And since as Joe mentioned, I'm heavily involved with curating/organizing art events for marginalized groups http://www.transmodernfestival.org, http://www.baltimoreperformance.com/lossolos I thought I'd add my final two cents for what it's worth -
Jesse asked this question
So to answer your question. Yes I feel like I'm surrounded by men a majority of the time at shows on and off the stage. And yes, as some of you festival organizers already know, when in that situation I tend to drink too many gin and tonics and harass organizers for not having enough women in the line up. For those times already passed I am truly embarrassed and promise these days to be more professional and get less drunk.what i think would be useful or helpful here would be if any actual women involved in this scene would chime in and tell us if they personally feel any sense of it being a boy's club or exclusive/exclusionary, or just if there is any ill ease at the dominant demographic and vibe.
Is there sexism in experimental music? I don't think in the traditional sense of a bunch of men sitting around calling me "sweetheart" and asking me to fetch a coffee. Most of the guys I interact with in the scene are damn enlightened on gender/race/class issues. In some cases more than me.
I do think that what I'm seeing in experimental music (and exp. culture/art) is the old adage "you curate what you know and who you are" coming true. So when a medium such as EAI starts as a predominantly male artform, those are the folks that are booking the venues, organizing the fests, teaching the classes etc.
As the gender divide closes and more women become involved in the artform, then these women also become organizers/curators (myself, Clare Cooper, Andrea Neumann all good examples) and in turn we curate what we know and who we are (in my case, women, minorities, experimental artists).
So why aren't there more women in this music? Because there aren't enough women curating and organizing this music yet. and / or because the male organizers aren't booking enough of these women yet.
What is clear to me after a decade of organizing is that what you give is what you get. The people in your event will be of interest to similar people. Without fail, every time I book someone with a Japanese name, at least 2-4 Japanese folks that I have never seen at any music event will show up.
To be honest, I don't necessarily mind if people curate what you know and just stock their fests full of white guys and me if that's what's on their radar. I appreciate the inclusion in most cases. Also, there are a lot more (though not a ton) opportunities these days for women/minorities to show their work and the grants tend to favor us so at least we're getting the dough.
But I think that most of the enlightened men I know want to accurately represent what's happening in experimental art - and so therefore that brings me back to the question of whether lists are good or bad. Also whether it's good or bad to have the "all girls" series (of course I think it's good cause I have one - though I have been offended before by male organizers putting me in all girl improv sets - perhaps that's because there's such a small number of us to begin with)
Here's my rationale for both of those things. While I can see the "ghetto" point and agree that the separate but equal approach doesn't create real equality... here's what I see as the reality and the role of these types of exercises (both the listing and all female series/fest etc)
They remind people of the gender disparity and the fact that yes, it STILL exists and that the default (in culture/politics/etc) is not diversity but usually homogeneity.
When people look at the roster for my Los Solos series, after a few seconds they often say - oh - they're all women. To which I respond - yes.. you don't see that very often huh?
Women musicians in EAI, noise, jazz, etc exist and in large enough quantities to satisy any equal opportunist. The organizers and curators and label owners have the responsibility if they want to take it to create events / cds that reflect what's happening in their scene. The artist be she female or ethnic has the responsibility to push out into their scene and rather than complain about the lack actively add to the more - and maybe have a few gin and tonics and point out the lack too.
Women in experimental art are often not nearly as visible as their male counterparts - again due to who is doing the curating - but they are there and plenty of female organizers actively seek these artists out. So in the worse case scenario for male organizers - just ask a female organizer for recommendations or spend some time on Google. Or go to the website of one of the female musicians that you do know about and see who she's working with. It's actually quite simple to do and it's how I find out about a lot of the artists I book.
Artists who get gigs get visibility which begets popularity which begets being canonized. (of course talent plays a role here.. sometimes) So in the case of EAI starting as a male dominated artform that explains what has ended up in the canon, but is changing. Of course. Just look at the sea change in canonized experimental poets.
So thanks for entertaining this last little note, I'm not sure anyone will read this as the thread got a little toxic - but I'm glad that folks bring stuff like this up on occasion. My cockles are sufficiently warmed.
