Let's combine two of my favorite things here: social science and music. On Monday, I made some references to a certain country-pop starlet's political controversies, but let's be blunt about the treatment of women in music. A large portion of the music industry sells women as nothing but sex objects. Twain got rich off of that, and to the degree that she was the one in control of her self-presentation, there are debates to be had about her place in popular culture, but the diminution of women's musical abilities has real consequences elsewhere. Consider classical music. It isn't really my thing, but it has the social scientific benefit of regimented auditions. Getting a position in a classical orchestra requires a sequence of auditions. Women, being treated as sex objects in American society (and western society more broadly), have faced discrimination. They are less likely to be chosen, even at the same level of performance, which is easier to measure objectively in classical music because the music itself is more regimented. (That's why I prefer jazz, but that's another matter).
So, what happens if auditions are conducted with the performer behind a screen so that you can't tell if the player is a man or a woman? If everything were on the level, that wouldn't change anything, would it? You know where this is going, right?
Here's a study on what happens when orchestras change their auditioning process so that you can't see who is performing. Women get more positions. Why? Because the men doing the hiring aren't making sex-based assessments.
Does a person's ability to play viola have anything whatsoever to do with sex and/or gender? I'd need to see a hell of a lot of evidence that it does in order to violate the scientific principle of defaulting to "no" here, and I'm not going to "Larry Summers" myself. They put up screens, assessed people on ability, improved the hiring process, reduced discrimination, and music got better.
Notice that this isn't what Trump did with Ronny Jackson. Why not? Well, aside from the fact that Trump is incompetent, he treats everything like a tv show. Because he isn't a businessman. He's a tv performer. He was looking for a fellow tv performer.
This is a tv show to Donald. I wish I had a comment that sounded more pithy, unique, academic, or, whatever, but sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it, the truth is just staring us in the face. Donald Trump is a tv performer treating everything like he's still on a tv show. He made the decision, admitting that it was because Jackson looked like he came from Hollywood casting. When you make decisions this way, even in artistic fields like music, you don't get the best people, as Trump claimed he would.
Anyway, as I have said, I'm not much of a classical music person, but here's some Wednesday music. Here's some Aretha. Enjoy the beauty. Oh, and notice that she's too busy at the keys to dance around.
