Male and female photographic representation in 50 years of music educators journal

Adam J. Kruse, Robin Giebelhausen, Heather N. Shouldice, Andrea L. Ramsey

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Considering the potential for stereotypes to shape professional expectations, the four researchers in this study investigated photographic representation of adult men and women in implied positions of authority in 50 years (1962-2011) of issues of Music Educators Journal (MEJ). Data included every photograph (N = 7,288) of adults conducting, teaching or presenting, or granted the authority of having their picture labeled with their name (named persons), and were analyzed by year over the 50-year period. Results showed that females composed 28% of these photographs, with the largest representation of females being found in the teaching/presenting category (56%) and markedly smaller representations of females found in the conducting (21%) and named persons (20%) categories. Fluctuations in certain categories across the five decades suggest that while representation of males and females in MEJ has changed in 50 years, inequity persists. Implications include a call for greater attention and effort toward equitable representation in music education media for publishers, authors, and other contributors in addition to increased sensitivity to the representations of male and female stereotypes and professional expectations encountered by music educators and students.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)485-500
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Research in Music Education
Volume62
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 20 2015

Keywords

  • male and female stereotypes
  • professional expectations
  • sex/gender equity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Music

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