Why are there no female drummers?

lucas wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Blackman

Thanks, I was thinking about her, but also Terry Lynn Carrington.
In France, we have the young leader Anne Paceo (and his band Triphase) and Julie Saury.
And don't forget free jazz/improv/experimental jazz drummers as Susie Ibarra and Ikue Mori (the Tzadik connection!)

If you prefer rock music, of course we have Moe Tucker (Velvet Underground), already mentionned, but also:
- Sandy West (the Runaways),
 - Denise Dufort (Girlschool),
 - Paloma Romero (first drummer of the Slits, and, man, she could hit!),
 - Dee Plakas (L7),

If you're looking for female drummers in metal, here's a short list:
 - Shamara Irizarry (Matriarch - Puerto Rico)
 - Eleonora (Putrefied Beauty - Italy - a promising band)
 - Sandrine (Gorod until 2009 - France)
 - Yasmin Claire (Myndsnare - India)
 - Sandra Vungi (Neoandertals - Estonia).

Of course, if you list every all-female bands, you will find a lot of female drummers (Fanny, Birtha for the 80's, Rock Goddess, Lunachicks...)...

Oh lord, this is too funny.  I googled The Bangles to see who their drummer was, and it was Debbi Peterson, and I clicked on the link http://www.nndb.com/people/821/000083572/ and damned if she didn't drum for Spinal Tap in 1991. 

harmonium.ro wrote: Negoba wrote: There is absolutely no physical reason for women not to be equally represented as drummers.   By that logic there should be as many women construction workers as there are men. They can do it, after all. Yet somehow they prefer to take on babysitting, cash counting, cleaning, etc.

Edited by Negoba - April 01 2011 at 16:50

Negoba wrote: harmonium.ro wrote: Negoba wrote: There is absolutely no physical reason for women not to be equally represented as drummers.   By that logic there should be as many women construction workers as there are men. They can do it, after all. Yet somehow they prefer to take on babysitting, cash counting, cleaning, etc.   Ummm...no.   The reasons for those differences are cultural, not physical. And "prefer" might not be the word I'd choose.   There is only one definitive physical difference (besides reproductive), muscle mass. As a result, the similarly conditioned men can lift more weight than a woman. That's it. And it has nothing to do with drumming. Maybe being a roadie. The only thing physically demanding about drumming is stamina and dexterity, and even those are not especially demanding compared to any real athletic activity.   On a minor related note, school age girls and women are besting boys and men academically across most of the globe in all subjects including math now, reversing previous trends.

You're not addressing my point. Of course men can lift heavier things, but women can lift enough, too, to work as construction workers (or truck drivers, policemen, sailors, etc). You don't ALL your strength as a man to work in certain fields, from a point onwards there are machines to help. For example, you're not going to see a worker in a store carrying trunks of products on his back; he's going to be carrying them around on a sort of vehicle on wheels that he moves quite easily with just one hand.

Just like in those cases, the reasons why women don't pick up this activity (drumming) are cultural, and all boil down to the perceived manliness and physicality of this particular acitvity. Even I didn't say I found drumming too demaning, as I never tried it; it just seemed too difficult for me to even consider it.

EDIT: I think you misunderstood my post by thinking I say women have physical limitations that prevents them from drumming. That wasn't my intention; I was mentioning physicality as a cultural factor (see my mention of perception). I think that we actually agree!


Edited by harmonium.ro - April 01 2011 at 17:15

It seems that female drummers are mostly only accepted in female bands. Here is an example of a mixed band. These are local street musicians from my hometown Berlin, who I saw on a street festival. All musicians constantly change their instruments, sing, dance and play. In this particular song a woman plays drums. You can see her at the end of the video when she stands up.

If you take a close look at drummerworld.com, you'll find that female drummers are in the minority, but there are a few needles in this haystack.

Sexism ftw

Edited by andyman1125 - April 01 2011 at 18:46

Oh, and also :
 - Hilary Binder (Sabot, an American bass-drums duet residing in Czech Republic)
 - Marylise Frecheville (Vialka - they will play at the RIO festival in Albi this year!)

The T wrote: Sorry but female drummers don't look attractive to me... The drum set is not something I associate with good looks

probably for the same reason there are so little women on PA  ( i mean as users )

Edited by jean-marie - April 02 2011 at 10:05