tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post3156395228784767342..comments2022-10-30T14:32:30.707-07:00Comments on Women in Jazz Book Project: Women In Jazz: Concerns About the Book's Title (revised)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post-23602324022878900032014-10-30T08:44:49.216-07:002014-10-30T08:44:49.216-07:00Thank you Chris for publishing this reflection on ...Thank you Chris for publishing this reflection on the terms "women in jazz"! I find this a fascinating discussion. In other fields than music as well, I feel as if the word “women” has gained a hidden negative meaning, like it is the case for the word “feminist”. Without being an activist of any kind, I have the impression that simply mentioning a lack of credit for women in music makes me seem like an annoying person repeating unnecessary arguments, that no one wants to hear anymore. As a female musician myself, and as a student writing a thesis on female instrumentalists in jazz, I have been asking myself if and why it seems we should be so careful with these terms today. I have even almost wished I wasn't female, so that my thesis would gain a certain “objectivity”, so that others would not judge my interest according to my gender and may take my work less seriously because I am a woman writing about women. <br />Choose the title you like, Chris - I don't agree that we should follow this trend of not talking about women for fear of being boring, of raising issues that many see as solved problems that do not need to be mentioned again. What is the big deal? Why not talk about a subject without others bringing unnecessary judgment and assumptions about the validity of one's interest, the value of one's work? To me it seems as if we have shifted from two extremes. In the past we would ignore women's achievements in music, we did not give them credit for their contribution in jazz. Today, we have indeed heard about them, (few) academic books have been written, there are more women in the jazz scene, and now people should be happy, enough about women already, let's not talk about them anymore! I agree it is tricky to find the right angle, and we do not want to focus on women in a victimizing way. I also believe, that we live in a society where many extremes are gone. We have made progress over the last century, and this is where it becomes more difficult to draw the line. Since the middle of the 20th century, we have been very busy with issues of gender, of race, of sexuality, gaining recognition for men and women and acknowleding existing problems. Yet it does not mean we have talked it all through since then and that we should now finally stop going over the same subjects over and over again. Our ongoing discussions on women in jazz are necessary. I think there is still much to say about women in jazz, in academic or non-academic conversations, looking at the past or the present. The discussion can never be out-of-date since our world never stops to evolve, and so does our understanding and questioning of such issues accordingly. -- Marion.*m*https://www.blogger.com/profile/03424872883794977604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post-6138844295209340402014-06-21T09:01:51.122-07:002014-06-21T09:01:51.122-07:00Jessica - I apologize for only just now seeing thi...Jessica - I apologize for only just now seeing this post. I check this blog frequently but missed your comment, which makes several great points. What is the name of your festival? Does it have a Facebook page or a website I can share? <br /><br />Thank you again for commenting. I truly appreciate it. CBChris Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03780003719379680157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post-47548516106704243242014-05-17T01:56:45.072-07:002014-05-17T01:56:45.072-07:00The way I see it, "women in jazz," is me...The way I see it, "women in jazz," is me. That's something I embrace. It's something I'm proud of. I started a "women in jazz" festival -- not to "ghetto-ize" anyone, quite the contrary. I am a woman supporting equal rights for other women. I am proud to be a woman. I want to recognize the achievements of the women who came before me. I want to support talented women jazz artists of today. I want to support and encourage female jazz artists of the future. I've been asked: Would this support continue to exist if we were all given the same opportunities? Most certainly. And, my festival does not consist only of women -- the bands that perform are led and/or comprised of women. This means that some of the bands have men in them too. We've received a lot of support from men, as well as women. And, as a result of my festival, women seem to be getting hired even more than in the past, because they have been highlighted in a way that those who may have overlooked them in the past are taking notice -- many of them are getting on the radio and TV for the first time too. After starting my festival, the largest annual jazz festival in our city has booked a record number of women instrumentalists. Plus, young women have come up to me thanking me for creating such a festival because before my festival existed, they didn't know any other young women who played jazz music in the area. I will forever be supporting opportunities for women -- just as there will always be men's choruses...Does this mean that I'm outdated? No.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01953400790709496171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post-44598855111851007432013-12-13T08:10:01.787-08:002013-12-13T08:10:01.787-08:00Roberta - Those are two very good points I'd l...Roberta - Those are two very good points I'd like to include in this section, if you don't mind. <br /><br />I believe we are in living a time of transition where the "Women in..." term is simultaneously unnecessary and necessary if these dated attitudes regarding gender are going to evolve. Hope that doesn't sound wishy-washy...Chris Beckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03780003719379680157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1650301841925578907.post-2699205175687168562013-12-02T02:48:16.996-08:002013-12-02T02:48:16.996-08:00Chris, one reason some women may be sensitive to t...Chris, one reason some women may be sensitive to the term "women in jazz" is that it is a term that has been used in the past to "ghetto-ize" us, as in "women in jazz festival", defined as 1) a place where you are required to bring an all female band instead of your regular working group or 2) an excuse to NOT hire women the rest of the year. (See also Women's History Month.) <br /><br />This is not a reflection on you as clearly these stigmas have nothing to do with your intention. (And women musicians in their 20's and 30's who've grown up in an era when it's actually fashionable to feature a (young) woman in one's band probably have no idea what I'm talking about.)Roberta Piket https://www.blogger.com/profile/10882036842108356263noreply@blogger.com