The tendency for public music performed by single women of child-bearing age to be associated with sex,Koskoff, Ellen. 1987. "An Introduction to Women, Music, and Culture." In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed. Ellen Koskoff, pp. 3–4. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. while performances by older or married women tends to downplay or even deny their sexuality,Koskoff, Ellen. 1987. "An Introduction to Women, Music, and Culture." In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed. Ellen Koskoff, p. 7. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. suggests not only that music performance is linked to societal perception of a woman's sexual viability decreasing with age or marriage, but also that female sexuality is often necessarily included in the expression of a feminine gender through musical performance. The cloistering and separation of women's music actually offer a way for women to relate to one another or to understand and express their gender identity through musical practice within a more women-centric space. The private, intimate nature of some women's music can also lead to secret protest behavior when that music is brought into the public sphere. Koskoff indicates that secret symbolic behavior and language coded into women's performance may communicate private messages to other women in the community, allowing these performers to speak out against an unwanted marriage, mock a possible suitor, or even express homosexuality without the male audience catching on.Koskoff, Ellen. 1987. "An Introduction to Women, Music, and Culture." In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed. Ellen Koskoff, p. 11. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. As such, music performance may confirm and maintain these gender inequalities and social/sexual dynamics, may protest norms as it maintains them, or it may actually challenge and threaten the established order.Koskoff, Ellen. 1987. "An Introduction to Women, Music, and Culture." In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed. Ellen Koskoff, p. 10. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. One example of musical performance traditions that confirm social/sexual dynamics may be the trend of prioritizing a female musician's physical appeal over her technical musical skill when judging her performance, which shows a devaluation of female musical expression in favor of objectification of the feminine physicality through the public gaze. Koskoff recalls that women musicians who do manage to become popular in mainstream culture may start to take on masculine-coded musical qualities, even if it was their expression of femininity through performance that initially elicited their acclaim.Koskoff, Ellen. 1987. "An Introduction to Women, Music, and Culture." In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed. Ellen Koskoff, p. 12. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
The tendency for public music performed by single women of child-bearing age to be associated with sexKoskoff Ellen 1987 "An Introduction to Women Music and Culture" In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Ellen Koskoff pp 3–4 Westport CT Greenwood Press while performances by older or married women tends to downplay or even deny their sexualityKoskoff Ellen 1987 "An Introduction to Women Music and Culture" In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Ellen Koskoff p 7 Westport CT Greenwood Press suggests not only that music performance is linked to societal perception of a woman's sexual viability decreasing with age or marriage but also that female sexuality is often necessarily included in the expression of a feminine gender through musical performance The cloistering and separation of women's music actually offer a way for women to relate to one another or to understand and express their gender identity through musical practice within a more women-centric space The private intimate nature of some women's music can also lead to secret protest behavior when that music is brought into the public sphere Koskoff indicates that secret symbolic behavior and language coded into women's performance may communicate private messages to other women in the community allowing these performers to speak out against an unwanted marriage mock a possible suitor or even express homosexuality without the male audience catching onKoskoff Ellen 1987 "An Introduction to Women Music and Culture" In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Ellen Koskoff p 11 Westport CT Greenwood Press As such music performance may confirm and maintain these gender inequalities and social/sexual dynamics may protest norms as it maintains them or it may actually challenge and threaten the established orderKoskoff Ellen 1987 "An Introduction to Women Music and Culture" In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Ellen Koskoff p 10 Westport CT Greenwood Press One example of musical performance traditions that confirm social/sexual dynamics may be the trend of prioritizing a female musician's physical appeal over her technical musical skill when judging her performance which shows a devaluation of female musical expression in favor of objectification of the feminine physicality through the public gaze Koskoff recalls that women musicians who do manage to become popular in mainstream culture may start to take on masculine-coded musical qualities even if it was their expression of femininity through performance that initially elicited their acclaimKoskoff Ellen 1987 "An Introduction to Women Music and Culture" In Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective ed Ellen Koskoff p 12 Westport CT Greenwood Press