Sexism in DCI/WGI?

[CoolInDenial]

I understand that the drumline tends to be male-dominated no matter what level of playing you're at (same way a flute section is mostly females), but does anyone have any experience/knowledge of the level of sexism that exists, or does not exist, in the DCI and WGI circuits?

By this I mean anything from not getting a spot because of being one gender or the other, getting put on a certain instrument because of gender, etc. to differences in the way the sexes are treated by staff, other members, etc.

I'm curious, since I plan to audition at a few different places for WGI 2017, would love to march DCI some day, and just so happen to be female.

[joe356]

Does it happen? Sure. Is it terribly common at that level? No. Probably less so than at the middle or high school level. The reason you don't see a lot of girls in drum lines has more to do with kids getting started on those instruments at the middle school level. Its incredibly common to see a crop of rising freshmen coming into high school that is comprised of girls that only play mallets, and boys that only play drums just because "that's the way things are". Generally, though, if a girl shows up to a drum corps audition and is the better player, she'll get the spot. The numbers at those auditions are just overwhelmingly male.

[FerreusOpus]

Not that I'm trying to throw shade about the group I came from, but I found this on Reddit and am definitely troubled by it considering I've had quite a few experiences having worked with the person in question.
https://www.reddit.com/r/drumcorps/comm ... pen_often/

[CoolInDenial]

Jeez that^ certainly isn't cool...Thankfully I haven't experienced much past the standard "you're good for a girl" kind of stuff.

Interestingly my high school line, including both pit and battery, was usually more girls than guys, or at most a 50/50 split.

[andmcc]

I personally have never seen any sexism in any group I've been a part of. The reason there's not many females is that, frankly, not a whole lot try out for battery positions, in my experience.

[awakentosleep]

I've heard things over the years about a certain DCI caption head and also a WGI group not allowing girls in the battery. Since then, one of those groups has had a girl in the snareline, so that obviously didn't hold up. It's definitely a bit of a boy's club at the DCI/PIW level but if Jane's hands, feet, and attitude are better than John's, then too bad for John.

[awakentosleep]

Not that I'm trying to throw shade about the group I came from, but I found this on Reddit and am definitely troubled by it considering I've had quite a few experiences having worked with the person in question.
https://www.reddit.com/r/drumcorps/comm ... pen_often/

Not to throw the guy under the bus, but I've heard lots of stories about this guy from back when the Crossmen were in the northeast. My wife marched there when she was in high school and he was on staff and she said he hit on her all the time. Once a creep, always a creep I guess.

[VoteLobster]

I understand that the drumline tends to be male-dominated no matter what level of playing you're at (same way a flute section is mostly females)

Yes. Because generally (I don't know why, maybe it's a cultural thing) more males pick percussion than females do. Even in 5th grade band class, when it's as gender neutral as it gets, on the first day when we all pick our instruments, you have lots of girls playing flute and clarinet and lots of boys playing percussion.

If you go to an audition camp, I'd bet it'll be mostly guys for battery spots. This isn't that males get picked over females.

[CoolInDenial]

Yes. Because generally (I don't know why, maybe it's a cultural thing) more males pick percussion than females do.

I've always wondered about this as well. At my college marching band audition there were only 3 girls that auditioned, out of easily 20 or more potential rookies. I always just wondered what it is that prompts women to, like you said, play flute or clarinet.

I'm no expert but I'd bet culture and "acceptable/traditional gender roles" probably do have something to do with it.