The typical music history or appreciation class teaches students to analyze musical elements and think generally about the aesthetics of historical periods but rarely encourages them to consider why the overwhelming majority of the composers discussed are white, European, middle- and upper-class men. Courses on popular music often discuss jazz and rock without addressing issues such as the barriers women jazz instrumentalists faced and the sexual objectification of women rock artists. Gender-blind world music curricula may also overlook the tremendously important role music plays in women's everyday lives, particularly when those women live in cultures where their voices are otherwise silenced. When women are integrated into the curriculum, they have the opportunity not only to add their names to the existing canon, but also to help students engage in critical thinking about how music is related to issues of sexism (and racism, classism, and ethnocentrism) within and outside the field, across cultures, and over time.The National Standards for Music Education, adopted in 1994, serves as the basis for most state-level K-12 music curriculum goals. (Contains 22 endnotes.)