File: cheveriecharles06-oh-womansrole-M.mp3
Speakers:
CC – Fr. Charlie Cheverie
KP – Curator Ken Perlman
KP: Why do suppose there are more girls than boys excelling at the fiddle, or getting serious about the fiddle.
CC: I don't know what the demographics of the thing would indicate, but in my teaching career, there was a time when if you were speaking about – I taught biology – people going on to med school, if you got one girl even aspiring out of 50 candidates you were lucky. As time went on in the biology program you might get 50/50 of males, females. Now I'm sure the girls outnumber the guys 4 to 1 in the science program.
KP: So you think this is a general cultural phenomenon?
CC: Yes, that's right. And the other thing that I've noticed is the interest of parents. If the parents have a liking to fiddle music, and a daughter shows any interest, they'll come up B If you go up to the Queens County fiddlers there, and the kids need to be driven there, then the parents are there for them.
KP: You say it's more likely if it's a girl?
CC: No, no but in terms of the girls, 'though, in former days it was, "That's not for you." But now, "It is for you." And they'll take an interest in them and take them [to fiddling practice]. And I think it's a general atmosphere of society.