<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;">I am amused by the line of this discussion because I began studying music theory 60 years ago in a world that was very different from today. It was a time when you could say “feminine cadence” and no one blinked. That’s because the idea of any living thing besides whie men having rights was unknown. Our thought patterns were filled with stereotypes that were never questioned. We all knew that the downbeat was stronger than the beats that lead up to it, so we had no trouble ascribing it as a male attribute as long as we did no thinking about the words we were using. We have certainly come a long way since then. At least now we do something that passes for thinking about critical issues, probably enough to disconnect “strong” from “masculine.” I am sure Catherine the Great would agree, and probably Margaret Thacher and Hillary Clinton as well. Let’s not forget all those amazing ladies we have admired in the Winter and Summer Olympics. I can see them getting to the downbeat on time.<div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><font><b style="font-size: 12px; ">Dr. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.</b></font></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><b style="font-size: 12px; ">Music Department Chair</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><b style="font-size: 12px; ">The City College of New York</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><b style="font-size: 12px; ">Shepard Hall Room 72</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><b style="font-size: 12px; ">New York NY 10031</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><b style="font-size: 12px; ">(212) 650-7663</b></div><div style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style'; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><font><b style="font-size: 12px; "><a href="mailto:music@ccny.cuny.edu">music@ccny.cuny.edu</a></b></font></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; "><br></div><div><font face="Copperplate"><span style="font-size: 12px; ">America's Greatest Chair </span></font></div><div><font face="Copperplate"><span style="font-size: 12px; ">in the low-priced field</span></font></div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<br><div><div>On Apr 29, 2014, at 10:23 PM, Michael Morse <<a href="mailto:mwmorse@bell.net">mwmorse@bell.net</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div class="hmmessage" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div dir="ltr"><br>May I trust that this repulsive and witless ad hominem will not see dissemination? Thank you.<div><br></div><div>MWM<br><div><hr id="stopSpelling">Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:17:31 -0400<br>Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Gender Terminology in Music Theory<br>From:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:psheehan251@gmail.com">psheehan251@gmail.com</a><br>To:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:mwmorse@bell.net">mwmorse@bell.net</a><br>CC:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org">smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org</a><br><br><div dir="ltr"><div>Dear Readers (and Trolls):</div><div>Of course "feminine cadence" and "masculine cadence" are examples of sexist usage. Ascribe, describe, Ockham? It's sexist.</div><div> </div><div>In addition to Paul's utterly reasonable alternative (crusis, etc.), one could simply distinguish between "metrically emphasized" and "metrically non-emphasized" events.</div><div> </div><div>All the best,</div><div>Paul Sheehan</div><div>Nassau Community College</div><div>Garden City, New York</div></div><div class="ecxgmail_extra"><br><br><div class="ecxgmail_quote">On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 4:10 PM, Michael Morse<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mwmorse@bell.net" target="_blank">mwmorse@bell.net</a>></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>wrote:<br><blockquote class="ecxgmail_quote" style="border-left-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; padding-left: 1ex;"><div><div dir="ltr">Like "sexist," the attributions "masculine" and "feminine" are ascriptive, not descriptive. Adjectives have no direct prescriptive power in reality, despite their undeniable if merely occasional affective influence; <i style="font-size: 12pt;">that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">matter was sorted out in 1324 by William of Ockham. Today, 1991 is every bit as much ancient history as 1324.</span><div><br></div><div>MW Morse</div><div>z. Zeit freier Kunstler<br><div><br><div>> From:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:Jennifer.Bain@Dal.Ca">Jennifer.Bain@Dal.Ca</a><div><br>> So to refer to a cadence that ends on a strong metric position as<br>> masculine and one that ends on a weak metric position as feminine is not<br>> sexist...? Didn't we sort this out in 1991?<br>><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>> Jennifer<br><br></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>Smt-talk mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org">Smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org</a><br><a href="http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org" target="_blank">http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org</a><br><br></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>Smt-talk mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org">Smt-talk@lists.societymusictheory.org</a><br><a href="http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org">http://lists.societymusictheory.org/listinfo.cgi/smt-talk-societymusictheory.org</a></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>