Hah! Good find! And yeah, it does kind of make the case both ways.
If you’re a fluteplayer, the popular stereotype is hard to miss. I’ve even had assumptions made about my romantic orientations, just on the basis of the instrument I played! Whatever.
In a simplified nutshell, the transverse flute in Europe was known early on as a military instrument, and for quite a while after it slipped those confines it continued to be a “man’s” instrument; the flute was considered unseemly for women because one made faces to play it, to say nothing of the accompanying phallic associations its form and manner of playing presented: a vision most unladylike to the dirty of mind. Apart from that, women were thought not to have the lung power anyway. A ridiculous assumption, but such were the times. So how did it transition to being thought a woman’s instrument? I can only guess, but here’s a possibility: As a typical, almost cliché accessory in portraits of your upper-class gentleman in his study, the flute came to be associated with education and refinement. Take it far enough in the context of class distinctions, and refinement becomes as twee as ribbons and bows, which, it must be said, had their day but fell into disfavor for men’s attire, and apart from awards, the absence continues. As another symbol of refinement and possibly even decadence, the flute may similarly have lost its “manliness” and so in the popular imagination became the domain of women, where worries over compromising one’s masculinity do not apply.
It’s a theory, anyway. Gender assignments aside, it’s not impossible that the flute could have found little favor in Appalachian music entirely on the basis of its associations with urbane refinement, which might pose an uneasy fit to an identity predicated instead on being rugged and resourceful.
Is this an American stereotype? I have never encountered even a hint of gender stereotyping in regard to the flute here in England.
In the period we are discussing -the nineteenth century, the narrative was one of positive male role models in regard to flute players
Apparently it must be.
It all comes down to the individual, of course, but you do encounter it. I was hit on by a guy once because of it, and I know this because he said as much. As far as he was concerned, with that flute I might as well have been wearing a sign saying “Looking for Mr. Right Now”, and he couldn’t be convinced otherwise. It wasn’t so much the persistent flirting per se, but the stereotype itself that bugged me - talk about being objectified out of existence! Can I not be loved for myself? 
Plus I was on stage, and he was merrily doing his wicked level best to get me flustered, paying no mind to whoever might be within earshot - no doubt my bandmates were highly amused - and then as if things couldn’t have been awkward enough already, on top of it I learned my groupie was a priest. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink … it was one of those nights.
As mentioned, In O’Neill’s Chicago the police force was full of flute players, and I’m pretty sure the Chicago police force on the late 19th century took a backseat to none when it came to aggressive masculinity.
In the US it is absolutely a thing–not necessarily in professional orchestras, but everywhere else flute is a woman’s instrument. In our daughter’s middle school band all the flutes are girls: the same is true in every grade level band and in the high school band and in virtually every college in the US. Typically the brass section is all or mostly boys. Saxes are mixed.
here’s link on it from the Baltimore symphony orchestra: https://www.bsomusic.org/stories/boys-play-trumpet-and-girls-play-flute-but-why/
“At the top professional orchestra level, analysis by composer and programmer Suby Raman shows distinct gender preferences for certain instruments. Women musicians in 20 of the top American orchestras accounted for the majority of flute and violin players, as well as accounting for 95 percent of harpists. Male musicians made up 91 percent of double bassists and anywhere from 95 to 97 percent of trumpet, trombone and tuba players.”
Guitar was a “woman’s instrument” in the 19th century, at least in the US. It was mostly for parlors and for women to play in parlors. Then it switches gender
No kidding, just look at these guys: http://ptjams.com/mb/img/flutes/Irish-Music-Club-Chicago-1901.jpg
Okay, the two lying down in front look a little fey, but that’s a macho bunch right there. No girlie flute players need apply.
In the US it is absolutely a thing–not necessarily in professional orchestras, but everywhere else flute is a woman’s instrument. In our daughter’s middle school band all the flutes are girls: the same is true in every grade level band and in the high school band and in virtually every college in the US. Typically the brass section is all or mostly boys. Saxes are mixed.
