Metal Meltdown: How to be Queer in Metal and Not Have a Meltdown

“I had to change out of my Slipknot shirt, didn’t want anyone to think I was a fag.”

“There are clean vocals on the album? GAY! He sounds like a chick!”

“I don’t care what you say about my favorite band and what they believe. I’m not listening to their political opinions—It’s all about the riffs.”

Those are just three of the most common phrases you might hear splattered across conversation at your typical metal show. While it’s true that, in some ways, metalheads are the biggest, most accepting family you’ll ever have, there’s another harsh truth in there too: They can also be the most culturally insensitive. 

While some in the metal community actively work to be anti-racist, anti-sexist, queer-affirming, and all-around good people, there are others who, though on paper they may claim to be “woke” without a racist or homophobic bone in their bodies, still use “faggot” as a term to describe something that’s not metal and make excuses and exceptions for bands with problematic ethos because “they still shred.”

I’m currently working on a book on queer folks in metal, and I’ve already written one on women in metal. I also have a colleague, Laina Dawes (I highly recommend her work) who has written about being Black in metal. Some of the feedback that gets thrown around is, “Is it really important to highlight women in metal at this point? Aren’t we past that, in this post-gender reality? Do we NEED to point out when there is a Black person in a band, or, in 2022, should we just accept it as a given?”

Well, after being in a metal band for a few short months, not even necessarily out there highlighting my queerness, mind you—just as a woman—I’ve been the only woman on the lineup for all the shows I’ve played so far. There were also a very small number of POC at these shows, even in the audience, and very few out, queer-seeming folks, even at the show that took place in a communal, queer space. 

I’ve also experienced a handful of microaggressions, from folks assuming over and over that I’m just “with the band” to it being a surprise when I actually get on stage and play well. And this, again, is as a straight-passing white woman, so after this experience, my answer is a resounding, “Yes: Conversations about women, queer, folks, and people of color are still very needed.”

But there’s good news: There are also tons of folks in the metal community who are queer, women, POC, or allies to all those groups, trying to make the scene a safer place. Everyone in my band is committed to those ethos, as are most of the people I associate with. 

So, this column is going to celebrate that. It’s going to highlight the queer folks in these spaces who are taking a stand to celebrate the community. Will it also be a space to bitch and moan about how problematic metal can be? Absolutely, but it will also be a celebration. 

Hails, and until next time, keep it brutal, inclusive, and intersectional.