Hey everyone, I'm doing a research project for college at the moment, trying to work out why metal tends to appeal to men more than women. As metalstorm is a global community I thought it would be interesting to find out if it's the same all over the world and to get some opinions. In my opinion the gender imbalance is defiantly changing with some female fronted bands (Nightwish, Arch Enemy, Otep etc) becoming pretty popular, and at least in the west there being less of stigma attached to being a fan.


I've also got a quick survey about the topic here if you have a few minutes: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BG73DFP

Completed the survey of yours ... was glad to help

Well Unfortunately and I don't know for what reasons, metal is appealing to men I would say too . Even those female fans who claim interest in metal, they are not really as enthusiastic as male fans are, and rarely happens that they follow the scene for a long phase in life.

I'd guess it's something like males 10:1 females. SAUSAGEFEST !

I think it's because during their upbringing, girls are traditionally encouraged to like soft, "girly" stuff, like pop, r'n'b. While boys are encouraged to be badass and masculine, and this may attact them to metal. So in order for a girl to like metal, she has to be "different" somehow.
Also, since 90% of band members are male, a lot of women must feel discouraged to enter into the metal world as a musicans, feeling that they are not needed. Especially as a drummer and guitarist, those are seen traditionally as "male" instuments. Although today it's changing thanks to the many female-fronted bands (but in most of them the singer is the only female member). But the sexism is still present, here too, "softer-sounding" bands like Nightwish, Sonata Arctica or a lot of gothic bands are called "girly" bands (like it was an insult), and having a female singer seems to be some kind of disadvantage (many reviews start something like this: "although this band has a female singer"/"despite having a female singer").
You might see less women in concerts because, as Fritillaria said they are not really as enthusiastic as male fans are, or might be afraid to go alone, so don't go at all, or might be afraid of mosh pits or harassment by some drunk dudes.

I completed your survey as well Olli. Hope you find the feedback useful!

Survey completed too, hope it helps! Rhiannon's comment pretty much sums up my thinking, though I'm definitely seeing more girls at gigs now than I used too. There still aren't enough successful/quality all or mostly female bands to appeal to a wider female audience I don't think.

BTW if you want statistics about gender ratio in heavy metal just take a look at "NOW ONLINE" list on MS homepage ... you will clearly get some elaborate picture ...

I think it has always been more male than female. Of course, you have "entry level" bands for the females, and those are usually: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot etc. And there is nothing wrong with it, it is just rare to run across a Black/Death Metal group of females. Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of them are in South America for some reason, Brazil, Argentina, Peru...

Thanks to everyone who's replied or completed my survey, it's been a huge help!

Written by Rasputin on 13.04.2013 at 22:03

I think it has always been more male than female. Of course, you have "entry level" bands for the females, and those are usually: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot etc. And there is nothing wrong with it, it is just rare to run across a Black/Death Metal group of females. Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of them are in South America for some reason, Brazil, Argentina, Peru...

Hmm that is interesting, perhaps the western ideas of femininity are not so prevalent in those countries, I know very little about Brazil, Argentina or Peru though so I could be very wrong

Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 20:14

Thanks to everyone who's replied or completed my survey, it's been a huge help!

Written by Rasputin on 13.04.2013 at 22:03

I think it has always been more male than female. Of course, you have "entry level" bands for the females, and those are usually: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot etc. And there is nothing wrong with it, it is just rare to run across a Black/Death Metal group of females. Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of them are in South America for some reason, Brazil, Argentina, Peru...

Hmm that is interesting, perhaps the western ideas of femininity are not so prevalent in those countries, I know very little about Brazil, Argentina or Peru though so I could be very wrong

Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

I don't think they care about it, that much. I met a lot of girls from that particular area both in person and online, on different metal portals, and its pretty much accurate, that 2-3 out of 5 like some form of metal. I know a lot of Brazilian girls that love Sodom, Sepultura, Sarcofago, Soulfly, Morbid Angel...

Some of them are, a lot of them are either bassists or keyboardists. Well, I do not think that you are that accurate with last statement. You have a few bands that really let it rip with female vocalists: Arch Enemy, Holy Moses, Gallhammer... So, there ARE females that can compete with males in that respect. I keep thinking of that one cover that Cradle of Filth did few years back, when the chick that was growling did a better job than Dani Filth, but Dani is more of a screamer than anything.

Written by Rasputin on 14.04.2013 at 21:42

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 20:14

Thanks to everyone who's replied or completed my survey, it's been a huge help!

