Ives associated discordant music with masculinity. The Classical Music establishment in the United States of the time was run by women and he was uncomfortable with its effeminate associations. ‘Stand up and use your ears like a man!’ Ives actually spoke like this.
I agree with him. Statements like “it hurts my ears” bother me to the extreme, in fact.
Rich, dense, complex music requires one to evolve their sense of hearing and comprehension beyond the passive abilities that their environment gave them over the years.
Ives associated discordant music with masculinity.
^^^
Okay, well, then maybe that explains it: I am a woman.