(snip)
Guitar was a “woman’s instrument” in the 19th century, at least in the US. It was mostly for parlors and for women to play in parlors. Then it switches gender
Right! Here in the USA, the guitar became heavily gendered as a male instrument starting in the Cowboy and Western Swing bands in the 40’s, and then Rock’n Roll bands in the 50’s and onward.
Which left… well, everything else like piano, violin (not fiddle!), and flute for the girls. Genteel parlor music and Classical instruments. I guess it didn’t happen that way in Ireland because the flute was already well-established as part of the national folk music since the 1800’s.
Maybe for apes. 
Also rocking the facial hair! Those were the days when men apparently had a lot of time to lavish on mustaches
As mentioned, In O’Neill’s Chicago the police force was full of flute players
O’Neill gave jobs to musicians to keep them in Chicago so he could get tunes off them. You will have to wonder if the situation was a typical one.
Flute playing in Ireland was always a bit of a macho activity, the physicality of fluteplaying and all that. Not considered suitable for women at all.
The popularity fro mthe sixties onward of the boehm flute among women worldwide is a completely separate subject.
It was absolutely gender specific where I grew up in Alabama. I was in symphonic, marching, and jazz band classes all through high school, as a tenor sax player.
Here’s how it broke down:
Girls only: flute, clarinet
Boys only: tuba, drums
Everything else could go either way, but generally the larger instruments like the trombone were more male than female. Trumpet and saxophones were 50/50, although the soprano sax was always female.
It all seemed fairly normal to me as an ignorant youth, I’m sad to say. It was perpetuated by the adults, and it took distance and wisdom to see how truly effed up some of stuff was that we were conditioned to as children in the South. And I’m not just talking music. But that’s a whole other topic.
Flute playing in Ireland was always a bit of a macho activity, the physicality of fluteplaying and all that. Not considered suitable for women at all. Mr. Gumby
Yes exactly. Thankfully though these days there are many brilliant females playing Irish traditional music on simple system flutes.
The popularity from the sixties onward of the boehm flute among women worldwide is a completely separate subject. Mr. Gumby
Yes I agree, and as regards female flute players in Irish traditional music I can only think of Joanie Madden, and another lady from Boston, Mass. who is a regular at Willie Week and Tubercurry who play the metal boehm flute. Very well too I may add. If Americans must gender define music instruments then that just betrays their ignorance
This thread would be better suited to some old timey/American folk music forum. Who cares why there is no tradition of simple system flute playing in the Appalachian mountains? Old timey/Appalachian music has no need of wind instruments and is fine as it is.
Yes exactly. Thankfully though these days there are many brilliant females playing Irish traditional music on simple system flutes.
Like women playing the pipes, there were always a few who played these instruments anyway, no matter what polite society thought of it and these segregations have by and large vanished.
There are plenty of stories though from women of previous generations (well, I know a few from my own generation as well) who so much wanted to play the pipes or the flute but weren’t let near them because it wasn’t the right thing for a girl to do.
There’s this interview with Seámus Ennis’ daughter who was in awe of the pipes and wanted to learn them. Seámus came back with a set of Northumbrian pipes for her, saying they’d be more suitable, much to her dismay.
Boys playing harps, not much was thought of that either.
But then, large parts of society see playing music as just another good reason to bully people. A fiddle player I knew told me the secondary school he was going to was a tech, it would would have been unthinkable for him to admit he played the fiddle. There was an interview with Paddy Glackin recently in which he told he and brothers used to keep their fiddle cases under their coats when out, so they couldn’t be seen.
Yes, pigeonholing is such an insidious practice, isn’t it. 
I do, but only because I think it’s an interesting question about how musical traditions get transplanted and transmitted. If it’s not interesting to you, you can always not read it.
‘Old timey/Appalachian music has no need of wind instruments and is fine as it is.’
Perhaps and it is consistent with this that flute enhances such music and makes it still more interesting and beautiful. Playing flute often in such venues, I note that experienced OT musicians positively want me to show up and play and miss the flute when I don’t. These musical traditions remain in process.
