As you know, tonight im going the O2 in Shepard's Bush to see Children of Bodom; a death metal band. Not usually my scene, but my boyfriend is a big fan so I thought it would be really interesting to see what I could uncover here in terms of nightlife, with our new theme of inclusivity/exclusivity.
Iv been doing a lot of research as to what it means to be part of this subculture and the origins and gender norms that exist within it and what I have discovered is an interesting mix of hyper-masculinity and femininity.
Metal music first emerged around the 1960's as a challenge to hegemonic culture. Throughout the 60's and 70's it was known as an exclusively masculine genre; with two major forms of masculinity being played out 1) with big bands such as Led Zeppelin and Kiss adopting a heterosexual model- or patriarchal masculinity 2) bands such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest who were popular with young working class males focuses on issues of good and evil rather than pleasure. Creating an environment of "men's men in medieval male bonding mode".
Although hyper-masculinity has existed throughout the development of metal music, during the 80's a new era of playing with gender emerged as long hair, makeup and skin tight clothing became the norm. What makes this interplay of hyper-masculinity and femininity so interesting is the fact that metal music today is still largely dominated by men. So, because of the genre being so male dominated I wonder how well I (being a woman) would be received at this gig. Whether they are willing to talk to me, mosh with me haha etc. I also thought about wearing something completely different to what you would normally wear to a metal gig, but I thought I already do not look like the type of person to attend a death metal gig on the regular. Therefore, I want to see primarily if my gender plays a role in how I am excluded/included into this world.
Here is a table that displays the type of metal music and the gender plays that exist:
So with this in mind, im hypothesising that I will be practically ignored and my presence will probably not make that much of a difference to most of the people. But you never know what could happen, so I will let you know my results + post some pictures from the event!
If this event goes well I might do another mini intervention somewhere else that could be considered nightlife other than a gig. Perhaps go somewhere like the Shard and dress down and see if that has an impact on the way im treated/whether I am let in.
-Here is an article also about the history of metal music and gender play: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8I-kDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=death+metal+exclusivity&source=bl&ots=WFK1Ui3vt1&sig=Nu-HqRmbYv-EneM1oz_aVIYPvuI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjGypj95MfSAhVoLcAKHetBCgYQ6AEIIzAC#v=onepage&q&f=false
and a blog from a girl who claims that metal fans are very friendly and inclusive etc: https://campusdiaries.com/stories/heavy-metal-exclusivity
Let me know what you guys think! Hope you are all doing well :)
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