Week 8 - Forum - Gender and Music Technology (2)

It was refreshing to see that this week everyone steered clear of the usual stereotypes and concentrated on the music. The dehumanised sound of the band Kraftwerk was, in Bradley’s words “de-gendered.” I tend to agree as it had odd quirky lyrics that were sung with odd effects taking the male/female sound out of it. Speaking of perspectives from a gender point of view, the issue of cyborgism was raised. I find this topic fascinating as there are so many programs coming out that can make music from very little input from the operator. Just scan a photo or type in some letters and the program does the rest. Talk about completely removing gender! Yes, these ‘songs’ are usually of a low standard compared to a human composer, but nevertheless it’s a step forward. Computers such as ENIAC could barely add two and two together a few decades ago. Which brings me to the Matrix. Who would have thought I would have gotten such visual images popping in my head of ‘penetration’ at a forum. I’ve never thought of the Matrix like that, and whether I agree or disagree, it did force me think further outside the square which is always a good thing. I wonder how Trinity fits into it all. Maybe I'll leave that one alone.

For intermission we were treated to a viewing of the Bohemian Rhapsody Show and then it was back to the forum.

There is sometimes cultural stereotyping that should be considered as Edward pointed out. I remember when I was at high school and the teachers would be sorting out the work experience week. Students would be stuck in jobs that the teachers thought they would be best suited for. Shouldn’t the student choose? This was a long time ago so I hope they sort it out differently these days. Although, it is probably done on a computer which no doubt brings some scary results.

Whether we see a penis when we look at a microphone advertisement or not is always going to be subjected to opinion. The same applies to whether a woman (or a man for that matter) can do a particular job or is even accepted by their peers. Unfortunately opinion in a persons ability is usually the deciding factor. Not their actual ability.

Whittington, Stephen. 2007. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.

Harris, David. 2007. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.

Leffler, Bradley. 2007. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.

Gadd, Laura. 2007. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.

Cakebread, Ben. 2007. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.

Kelly, Edward. Forum Workshop “Can You Tell the Difference? - Gender in Music technology”. Forum presented at the University of Adelaide, 3rd May.