Just to get down to cases, here’s an Appalachian tune (note the cello). Surely the addition of a well-played wooden flute could be a welcome addition.
People say this about O’Neill and it’s fun to think so but I doubt it’s true. I had a conversation with Nicholas Carolan in September where he said the same thing. Police jobs were pretty plumb jobs, much sought after, and O’Neill was only chief for about 5 years. At no point in his career did he have untrammeled authority to appoint whoever he pleased. There would always be someone else wanting to get their person appointed. He does sometimes note that this or that musician found place on the force, so it no doubt happened sometime, but he never would have been able to hire whoever he pleased. He several times talks act this or that musician as being a great player but being “unfortunately allergic to work,” or prone to drink, or in one case being persuaded that his interest lay in moving to the west, e.g, he was run out of town.
It might be “hippie chicks” in the 60s that gave the flute a feminine cast, although at the same time there was lots of jazz flute and that was a pretty macho culture. I don’t think the simple system flute was ever “gendered female.”
I would say that in my daughter’s generation you see more girls playing trumpet, sax, and percussion, My daughter, all four foot eleven of her, is the first alto in the 8th grade band. There are girls in the trumpets and the drums. Good to see: her generation gives me hope
People say this about O’Neill and it’s fun to think so but I doubt it’s true.
The Chief mentions this himself, several times as I seem to remember, in his works. One instance I can immediately think of is that of Barney Delaney where an attempt was made to lure Delaney back to Chicago ‘where a position in the Department of Police awaited him’.
There’s no doubt that O’Neill definitely did help secure jobs for some people on the police force, but it’s usually quite overstated how many he was able to secure - Delaney is the main one that I’m aware of, but most of the rest of the usual suspects were met by O’Neill already on the job (James O’Neill, McFadden, and Early, as far as I saw were already colleagues).
It should also be noted that although O’Neill was only Superintendent for 5 years, it isn’t only the superintendent that hires people - he was a lieutenant and captain for a good number of years, and likely would have been able to help people apply and get hired in those positions, too.
Yes he does mention it a couple times, as I think I said. But he had a thirty year career and a couple times isn’t stocking the police force.
For a lot of that he was just a cop, not the chief. He didn’t have that much discretionary authority. And appointments were hedged in by political pressures and patronage–he says that a lot more often. Delaney was a relative by marriage.
If you read his “Sketchy recollections,” which don’t have much to say about music, a lot of it is about how intense politics was on the force, and how he often runs afoul of some action or other. Everybody wants to get his son/brother/cousin/buddy/wife’s cousin/block captain etc. on the force.
I think it’s more likely cop is a good job to have–good pay, security, pension, respect and authority–and the irish got there at the meant when the police force was being formed and got a stranglehold on hiring more generally. Something like 2/3rds of the force is irish born or irish American at one point. Same story in NYC, Philly and Boston: Irish immigrants arrived in big numbers at the moment when professional police forces were being formed, the 1850s. Tom Wolfe famously wrote that in NYC, if you’re a cop, you’re “irish,” whether your name is Gomez or Goldberg or Andolini or Kowalski or Jefferson or Chen, because the whole character and culture of the police force was formed by irish immigrants.
It’s interesting to me to see how O’Neill goes from complaining about the tyrannical authority of ship captains, the he was a sailor, to sometimes using the badge to bully some poor farmer into giving up his tunes
For sure. Karen Carpenter was considered an anomaly back in the day, but people got over it. For me the strangeness was more in her frilly way of dressing than in the prospect of a woman at the drums. I think that gender stereotypes are less to be found among musicians themselves, and more at the grassroots level where the audience comes to the table with preconceived expectations born of social climate and the lore it creates. Where it exists, it does carry pressure with it at the entry level; and for those who buck it, good for them.
As to the evils of institutionalized stereotypes, what then are we to make of the music of the Indian subcontinent? While they might exist, to date I have never seen a female drummer in either the Hindustani or Carnatic traditions.
As to simple system, PB+J, in some eyes a flute’s a flute: recall my story earlier.