How Gender-Inclusive Is My Choir?

As an educator for music teachers, I am frequently asked about gender-inclusivity in the choral classroom. Specifically, teachers want to know what to do to appropriately include and honor students of all genders in their classrooms. This blog will help guide you to answer the question ‘How gender-inclusive is my choir?’ and provide practical strategies for doing so for the benefit of all students.

Gender Identity

Teachers who create gender-inclusive classrooms know that the gender identities of their students vary. They understand that gender identity is an internal sense of self and that students may or may not identify as the sex they were assigned at birth. They allow students to self-identify and understand that a cisgender female, for example, means that her gender identity aligns with her sex assigned at birth, whereas a trans male identifies as man who was assigned female at birth. When students identify as gender non-conforming, gender variant, genderqueer, or non-binary (among others), they ask what that means to them in order to better understand their gender identity.

Names and Pronouns

Teachers introduce themselves and their preferred pronouns in order to model how students should communicate this important personal information. For example, my name is Dr. Paparo and my pronouns are he/him/his. Accordingly, teachers call every student by their preferred name and use their appropriate pronouns. When teachers unintentionally misgender a student, they graciously accept correction and acknowledge their mistake. Below is a sample list of common pronouns that students might use, but keep in mind that there may be others and that some students may prefer no pronouns at all (in which case, simply refer to the student by name only).

Some Common Pronouns:

Focus on the Music

Teachers avoid using gender as a default when giving directions (e.g., women and men or girls and boys) and instead refer to singers by voice part (e.g., sopranos and tenors or part 1 and part 2). Similarly, they avoid gender-based ensembles names (e.g., Women’s Choir or Men’s Ensemble) and instead use Treble Choir or Bass-clef Ensemble to indicate the musical focus of each group. Other possibilities include names based on school, such as location (e.g., Bridge Street Singers or Back Bay Singers), mascot (e.g., Red Ram Singers or Golden Eagle Choral Ensemble) or colors (e.g., Gold choir and Blue choir).

Repertoire Selection

Teachers know that repertoire sends implicit messages about socially-constructed gender norms, particularly misogyny and heteronormativity. They purposely select repertoire that has musical and lyrical integrity and represents a variety of perspectives. Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt pointed out that the majority of women’s contemporary choral music was what she called “‘butterflies and rainbows music” meaning that it consisted of “moderate to slow tempo, melodically pleasant setting of rather vapid texts.” High school and college singers deserve and are capable of so much more. When singing pieces whose lyrics pertain to romantic heterosexual relationships, teachers engage students in discussions about learned social and cultural expectations that result in heteronormative privilege and acknowledge same-sex or trans relationships.

Role Models

Teachers provide students with a variety of role models who express their gender and sexual identity in different ways. If we consider Adam Lambert (who performed with Queen on the 2019 Oscars Awards) and Adam Levine (who performed at the 2019 Super Bowl), we see similarities and differences in how they express themselves. They both have a rebellious “bad boy” persona as well as similar physical characteristics, such as dark hair and tattoos. Vocally, both are high tenors and they are both great performers. Lambert identifies as a gay and bi-curious male; Levine is a straight male, who is open about and supportive of his brother’s gay identity. By sharing these two examples of popular male singers with students, teachers can challenge students’ notions of masculinity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

Concert Attire

Teachers allow students to wear choral concert attire that reflects the gender identity. Forcing students to choose between the “male tux” or the “female dress” does nothing to breakdown historically-gendered concert dress nor promote gender-inclusivity. Instead allowing students to wear “Personal Black”, where black is the unifying feature could be one option. Choir robes, which my former high school students loved, or coordinated shirts with a school or choral logo are other possibilities.

Resources

Teachers are familiar with a variety of resources which help them to continue to learn and grow in their mission as educators of all students. Here are some books that I highly recommend:

• Teaching with Respect: Inclusive Pedagogy for Choral Directors , by Stephen Sieck is a must-read for all choral directors because it covers a variety of topics of diversity.
• The Singing Teacher’s Guide to Transgender Voices , by Liz Jackson Hearns and Brian Kremer, is the first book about transgender voice pedagogy.
• The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator’s Guide to Increasing Knowledge, Decreasing Prejudice & Building Skills , by Eli R. Green and Luca Maurer, is for teachers, administrators, and those who facilitate professional development for school faculty and staff.
• Difficult Subjects: Insights and Strategies for Teaching About Race, Sexuality, and Gender , by Badia Ahad-Legardy and OiYan A. Poon, is a scholarly, yet accessible, group of essays to get educators to think differently about race, sexuality, and gender and implications for the classroom.

References

Apfelstadt, Hilary. (1998). Practices of Successful Women’s Choir Conductors. The Choral Journal, 39(5), 35-41.