Re: Why are there so few female pipers ?
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:12 pm
Yes, but you tell that story as if you were dealing with a human being or something. In any case we all know of that ancient race of female Amaceltian pipers who strategically removed all the stick-outy-bits that interfered with bag or bellows. If modern women were more willing to sacrifice along the same lines we'd have many great female pipers today as well.KAD wrote:Wow, I can't believe I missed out on this thread all day long.
Rory, what's the complete title and publication date of Williams' book?
20:1 sounds a bit high to me these days, but I think it really depends where you are looking:
- I went to a pipers' club meeting in Manchester a couple of years ago where the m/f ratio was 1:1.
-The Northeast Tionol was at 30:1 the first time I attended back in 2001, but has gotten as low as 4:1 in recent years (15 female pipers out of about 60 pipers total in 2008).
-Nowadays, girls consistently take one or more of the top three marks in piping competitions at the fleadh, year after year, especially in slow airs. Ergo there must be plenty of girls learning the pipes.
So things are changing. It really helps to have female role models out there (Hi Susanne! Hi Máire! Hi Debbie!), and it also really helps to have supportive male mentors/teachers/pipemakers (you know who you are, gentlemen). So for all you guys out there who think there should be more women pipers, remember: your attitude can make a big difference.
On the other hand, it's not all roses: I had a bizarre conversation at a session a few months ago with a bodhran player who looked me up and down as I was strapping in and informed me (jokingly, I think) that I couldn't play pipes because I had -- and I quote -- "bits in the wrong places." I patiently replied that yes, there were not as many female pipers as male ones, but that our numbers were growing. He asked me to name some female pipers, and when I did, he cut me off with -- another joke, I think? --" Yeah, but the last two are lesbians."
Sigh.