Me and the one tuba player

I have observed the effects of the factor of gender in music since my mother used to bribe my brother with a candy bar to come to church choir practice. Whether it was church or school chorus, boys were a minority, if existent at all. However, I did notice that with adults the statistics were closer. Many of the girls or young women scrambled to join these choruses, and I suppose it took a brave young man to be around such a gaggle of girls. As with many activities of children and teenagers (or indeed all people) I wonder if pursuing musical endeavors was something people of either gender choose, or if it was something imposed upon them by a proud parent.
When it came to starting band in sixth grade, those of authority used a very peculiar method to determine to which instrument we should devote our lives. They simply went through and demonstrated each instrument and had us list our top three picks. Then, they tested or evaluated us to see which one we would play. Looking back on it now, it makes to sense. And I have a strong suspicion that they placed us where they wanted the instrumentation for their current and future bands. This division into categories so early was apparently done with some bias, as we ended up with the stereotype band.
Most of the flutes were female, trumpets-male, out of our disportionatly large trumpet section of 13 only one was a female. Baratones and trombones were males, but the tuba section always had one female. Clairnets were interesting, always a male or two tucked in one of the back rows of chairs. Out of all the instruments, I think that french horn is the only instrument that is fairly distrubuted betwix the genders.
As a percussionist, I also saw the roll of gender in music. I was preety much the only girl ever in the back of the band room, me and the one tuba player. Had to take charge of the back of the band room where they exile such folks as us. It is curious, that every band I ever have played in, the drums, particularly the timpany and the snare, are played by guys, and the mallett percussion, (the bells, chimes, xylphone etc.) were played by mostly the one or two girls in the section.
I think that society has perpetuated very ridgid identifications of instruments to certain genders. And I think this hurts us. Although distinguished orchestras, symphonies, and other musical ensambles show this bias less, it is still very prevelent. What opportunities have been lost, whoes dreams to play an instrument have been imprisoned by lines of gender. Our society has harbored a bias that completly defeats the freedom that music should allow.
Just a quick note. One of the greates things about being around music people, like all of you, is that you know your instrumet. I love/adore/dance that your instruments often have genders and names.
thanks for life!