Well, to answer Le Dude's post (and sorry for the delay, I've had a gnarly summer cold for the last three days),

it doesn't mean that there are more women drummers if one posits this in a postiive way.

but here's my take on it:

I've taught a few thousand people how to play the drums in my life and an instructor and professional touring/recording drummer
in the past 30 years of teaching and 42 years of drumming.

What I've noticed is that women drummers made up a good 1/4 to 1/3 of my students until the last five years or so
when the number dropped off precipitously.

I think that men and women have biological differences and they also have differences that are acculutrated and it's important to
try and be sensitive to areas where women either are excluded or , worse yet, exclude themselves due to the acculturated
reasons why they are excluded in our culture.

What I have found is that there seems to be no difference between how fast a young girl or a young boy learns how to play the drums............
none at all. In terms of playing strength, there is a definite tendency for women to play quieter and men to play louder
but I honestly think this is based on acculturation and not biology (though biology plays some role in it).

Drumming strength and acumen are not necessarily built on physique and size (some of the shortest male drummers I know are the
hardest hitters) but on flexibilty , dexterity, and speed. Women can easily be taught how to play hard and loud (just as young men can
actually be taught to play sensitivy and with strong dynamics........lol)

Instead, I find that young women (or the one's I've had the pleasure of teaching) generally have a harder time making loud noises.
In our culture, loud and assertive women are labeled masculine with the use of this term as a stigma.

I once had a teacher point out to me that women do not point in arguments in our culture and , if they do, they are ostracized.
Men, conversely, do not break their wrists in public gesticulating without risking the fear of being labeled gay.

If you think of it, the ability to ring one's hands rapidly , is an asset for really good technique, whereas, pointing rigidly is
a detriment to playing well as it is too rigid and inflexible. But we are naturally acculturated to fall into these sexual stereotypes.

What does this all have to do with how many good women drummers there are, you probably are asking by now.

I think that , because we are living in the most conservative times that this country has seen since the middle 1950's,
that conformity in our culture is at an all time high. The stakes are higher if you stand out in this culture.
Consequently, fewer young women are taking the risk of appearing masculine unless they completely eschew the dominant
paradigm (and are labelled as dikes, when sexual preference has nothing to do with it).

So, I think it is incumbant for establlished drummers to actively welcome young (and all aged) women into the drumming fold.

If a young woman can go to youtube and see some of the kick ass drummers mentioned so far in this thread, it gives them the message that , hey, this is possible.

I once played as a substitute for an all women's world beat band that was very successful in the Western United States.
There percussionist (who was an excellent drummer) told me that everywhere she went, women would approach after the
show and say, "I had no idea that women could be so powerful rhythmically............thanks so much, I"m gonna take and African dance class that's offered in the area."

All the good professional woman percussionists that I've played with all brought a fairly idiosyncratic approach to their drumming
and in the long run, the more diversity we have, the more creative we are as community ,

and that, gents, is what we want, right?

Look out the next time you do a gig in front of a lot of people. You'll see people of both sexes who are watching you because
you are a drummer (not just because you are such a hunk, though that can happen too......<smile.)

I think it 's good thing to go up and talk to those people and encourage them to start playing. They are the next generation of kick ass drummers, no matter what their gender is.