Our gender non-conforming and trans* respondents raised the issue of addressing groups of singers with language which is based on a notion of gender identity as a binary distinction. But another respondent told a story that we wish reflected the experience of every adolescent singer:
“One time in our select women’s choir, we were singing a love ballad and he was trying to get us to feel the music better. He said ‘Just imagine how you feel when you’re with that person you love. Think about how much you feel about that guy, or girl, or whomever you love. Just imagine the emotions.’ For him to not go to that automatic, hetero-normative idea of girls liking guys almost made me cry. I felt so safe there.”
• Examine requirements mandating gender-specific concert attire
If a trans* tenor now identifies as female, recognize that her journey has been arduous in many ways. Forcing her into “male” attire is a public devaluing of her identity. Similarly, forcing all sopranos and altos into long dresses communicates unilateral indifference to the spectrum of gender expression embraced by many singers who are lesbian, non-conforming, gender- questioning, or trans*.
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