Mädchen im Knabenchor
english version
STOP PUBLICLY FUNDED SEXISM
We demand musical education in state institutions that is accessible to all children and young people regardless of their gender. We want the high-quality, state-sponsored education of Boys` Choir Schools (Knabenchöre) to be available for girls as well. We want equal participation opportunities in terms of gender-sensitive admission procedures. We need to stop discrimination linked to the concept of boys` choirs immediately.
We recognise the high value of equality in present-day society. Thus, we require the discriminatory system of musical education that has been cultivated for centuries to be discontinued. We are convinced that the preferential treatment of boys resulting into subsequent career advantages is no longer justified. We are convinced that all children should have an equal right to receive excellent musical education.
Ultimately, boys‘ choirs are no longer to be mistakingly associated with musical tradition. They owe their existence to mediaeval clergic laws that excluded women from equal participation in religious service. Still, the Berlin Administrative Court considers ‚artistic freedom‘ and ‚tradition‘ of Boys` Choirs more significant than equal treatment: Girl’s Quest to Sing With Berlin’s Boys’ Choir Is Dashed – The New York Times (nytimes.com). See also Berlin choir accused of gender discrimination by nine-year-old girl | Germany | The Guardian. It is our democratic state that fails to end of the discriminatory practice it inherited from the Catholic church.
One does not have to travel far to find an example to learn from. An adequate up-to-date approach can be observed in France: Maîtrise de Radio France, the choir school of Radio France, where girls make up a third of its students. The students, about 180 ranging in age from seven to seventeen, are being accepted by means of a national audition process. Their education is of course free of charge. Where there´s a will, there´s got a way. …
It´s time to join our movement!
