Eleanor Goodman , editor of the iconic Metal Hammer , wrote an article about sexism in heavy metal .
The review was published on Saturday, March 7th, the day before International Women's Day.
Goodman spoke with some of the most prominent women in the music industry, as well as several female artists from metal bands.
The goal was to hear opinions on the difficulties women still face in entering this field, and whether there are discriminatory attitudes based on sex, or sexism, within heavy metal.
Eleanor Goodman holds the position of "assistant editor," thus being the second person in charge of editing Metal Hammer . She also co-hosts the magazine's podcast.
Check out the full article below:
Gloria Cavalera is one of the most famous women in metal history. As Sepultura in the early 90s, she oversaw the band's transition from little-known to becoming one of the most remarkable global successes.
However, her achievements were diminished in the eyes of the men who blamed her for Max Cavalera leaving the band in 1996 and breaking up Sepultura. Because of this, she faced a torrent of misogyny and a barrage of hate-filled emails.
“I received a lot of death threats for something I never did. I learned to use that to become stronger,” says Gloria. “Six months ago, a guy sent me a message saying he would shit on my grave because he heard rumors about what I did for Sepultura. And what did I do? Sharon Osbourne told me, ‘You’re to blame.’ And I was like, ‘To blame for what?’ And she said, ‘For their success.’”
Rock and metal have long been dominated by men. On Metal Hammer , 25% of the likes are from women and 75% from men. Of the 17 bands announced for the main stage of Bloodstock 2018, Nightwish is the only one with a female member. In the music industry in general, research published by the UK Music Diversity Taskforce in January showed that women between 25 and 34 years old represent 54% of the workforce – but only 33% when they are between 45 and 64 years old.
Since the Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, which exposed a gender power imbalance in Hollywood, the entertainment industry as a whole has been under increasing pressure to put its house in order. So the question is: Does heavy metal music actually have a problem with sexism, and is it affecting women's careers?
“Women put up with a lot of crap,” says Gloria. “This whole #metoo movement thing, does anyone think the abuse only started now? It’s been happening since the photos of cavemen pulling girls by their hair. Women have always been left behind. Personally, I think it’s still very difficult for women in the industry today because there aren’t many women, even in bands.”
Like Gloria, Wendy Dio is a veteran of the music industry and began her career as a manager 35 years ago. She worked at Decca Records , booking concerts and for music industry lawyers before moving into management and overseeing the career of her husband, Ronnie James Dio .
“I came from a background working in music before I met Ronnie – in fact, that’s how I met Ronnie,” she explains. “But you know, people don’t think about that. They say, ‘Oh, she’s just his wife, that’s why she’s there, she doesn’t know what she’s doing.’”
Early in her career, she recalls arguing with a concert promoter in the mid-80s who tried to deduct $1,200 from Dio's fee because of 'broken chairs.' "I said, 'Well, can I keep the chairs? If I'm paying for them, I'd like to take the chairs home!'" she recounts, laughing.
“He replied, ‘Well, nobody’s ever asked for that before!’ And then we argued, and in the end, I said, ‘You know what? I spend $1200 on lunch – keep it for yourself. You obviously need it more than I do.’ And he ended up giving me the money.”
She says she no longer suffers because she has built a reputation and advises women today to move forward and do the same. "You just need to keep going, and keep going and prove that you know what you're doing."
Maria Ferrero also entered the industry in the 80s. As CEO, President and Publicity Director of Adrenaline PR , she manages bands such as Lamb Of God , Sabaton and the legacy of Motörhead .
She was a “troubled teenager who attended reform schools” when she started talking to people through the mail section of Metal Forces and visiting a record store called Rock n' Roll Heaven in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
The store was run by Jonny Zazula and Marsha Zazula , who would later found Megaforce Records , which would eventually sign Metallica . The duo allowed Maria to help them by answering phones and opening mail.
“I only had contact with the music business within my family,” she says. “Not with the corporate side or the male-dominated side. Until very recently, I had never been impacted by the fact that the environment was dominated by men. I never paid much attention to it. But in the last two years, it has become obvious.”
