ABSTRACT

Music is vulnerable to unconscious bias through visual extramusical factors. Traditional male/female gender bias affects instrument choice and impacts performance evaluation negatively. This study investigates gender bias in assessing harp performance. Harp performers (one male, one female) recorded three musical excerpts, all dubbed with the female performer’s audio. Listener-viewers assessed performances on five criteria and were blinded to the study purpose. Follow-up interviews explored awareness of unconscious gender bias. There were no significant differences between ratings for each gender but there were significant interactions between gender and musical excerpt for overall performance quality, musicality and sensitivity. Interviews revealed no explicit gender bias but discovered feminine associations for harp performance resulting in gendered descriptors rather than musical assessments. Listener-viewers demonstrated preconceived gendered expectations of harpists and were susceptible to gender bias in their evaluations of each musical excerpt. Perceptual evaluations can inform and educate future music assessors about unconscious gender bias.

摘要

通过视觉音乐外因素，音乐很容易受到无意识偏见的影响。传统的男性/女性性别偏见会影响仪器选择并对绩效评估产生负面影响。本研究调查了评估竖琴演奏时的性别偏见。竖琴表演者（一男一女）录制了三段音乐片段，全部配上了女表演者的音频。听众-观众根据五个标准评估表演，并且对研究目的不知情。后续访谈探讨了对无意识性别偏见的认识。每个性别的评分之间没有显着差异，但性别和音乐片段在整体表演质量、音乐性和敏感性之间存在显着的相互作用。访谈没有显示出明显的性别偏见，但发现女性对竖琴演奏的联想导致性别描述而不是音乐评估。听众 - 观众表现出对竖琴手的先入为主的性别期望，并且在他们对每个音乐节选的评估中容易受到性别偏见的影响。感知评估可以告知和教育未来的音乐评估员无意识的性别偏见。