I agree entirely Ruth - but they are assumptions based on history and not based on current reality, which is why I asked the question "when".

At least once a fortnight I hear on BBC Radio 4 (generally) that folk music is about "beards and tankards" and "Aran sweaters" and "fingers in the ear" and any combination of those those cliches. You and I know it is round spherical objects - if nothing else it ignores the 50% of the population that is not male when it mentions beards.

It needs challenging whenever it appears and eventually it will (mostly) go away. Which is why I asked Paul (politely I hope) to think about when and where he got his cliche about the EFDSS and suggested it might not be true.