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Activating gender: How identity affects students’ perceptions of music activities

In adolescence, many students align their music participation choices with the expectations for their gender group. While cultural norms may explain gender disparities in music activities, there is no empirical evidence of how gender salience may influence students’ perceptions of music activities. The purpose of this study was to experimentally test the influence of gender salience on adolescents’ perceptions of music activities. Using a quasi-experimental design, middle school participants (N = 246) were assigned to either a primed condition where students were asked to consider their gender identity or a control condition; all participants took a survey on interest in music activities. Participants in the experimental condition rated music activities, including stereotypical masculine and feminine activities, significantly more positively than the control group. Music students rated music activities significantly higher than their non-music peers. Gender was only identified as having a significant relationship with feminine music activities, as ratings of stereotypical masculine activities were statistically similar between boys and girls. This experiment provides evidence that gender salience can impact students’ perceptions of music activities. With a more complete understanding of how gender operates within the environment, music educators can understand how gendered messages within the environment may impact perceptions of music activities.