The Personal and Professional Life Experiences of Three Lesbian Middle and High School Instrumental Band Conductors.

Abstract

The Personal and Professional Life Experiences of Three Lesbian Middle and High School Instrumental Band Conductors by Lisa J. Furman

Music education research highlights the lack of female representation in band conducting positions (Block, 1988; Gould, 2001; Hartley & Jagow, 2007; Sheldon & Hartley, 2010). Gender and sexuality may be contributing factors to the reported gender inequity in band conducting positions (Gould, 2001, 2003; Grant, 2000; Sears, 2010; Sheldon & Hartley, 2010); impact the personal and professional life experiences of female instrumental band conductors (Bartleet, 2002; Furman, 2010, 2011; Sears, 2010); and affect the classroom teaching practices of female band conductors (Furman 2010, 2011; Sears, 2010). The purpose of this study was to understand the personal and professional life experiences of three lesbian middle and high school instrumental band conductors. The research questions for the study included: (a) How do participants describe their personal and professional life experiences in relation to their gender and sexuality? (b) How do participants describe their instrumental music teaching practices in relation to their gender and sexuality? (c) How do participants describe the impact of their gender and sexual identity on career decisions in the music-teaching field? and (d) How do participants describe decisions related to identity disclosure and identity management in their personal and professional lives? This study used the Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009); the primary data collection technique was phenomenological in-depth interviewing (Seidman, 2006). Data collection included a qualitative open-ended survey, and two individual interviews. Findings of the study revealed participant’s gender and sexual identity positively and negatively affected their personal and professional life experiences as lesbian instrumental music educators. All three participants shared personal and emotional stories of job loss, harassment and discrimination, and described personal decisions related to identity disclosure and identity management. Each participant reported the desire to create safe and inclusive classrooms for their students due to their own personal experiences and shared that despite efforts to hide their sexual identities due to fears of job loss, harassment, and discrimination, each now recognizes their lesbian identity positively affected their classroom teaching practices and philosophies.