Sex and Music
David J. Hargreaves (2007) found significant correlations between gender and musical tastes in a U.K. sample. Out of 35 musical genres, the strongest male bias was for blues (72.3% of men vs. 27.7% of women). Women preferred "current chart pop" at an even more disparate rate (83.3% to 16.7%). Van Eijk (2001) found that "pop" preferences were not related to gender, and were more related to age and education. A breakdown by gender vs. age does not appear to be available for Hargreaves' sample. Hargreaves also found that women reported liking more different genres, which is consistent with previous research.
However, it may be that women and men are classifying music differently. Christenson and Peterson (1988) suggest that the "mapping" of music types has "crucial differences" between men and women. Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) found significant correlations with personality traits and musical preference. Given that many personality traits have been found to be correlated with gender, this could explain some divergence in male and female musical tastes. Rentfrow and Gosling also that high verbal IQ was associated with preference for "reflective and complex" and "intense and rebellious" music. Verbal IQ was negatively correlated with "upbeat and conventional" and "energetic and rhythmic" musical types.
I was at a party a few years ago when a debate broke out over whether women liked classic rock. A woman at the party had expressed a liking for the local classic rock station, and men at the party were so surprised that they actually began quizzing her, to make sure she wasn't "faking" being a classic rock fan. Her music geekitude left them duly humbled. My own history with music is more of a story of subculture affiliation. I just don't care much about music, and most of my attempts to learn about one style or another have been tied into entering the subculture associated with the style. Lately, I've been playing with Last.fm, a music-listening tracking website, and attempting to categorize music. I find it much easier and more useful to tag a song based on the subject of the lyrics than the musical style, but apparently I'm in the minority on this one.
However, it may be that women and men are classifying music differently. Christenson and Peterson (1988) suggest that the "mapping" of music types has "crucial differences" between men and women. Rentfrow and Gosling (2003) found significant correlations with personality traits and musical preference. Given that many personality traits have been found to be correlated with gender, this could explain some divergence in male and female musical tastes. Rentfrow and Gosling also that high verbal IQ was associated with preference for "reflective and complex" and "intense and rebellious" music. Verbal IQ was negatively correlated with "upbeat and conventional" and "energetic and rhythmic" musical types.
I was at a party a few years ago when a debate broke out over whether women liked classic rock. A woman at the party had expressed a liking for the local classic rock station, and men at the party were so surprised that they actually began quizzing her, to make sure she wasn't "faking" being a classic rock fan. Her music geekitude left them duly humbled. My own history with music is more of a story of subculture affiliation. I just don't care much about music, and most of my attempts to learn about one style or another have been tied into entering the subculture associated with the style. Lately, I've been playing with Last.fm, a music-listening tracking website, and attempting to categorize music. I find it much easier and more useful to tag a song based on the subject of the lyrics than the musical style, but apparently I'm in the minority on this one.