Saturday, 23 January 2016

'Trendy' Extremist Feminism & Metal

The following is based on my thoughts stemming from this article:

“It’s Time To Stop Making Excuses For Extreme Metal’s Violent Misogynist Fantasies”
By Jill Mikkelson


            Having already voiced my opinion on another article dealing with the same subject matter, I can at least say that this one expresses a lot less blatant ignorance on the part of the author. It’s clear that this one is from the author’s perspective, instead of trying to pass as objective, fact-filled piece of writing.

            I don’t disagree with having a dialogue about perceived issues in metal. The problem becomes having any kind of productive discussion with “SJW” radical feminist types about misogyny in metal. It’s like arguing with a religious fanatic; utterly pointless unless you want some good entertainment. I don’t agree with the author’s standpoint that addressing misogyny in metal isn’t an attack. From the vast majority of the material I have read, it has been an outright attack. Just like the majority of trendy social issues perpetrated by social media, internet forums and university campuses are attacks parading in the guise of ‘creating dialogue’.

 I could probably write something from the perspective of any side of an issue if I was asked to. I might refuse to do so, but I am certainly capable of doing it. Would it necessarily mean that I am somehow intimately connected to whatever I’m writing? No. Does it mean that if I were to write a crime novel, from the perspective of a criminal, with descriptions of dismembering bodies, that I actually believe in performing those actions, or that they’re somehow ‘right’? No.  Should every piece of writing, lyrics included, be politically correct and socially sensitive? Definitely not.

One of the things that I appreciate about metal is that it can express attitudes that might be provocative, that might be misogynist, that might not be socially or politically correct. I appreciated that, until fairly recently, it has mostly been left alone. Lyrical content aside, I’ve found the vast majority of men in metal, both fans and musicians, to be quite respectful of women.


I’ve never felt objectified as a sex object participating in the metal scene. No matter whether I’ve worn a short skirt and corset to a show, or whether I’ve worn men’s shorts and a t-shirt to a show. Perhaps I find it easier to tell the few moron meatheads who’ve attempted to make crude comments, or have tried to make me ‘prove’ I’m a metal fan, to fuck off than other females do. I’ve had plenty of insightful, intelligent conversations with males regarding music without being dismissed because of my gender. Honestly, I’m sick of this idea of trendy feminism that effectively villainizes men by assuming that all of them are disrespectful, misogynist idiots. I’m becoming jaded by ridiculously overblown ‘social justice’ issues. This newest attack on metal seems strangely reminiscent of the PMRC controversy of the late eighties. There will always be outspoken crusaders willing to create larger issues out of things that shouldn’t really be an issue in the first place. I was hoping these trends wouldn’t invade metal but it appears they have, and probably will continue to do so.

Ooops, is this offensive?