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Male chauvinism in Metal


dilatedmind

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So this has been brought up in another thread and I think it's a worthwhile discussion to be had. There is quite possibly a higher ratio of males to females in Metal and fans of Metal. I don't have the figures but I would think so anyways. I think Metal fans are extremely brotherly and fraternal, even females if thats even possible. It does seem quite male i.e. if we're French I might say Le Metal rather than La. However, I don't see our awesome genre and it's fan base as because being chauvinistic beyond what might come naturally to a Viking... what are your thoughts?

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there certainly does seem to be a much higher ratio of blokes in metal, even around here we don't have many female members, Shadow and MetalMaiden are the only two I can think of actually, having said that it's not as if we go out of our way to be "anti-feminine" metal is a very powerful genre which seems naturally masculine, bands generally don't write about "cute" things, it's fair to say metal doesn't do much to attract a large following of women, but we are like a family so everyone is automatically accepted into the coven

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Well, for one thing, aren't most musicians men? I don't really think this is restricted to metal, even if the ratio is different. I really don't know. I suspect the only girls who are reliably cranky enough to enjoy metal are hardcore feminists, and metalheads have bigger ideological and emotional fish to fry. I can only say from observation that most of the girls I meet seem to be devoid of any true ideological passion whatsoever. They might get mad over one or another political issue if you're really lucky, but a girl with any philosophical depth seems nearly impossible to find. I cannot offer any explanation for this whatsoever, but it's something I see quite often that's just sad. That said, it's not too easy to find anyone with those traits. I'm well aware we've got several female members - but I think it's fair to say they're the exception. But I think I can explain why metal appeals to men and boys. Those who are physically weak prefer to hone their minds, and metal does that. It's a form of enfranchisement, however small, that communicates their anger, disaffection and sadness. When you're listening to metal you don't feel weak. Even then, I know many metalheads are actually in very good physical shape...so it seems mainly an exercise of the mind. Perhaps it's a broader frustration at weakness of any kind that metal expresses.

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I think metal is aggressive and socially uncool (like I care about being cool - cool is transcient and often stupid). This rarely appeals to girls and I don't think you tend to get into metal in middle age. That said, I think there is a pretty sizeable minority of girls who like metal and I don't think being hardcore feminists is on their agenda - though what thinking women is not a feminist?

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:D metal being the last bastion of true manliness may have something to do with it as well, in all other aspects of life we men are constrained to behaving in almost a gender neutral fashion, in the pit of a metal concert is the last place where we can beat our chests and exhibit that typical male behaviour looked down on by modern society, a music that encourages such behaviour naturally wouldn't appeal to many women
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though what thinking women is not a feminist?
I'd say anyone without a chip on their shoulder or a sense of self-esteem so low that they think they need to verbally emasculate any man who expresses an opinion on anything to validate their own pathetic opinion. I know I'm bitter about this, but it's something I run into a lot at college and it irritates me. I know there's a debate over true feminism vs. belligerence, but I will say that the extremely tiny group of female metalheads I've met actually aren't feminists. My guess is they're castigated by people who think they should be more radical than they are. Remember, I said reliably cranky. That's not the only criterion required - and as such many feminists I've met wouldn't meet all the criteria. I suspect metalhead girls/women know that you don't get respect from pretending that you can force it from people. You have to earn it by letting your actions speak for you.
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many of the female headbangers I've encountered have had the same complaint, that they're told they should be more feminine, as if simply being female isn't good enough they need to carry themselves in a particular way, other then that though they tend to be as fun to hang around as anyone else

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it's interesting, having just watched Metal: A Headbangers Journey (by the way if anyone here hasn't seen that or Global Metal the follow up documentary I really encourage you to do so) the women in metal tend to agree to a certain extent that metal is male dominated but at the same time feel as thought they belong in the metal scene, they tend to feel empowered by it, the interviews on that subject were very interesting

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I've only really had to deal with this once while at Heavy T.O. a few years ago. I was at the front of the crowd and this guy was trying to steal my spot; I didn't move and he proceeded to tell me that girls shouldn't listen to metal (which is an odd and irrelevant response to the situation, but whatever). Other than that dickhead, I haven't really noticed anything major. There are definitely more males, but I like that. Probably the only thing that annoys me is how protective everyone is of me at shows. Like, I get it I'm a petite girl, but I'm aware of where I am and don't need you to baby me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that people care, and I don't want to get majorly hurt either, but I like to get pushed around a bit at shows. Also, I'd say I'm a feminist, but one that wants equality for women, not a misandrist. The radicals of any cause are normally the ones who get the most attention and taint others opinions of that issue.

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the perception of metal shows as being dangerous places for women is an interesting one, I suppose it has a lot to do with the brutality of a proper mosh pit, not those stupid circle pits you see at the shitty core band shows but a real pit (only pits I've been part of were once at the Soundwave Festival moshing to Slayer and Maiden but that didn't really do much, too many wimpy scene kids) and Metallica (which was fucking crazy there were people jumping up and down banging their heads in the seated section) I really need to get to more shows

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I love having women at metal shows, for many reasons. First and foremost, they tend to be more interesting than most of the guys I've tried to converse with at metal shows, but I guess that I've always gotten along with women better than men anyhow. Secondly, women smell MUCH better than most of the men at metal shows. Whenever possible, I try to stand closer to the women than the men, so the stench of body odor isn't quite so overwhelming. Thirdly, women tend to respect my space more at shows, and I do the same with theirs. I'm not a mosher, I'm a headbanger, and girls seem to be the ones to respect that the most, as I've never had a female mosher bash into me while I'm enjoying the show.

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I love having women at metal shows' date=' for many reasons... Secondly, women smell MUCH better than most of the men at metal shows. Whenever possible, I try to stand closer to the women than the men, so the stench of body odor isn't quite so overwhelming. Thirdly, women tend to respect my space more at shows, and I do the same with theirs. I'm not a mosher, I'm a headbanger, and girls seem to be the ones to respect that the most, as I've never had a female mosher bash into me while I'm enjoying the show.[/quote'] I definitely believe the stench part. I think I've been permanently tainted with my coworker's B.O. from working at McDonald's... I'll keep this in mind then although I imagine ProgPower's pretty mellow compared with many gigs.
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