try out though cuz she is unsure in her ablities and she knows the guys won't listen to her-she is by far the best percussionist at our school. I think girls should be given the same right to try out for drumline as they guys and no one, (guys included) should be put on the line if they can't hack it! duh! lol

Two years ago we had three girls on the top three basses, and the third bass was awesome, but the top two weren't. Well, last year, the top two left and two other girls came in, both from baritone and they had their problems, but worked ok. So, while drumlines tend to be a male-oriented thing, we shouldn't condone the sexism that exists.

P.S. I think color guards are a lot more sexist

Our line is deffinately not sexist. Obviously since I'm drumline captain. 9 out of 12 of the battery are female.

I like to see girls in the battery. It's good to know our activity is reaching everyone. In high school I loved "drumline chicks" because most of the time girl drummers are hot. In my four years of high school, and in the five years I have taught my line there has always been at least one female in the battery and many times three or four.

Why is it that I think people are sexist, but don't realize it? I'm thinking some guy (and girl) line leaders who allow the opposiste gender to join may want to go by the "hot or not" factor. Though this may not be the case in all places, it may be present in others.

I don't know any line that would go by a "hot or not" factor. Most drumlines I know are all about one thing...Being a good line that makes people go "ooooh Ahhhh" not because they are an attractive line, but because they sound good and/or do wicked visuals.

Sexist, no, judgemental? YES. Almost everyone here is judgemental, something I've never had to deal with until I moved here, but I'll get used to it.

Anyways, out of 17 members, there are 3 girls. We did have 4, but our center snare, who was a girl, moved away. At my last high school, I was the only girl out of 8 people.

Our drumline isn't sexist I'm 1 of the 5 girls on the line (out of 26 members total). After a while you get treated like "one of the guys" except for the occasional flirting sometimes.

I don't think our drumline is sexist at all. There's one girl on our drumline who plays tenor and i hope to be the next to play bass drum. It may seem little but not alot a lot of girls are interested in playing drums.

I'm pretty sure that Title IX states that not allowing girls to be in the batterie is unconstitutional...
Kristina

Title IX

So, basically, if your school/school district receives ANY type of federal money, it legally can not deny someone a spot on the battery if the decision is based solely on gender. If it's a private organization with no funding from the government, then they can show gender bias. All of the exceptions are listed on that site (i.e. Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts, sororities, fraternities, etc.).

Oooh yeah, pulled that one (Title IX) out of my brain from a class I took in 4th grade... damn I'm good. lol jk.
But yeah... you should go in there flashing a copy of Title IX... I'm pretty sure they would have to let you, lol...

I was just about to mention Title IX. and then I noticed Divalish beat me to it. School activity. Dont even dream about discriminating.

Why wouldn't girls be allowed on the drumline? That's not just sexist, it's plain stupid. I've seen/heard of plenty of girls who can play better than me/various other guys I know. By denying girls the opportunity to play simply because they're female, one is probably hurting the line, depriving it of some talent. Sigh.

A Texas line that we have good relations with has had a tradition of all GIRL cymbal line for several years now. called "the cymbal chicks" they aren't discriminate towards guys, they have just had the coincidence of taking all girls each year.

Most girls I know are better than guys who've been playing for a similar amount of time. I'm glad my school doesn't have that policy.

We have a girl in our drumline. I'm not saying it's bad to have girls in a drumline it's just that this particular girl is whiny and starts a lot of drama.

we have 2 boys in our line...all 3 snares are girls, 4 out of 5 basses are girls, and the other tenor player (not me) is a girl

we have auditions for whomever would like to try out, our sections this past year and this coming year is female.

I just got back from the biggest marching percussion clinic in the U.S. and we had 7 girls out of 140 people total there, and I have one thing to say, 5 out of the 7 girls there could kick my butt in drumming. They were awesome.

A lot of the time girl drummers are really freakin' hot! So, I say if they can cut it (or if they are really freakin' hot) let them march. Just kidding. If a girl can outplay anybody on the battery, let them march. They don't HAVE to be really freakin' hot... but if they are, that's ok too!

this year we have 3 girls on the line. thats the most our school has ever had, before that all of the guys marched and all of the girls were in pit.

Girl or guy, if you can play, you should play. That's common sense, but I have a question. Let's say you have a girl that can play the part, but she doesn't have the control, stick heights, or sound that a guy has (or the rest of the line). They both can play the try-out parts. Which one do you let play? Just curious on what y'all think.