Why The Needle Needs To Move Fast In Metal
Why The Needle Needs To Move Fast In Metal
By Beth Morait
Today is International Woman’s Day. It’s a day that is growing in importance every year for us women, as we face more and more pushback from certain elements of society, who still like to hold on to the misogynistic ideals of women knowing their place. And, the older I get, the more I become a shouty feminist. And that’s not because I’m a man-hater. On the contrary, literally for my entire life, my best friends have been men. Maybe that’s why I feel comfortable existing in the male-dominated world of Metal. But the Metal world, along with the wider world, still has a problem in seeing females as equals.
Now a lot has already been written about the struggle of female musicians in the Metal world. Since the Sarah Everard case, and the subsequent “Me Too” movement, many more female artists in our scene have been speaking out about their experiences. And, on the whole, the scene has clubbed together to oust some of the worst perpetrators of predatory behaviour. It’s amazing progress. But that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. Because beneath the shock exterior of the headline-making stories, there’s a deep-rooted misogyny in our scene that’s still lingering on, despite the (albeit slow) progress of the outside world. And, from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t just affect performers. It spans the full length and breadth of the industry, from the business side to the magic of making music happen.
And it was that idea which led me to do a bit of research into our subculture, and why it’s so much harder for women, and those identifying as women. And after Googling ‘Why is it so hard for women in Heavy Metal’ I came across some interesting research by an organisation that I’d not heard of, but that definitely needs shouting about.
We Are Moving The Needle is a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2021 by Grammy-Award-Winning mastering engineer, Emily Lazar. Their mission is to empower women, non-binary, and trans tech creators to succeed at the highest level across the music industry.
Let’s pause here for a second. Just take a minute to think about what proportion of jobs you would think of as pretty good, or even just an acceptable level to be occupied by women. Including every job in the industry you can think of, from promoters, to sound techs, studio technicians, stage managers, producers… Basically any job connected to bringing a band’s ideas to life. What would you deem acceptable, bearing in mind the world is recognising that actually, the patriarchy isn’t the only way? Maybe 25% say? It would still be really low, right? But a step forward.
In 2023, We Are Moving The Needle conducted an industry-wide research analysis called ‘Fix The Mix’. It looked at the proportions of females and non-binary technicians in top jobs within the recording industry in the UK. Across the board, the results were stark, with the highest proportion being in Electronic Music. And that proportion… 11.2%. And that was the best representation of any genre!
Even more shocking though are the results for the Metal genre. A mind-blowing 0%. Meaning that 100% of the top jobs in Metal music production were occupied by people identifying as male.
ZERO LADIES??
We even beat the Rap and Christian & Gospel genres (both on 99% male dominated) to this appalling accolade. So why? Why is Metal lagging so far behind in recognising that your skill level isn’t determined by what’s in between your legs?
Well, there could be several reasons as I see it. Tradition plays a big part. Back in the early days of Metal, the scene was completely dominated by men, including all the performers. And still when you ask someone outside the genre what someone who likes Metal looks like, they’ll picture a big hairy beer-swilling bloke, covered in tattoos, clad in denim and leather, or covered in corpse paint, riding a powerful motorbike, burning churches, and smashing things for fun. Inside the genre, we know that stereotype is far from correct. Back in the day, Metal was the music equivalent of Football (Soccer). A place that was strictly out of bounds for women (As an aside, I won 2 tickets to go and see our local football team play in a raffle when I was 7 years old. I was so excited because I loved football, and it would give me a chance to watch a real game. Because back then girls weren’t allowed to play football in school, or join in with out-of-school football clubs. My dad took them off me and sold them, because he said a football match wasn’t a suitable place for a girl).
But on these figures, the stereotype bears some truth, and we’re in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling lampoon of this genre stereotype by still appearing to be an unwelcoming place for females, trans females, and non-binary people, even from within our Metal community.
Metal is also seen as ‘aggressive’ music by a lot. And on the front of it, some of it is! But that still doesn’t stop women appreciating it. And it doesn’t stop us being able to create a killer mix in the studio, or engineer the perfect sound live on stage.
Fear comes into it too, in my opinion. There’s still an element of ‘give a woman an inch and she’ll take a mile’. The Patriarchy is afraid to give us any sort of power, lest we take over the world. And that’s a generational thing. A woman’s place in society was indoctrinated into everyone way back when. It’s really only within the last couple of decades that things have started changing. And Metal is an ‘older dominated’ genre. The boomers are strong! Indeed, the majority of our team here at Ever Metal are Gen X, and we still feel quite young. But we encourage as much new blood as possible to keep our thinking fresh. There was a Two Ronnies comedy sketch in the 80s called ‘The Worm That Turned’ which depicted a society where roles were reversed – the women going out to work in sharp suits, and the men staying at home, wearing flowery dresses, with curlers in their hair, pegging out washing and gossiping over the garden fence. It was meant to be humour. But I think a lot took it as a public information video as a warning about what would happen if we let women get too big for their boots. But that was nearly half a century ago. Thankfully, the world has moved on a little. But, as a genre, Metal needs to catch up.
A lot of it is potentially misguided chivalry, too. I think a large swathe of the male population feel they must protect us at all costs. But often they protect us from the wrong things. And, despite them not meaning to, ‘protecting us from all evils’ can accidentally cost us our enjoyment and fulfilment, too. We really appreciate you protecting us from predators and calling out horrific examples of prejudice and harassment. We really, really do. I don’t think some people understand just how much that means to us. It helps us feel heard, which is all we’ve ever wanted. But when it comes to flourishing with the skills we possess, we’ve got that covered. We just need to be allowed to prove it. We don’t need to be protected from opportunities.
Whatever the reasons, and whether you’re male or female, it’s clear that something needs to change. But what? Well, that really is the million-dollar question. Change certainly won’t be achieved by burying our heads in the sand and pretending the problem doesn’t exist. We Are Moving The Needle, are already trying to make a difference through scholarships, educational programmes, donation of equipment, and mentoring and internships for females. But it’s a whole mindset that needs to change in Metal, and fast, to help encourage young women to break into this male-dominated sub-genre, and flourish. And the responsibility of that falls to all of us. The elders. The teachers. We can educate away the reign of past patriarchs, not through our words, but through actions. Champion the females, offstage and on, and let’s start balancing the scales to bring Metal in line. We love you guys, but give us a chance, yeah?
To read the ‘Fix The Mix’ study, click here. And check out We Are Moving The Needle at this link.
Disclaimer: This article is solely the property of Beth Morait and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this article, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
