The Curse of Beauty for Serious Musicians

from The New York Times:

It's notable that women in classical music come under fire for their image, since each must create her own identity from the start. "The template is male," Ms. Walsh noted. And not only in terms of career — there are still fewer female instrumental soloists than male ones, still fewer women than men in top-flight American orchestras — but also in terms of what you wear. There is no female equivalent of a man's standard concert uniform, the tuxedo.

Of course men are also evaluated in terms of their sex appeal, but the violinists Joshua Bell and James Ehnes do not seem to be relegated to bimbo status because of their pinup images.

I'm not a classical snob, but I will admit to being turned off by classical "crossover" artists. However, since a lot of women still are unable to break into the world of mainstream classical music, I think they should use whatever options are available. This article quotes a review of a Lara St. John concert that critiques her gown in the first paragraph. That is ridiculous. When a male performer is on stage, the critic won't comment, "While his performance was uplifting, his tuxedo just didn't cut it!" At least, I've never seen anything comparable. It's just such a double standard.