She recalls an experience that today would be met with outrage. Metallica, Motörhead, and Raven James Hetfield 's 20th birthday , and he took a picture of Lemmy hugging Maria and a friend.
“While James was taking the picture, Lemmy grabbed my right breast and her left breast, and we were like, 'Argh!' And I was underage. I was like, 'Shit, I hope I don't get a wart.' I laughed. As long as they're not luring people into rooms like Harvey Weinstein did, we have to fight for ourselves! Women have grabbed men's butts too! But we have to learn from our mistakes and move on.”
Creeper keyboardist and vocalist Hannah Greenwood is doing just that – denouncing behaviors that make her uncomfortable. In November 2016, she took to Facebook to vent about a stage producer in the Netherlands who wouldn't let her into the venue during setup, even though she had a full access pass.
“Sexism cannot be tolerated. No woman should feel she can’t do something because of her gender,” she wrote. In December 2017, she tweeted about an incident that happened at a concert in Manchester. She went to the front of the stage to sing “Darling” with vocalist Will Gould when she heard someone call her name.
“A guy yelled, ‘Hannah, you have a wonderful butt!’ I heard someone say my name, but I didn’t hear what he said after that; it was only when I left the stage that someone said, ‘Did you hear that idiot yelling that thing about your butt?’ After I tweeted about it, I found out there was a whole group of guys who were really drunk and saying stupid things to other girls in the audience and groping them. That made us all really angry.”
Many fans came to Hannah's defense on social media and applauded her for speaking out. In a post-Weinstein world, incidents of sexual harassment – from sexually suggestive comments to groping and beyond – are constantly reported. Shirley Manson , who rose to fame in the 90s with Garbage , believes the #metoo movement has been a positive force for young women.
"As sad and terrible as the #metoo movement is, it's also phenomenal, unique, and unusual to hear so many female voices in the media every day, speaking about women's experiences and female rebellion," she says.
“And unfortunately, although it probably won’t change everything at once, because I feel we have a mountain to climb, I believe that #metoo is educating a whole generation of young people not to tolerate the mess that has been made.”
When Shirley was younger, she couldn't always identify sexism because it colored her world in insidious ways. “I recognized the blatant sexism, but not always the covert sexism – the 'encouragement' to charm the male gaze, and how women are pitted against each other, and how we seem to have been raised with the belief that there's no room for more than one female artist, and that to thrive as a female artist, you have to dazzle,” she explains. “In fact, I think all of that is really wrong, but it took us a long time to realize it.”
But not everyone is sure if the effects of this discourse are entirely beneficial. Julie Weir , head of Music For Nations , acknowledges that we are living in a patriarchal society, but fears that the noise on social media could prevent women from entering the industry.
“It’s concerning that some of the younger girls have a bit of resentment about being women in the music industry,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s because they see more people talking about it, and it’s something more open, especially online. But I think it’s a good and bad thing at the same time; it’s a very gray area.”
"Because if people are talking about it, it will undoubtedly improve the environment, but it also brings the problem to the forefront and emphasizes it further. Honestly, I've always been of the opinion that it's about being the best human being you can be, regardless of your gender."
Julie worked in various places in the scene before venturing out on her own. In the early 90s, she wrote for the University of Salford's music magazine while studying sociology and popular culture, and later worked at Nail Records in Leeds (a shop specializing in heavy metal, industrial, and hardcore).
She moved to London to study film and media. There she became involved with merchandising at Cacophonous Records and later became a label manager. In 1998, she created Visible Noise Records , managing the careers of bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Bullet For My Valentine . Now at Music For Nations , she is responsible for artists such as Bury Tomorrow and Andrew WK , among others.
“There’s all this talk that shows it’s really hard to be a woman in the music industry, and I’ve never felt that way,” she says. “I personally don’t have that feeling of ‘feeling sorry for myself because I’m a girl.’ I’m an only child and I’ve always done what I wanted, so it’s something inherent to me.”
