Non-class post: Music and Feminism

I came across an article on NPR.org today about the "bra burning myth" and later a forwarded email from my grandmother about women and voting. It made me start thinking about my paper on feminism's role in knitting, or rather knitting's role in feminism.
It made me wonder about the connections between music and feminism.

In 1968, a group of women protested the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City.
While no actual bras were burned that day, somehow the myth stuck. I got to thinking about other myths about feminism. And finally wondered if music had anything to do with what these women in history were trying to accomplish.
Nothing in classical music came to me that would have struck me as material for feminists to use. However, it is notable to point out the gross lack of famous female classical composers.

It was, and is, a man's world. Women in the early days of opera were forbidden from singing in public, as a result many men lost valuable body parts. However, there were some gems in music history that certainly stand out, and up with their male contemporaries. The earliest was Hildegard von Bingen. A nun from the Renaissance.

It is often discussed in history books that she was, in modern terms, crazy. She saw things, heard things, and was rather cavalier about it all. But her craziness is why I like her. There is a line from the movie Iron Jawed Angels, an HBO film about suffragist Alice Paul, in which one of the characters comments that, "Courage is often mistaken for insanity." This for me is the epitome of von Bingen. Her bravery, her insanity, was most likely what propelled her into the history books. Her talent was equal to her famous male contemporaries, but she wouldn't have been noticed however if she wasn't "different." By that I mean not only was did she see visions, but she promoted herself in a way. She was a go-getter.

Hundreds of years go by and a two other notable women step onto the stage, both of which were intimately connected to famous male composers of their day. First was Fanny Mendelssohn, precocious elder sister of Felix. Fanny wrote piano, instrument and vocal music. Making a life of performing and composing was discouraged by her parents. Luckily had Felix for a brother and she married a man who supported her endeavors. However if it had not been for these men in her life, she most likely would never have entered into the canon of musical historical figures.

The same was the case for Clara Schumann, wife of Robert, and intimate friend of Johannes Brahms. An equally capable composer and performer herself, her "career" in music was also suppressed by society, and again her music and story may never have entered into our lives had it not been for the men in her life.

Even throughout the popular music history of the 20th century, women, as far as influence goes, were still out played by men.
Part of that is not that people gravitate towards music made by men more than women, but women just weren't encouraged to pursue that route. The role of women changed drastically throughout the century and only in very recent times have the roles and other issues begun to balance out.
Today, obviously, things have changed. I would venture to say that in the current vain of popular music, women rock as hard as men. And if it were up to me, I would say they ruled the scene at the moment.