Despite not wanting to give my detractors much credibility, I’m tempted to answer a couple of the comments made after my original post about sexism in Vienna. I’m not going back to read them, because, ugh, but a few of them have stuck in my mind, so I thought I’d talk through them and hopefully shoot them full of holes.
One person commented, and I’m paraphrasing, “Well, despite the (so-called) sexism of the Vienna Philharmonic’s policies, they’re still a great institution, and they still give wonderful concerts so it hasn’t hurt them, and by and large the public doesn’t care.”
There are a couple of points worth considering in this person’s (let’s call him Frank) comments. First, does the VP still give great concerts and play wonderfully, yes, and I wasn’t questioning that at all, which I made sure to mention in my post. However, whether it’s a great institution depends on whether you think it’s fine to discriminate in favour of white men. On a moral and human level, there’s no getting around that their policy is wrong and hurtful. Before I say more, I want to reiterate that the policy I’m referring to is not official. Officially, they have opened their doors to people other than white men. However, the very fact that their auditions are not screened right to the end of the last round begs the question, why?
The second point Frank makes is that their discriminatory policy hasn’t hurt them. I doubt that’s true. I think their policy has hurt them very much by excluding rich cultures that a more inclusive policy would bring to the orchestra, without any sacrifice of skill or dedication. I bet the addition of 13 women has already begun to make a difference to their music-making, to their social fabric and to their breadth as humans. A group that’s closed off from those who aren’t exactly like them perpetuates fear of the “other”, and thus, sexism, racism, homophobia, etc., and those “isms” hurt everyone.
Frank’s third point is that by and large the public doesn’t care. Well, obviously some people do, if I count as “the public” and I know I’m not alone. If he means that the public in Vienna doesn’t care, how does he know? Maybe there are people walking around Vienna today wishing there were more women and POC at the Philharmonic. It would be refreshing, one is saying to her companion. Yes, I agree, says her friend, I wonder why they don’t have more diversity? I mean, people other than white men study music, right? I bet they’d love to get a job like that, and make a great living doing what they love in a wonderful city like Vienna! I think I’ll write a letter to the editor…
Well, I’ve given Frank a lot of room, but I thought his comment was one that lots of people might agree with, so it was worth discussing. I’ll quickly mention another one that I can denounce more quickly. At least one person said, “the writer has a good job in an orchestra, so what is she complaining about?” (again, paraphrasing.) This is so dumb, I can hardly stand it. The attitude they seem to be encouraging me to adopt is the epitome of selfishness in my opinion. No thanks.
Well, let the discussion go on until diversity becomes the norm! I love going to concerts where I’m not driven to count the number of people who aren’t white men. Not that I’m biased; some of my best friends are white men! I just like to see a mix of people who reflect the actual world we live in.
I love to hear from you!