Bloodstock festival director Vicky Hungerford has an even more straightforward opinion. She worked in sales at a newspaper before her father, who founded the festival, asked her to come help out due to his increased workload. In 2005, she took on the role of booking the festival's bands and works alongside her sister and husband.
“I’m going to sound like the most anti-feminist person right now, but I’m not a fan of International Women’s Day. I believe that if we keep perceiving women as inferior, then we become inferior. I think that if you’re good at your job, regardless of whether you have a penis or breasts, it makes no difference,” she says.
While she acknowledges that sexism exists, she says the answer to these problems is to end them and move on. "I felt this sexist thing over the years, but I nipped it in the bud," she says.
“A few years ago, a stagehand didn’t know who I was and asked my husband if he could get a blowjob from ‘that girl over there,’ which was me. I went over, introduced myself, and said, ‘Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Vicky, the festival promoter.’ The look on his face was, ‘I’d love to be anywhere but here.’ It’s how you handle that kind of thing that makes all the difference.”
In 2018, Nightwish headlined Sunday night at Bloodstock . Vicky says the festival doesn't discriminate positively or negatively when it comes to booking bands with women, and she has never heard any unwanted comments about female artists from agents, managers, bands, record labels, or promoters.
“Nightwish was the first band to sell out at the indoor festival in 2003. The same thing happened with Within Temptation in 2005. Whenever we've had bands with female vocalists, they've sold out.”
“I think that if people keep saying 'sexism exists,' it creates a problem. It's like telling yourself you have small breasts or a big belly, and starting to think you have body dysmorphia and believing it because you keep hammering it into your head. Maybe we should be positive and just say there's no problem.”
But if the doors are indeed open to all genders, why do so few women appear on rock and metal stages? Is it simply that there aren't enough bands around? What systemic difficulties do women face in getting there?
“The whole ‘rock game’ was designed and maintained by the patriarchy,” says Shirley. “So, because the rules are written by men, it makes it very difficult for women to infiltrate. It’s still very difficult for women to be treated as equal thinkers and creators.”.
Hannah agrees that sexism is still a barrier to entry in heavy music, whether because women are being actively discriminated against at some level or simply because they postpone trying due to having to "jump the additional hurdle" of being a woman. But she also thinks representation is a problem. For example, the pop world has a higher proportion of women on stage.
“People always think that pop stars are beautiful, thin women with very long hair and amazing makeup, and then rock and metal is like a dirty boys' club. And it's been portrayed that way for so long in the media that I worry women wrongly think they can't participate,” she says.
Maria and Julie also point to the attrition that occurs in all sectors when women have children. “There will always be more male artists because, unfortunately, biologically, women end up having children and being mothers,” says Julie. “Only now is a movement beginning where fathers can have more time off and take paternity leave, so they can truly share responsibilities.”
Gloria remembers the challenges of running Sacred Reich and being on the road when she was a single mother of five. “In the beginning, my daughter Christina took care of the children and managed the home office. And then I started looking for babysitters, in that endless search that working mothers face.”
“I firmly believe that you can do whatever you want, and perhaps that requires extreme physical and mental stress, but sometimes things aren’t easy. I was born to working-class parents. My mother was in a concentration camp, and she taught me a lot about what’s important.”
If there's one common thread that emerges from all the women we spoke to, it's determination. In 2018, there's a greater collective awareness of the power structures at work in society, theoretically making it easier to denounce sexism in the music industry.
Change takes time, but it's happening, and Julie and Maria point to the exciting new wave of bands emerging, such as Code Orange and Venom Prison . It may still take some extra work to succeed, but it can be done.
“Keep going,” says Wendy Dio. “Especially to female artists. You do what you believe in. Don’t change yourself. And if you’re good enough, you’ll succeed.”
“Keep climbing and swatting flies along the way,” Maria adds. “It’s a difficult path, but it’s worth it. Not only to create your own path, but to open a road for the people who will come after.”
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