Written by Rasputin on 13.04.2013 at 22:03

I think it has always been more male than female. Of course, you have "entry level" bands for the females, and those are usually: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot etc. And there is nothing wrong with it, it is just rare to run across a Black/Death Metal group of females. Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of them are in South America for some reason, Brazil, Argentina, Peru...

Hmm that is interesting, perhaps the western ideas of femininity are not so prevalent in those countries, I know very little about Brazil, Argentina or Peru though so I could be very wrong

Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

I don't think they care about it, that much. I met a lot of girls from that particular area both in person and online, on different metal portals, and its pretty much accurate, that 2-3 out of 5 like some form of metal. I know a lot of Brazilian girls that love Sodom, Sepultura, Sarcofago, Soulfly, Morbid Angel...

Some of them are, a lot of them are either bassists or keyboardists. Well, I do not think that you are that accurate with last statement. You have a few bands that really let it rip with female vocalists: Arch Enemy, Holy Moses, Gallhammer... So, there ARE females that can compete with males in that respect. I keep thinking of that one cover that Cradle of Filth did few years back, when the chick that was growling did a better job than Dani Filth, but Dani is more of a screamer than anything.

Ahh yeah, you're right on the harsh vocals front. When I said that I was thinking more along the line of Nightwish, Epica etc, as that kind of music seems to be dominated by female vocalists who sing in a very different style to most male vocalists (except power I guess)

Yeah i agree that girls from south america care little for gender ratios

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 22:15

Written by Rasputin on 14.04.2013 at 21:42

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 20:14

Thanks to everyone who's replied or completed my survey, it's been a huge help!

Written by Rasputin on 13.04.2013 at 22:03

I think it has always been more male than female. Of course, you have "entry level" bands for the females, and those are usually: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Kamelot etc. And there is nothing wrong with it, it is just rare to run across a Black/Death Metal group of females. Surprisingly, I noticed a lot of them are in South America for some reason, Brazil, Argentina, Peru...

Hmm that is interesting, perhaps the western ideas of femininity are not so prevalent in those countries, I know very little about Brazil, Argentina or Peru though so I could be very wrong

Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

I don't think they care about it, that much. I met a lot of girls from that particular area both in person and online, on different metal portals, and its pretty much accurate, that 2-3 out of 5 like some form of metal. I know a lot of Brazilian girls that love Sodom, Sepultura, Sarcofago, Soulfly, Morbid Angel...

Some of them are, a lot of them are either bassists or keyboardists. Well, I do not think that you are that accurate with last statement. You have a few bands that really let it rip with female vocalists: Arch Enemy, Holy Moses, Gallhammer... So, there ARE females that can compete with males in that respect. I keep thinking of that one cover that Cradle of Filth did few years back, when the chick that was growling did a better job than Dani Filth, but Dani is more of a screamer than anything.

Ahh yeah, you're right on the harsh vocals front. When I said that I was thinking more along the line of Nightwish, Epica etc, as that kind of music seems to be dominated by female vocalists who sing in a very different style to most male vocalists (except power I guess)

Yeah, I know now what you meant. I would be worried if a guy sang like the chick from Epica or Nightwish Coheed and Cambria scared me enough

This is just one of the many reasons why woman ratio is pretty low in the scene, but I think female artists and fans are often considered odd or disturbed, sometimes a little slutty, by the prejudice people outside the metalculture. So it probably takes a little more mental toughness from the girls compered to men to eat that shit and just be what you want to be. Some of the metalheads are of course also prejudice and stupid, can´t denial that either.
Maybe things are getting better, I wouldn´t know, but with a little bit of search there are probably lot of bands with female members, even those non-"girly" bands who don´t take the advantage to put woman in front of every marketing picture, but are just another memeber of the band. Like Kylesa, Acid king, Eluveitie or Thorr´s hammer.

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 20:14


Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

But why should they sound the same as males? Is that what you are implying? They sound different, show emotions differently, and suit some styles much better than males (gothic, symphonic, some types of power). Some people say that female singers sound worse than male singers, don't have as much power, but I think it's stupid. They just sound different, especially if you are used to male singers exclusively.

Written by NucloWhatEvaTHMf on 15.04.2013 at 08:22

This is just one of the many reasons why woman ratio is pretty low in the scene, but I think female artists and fans are often considered odd or disturbed, sometimes a little slutty, by the prejudice people outside the metalculture. So it probably takes a little more mental toughness from the girls compered to men to eat that shit and just be what you want to be. Some of the metalheads are of course also prejudice and stupid, can´t denial that either.
Maybe things are getting better, I wouldn´t know, but with a little bit of search there are probably lot of bands with female members, even those non-"girly" bands who don´t take the advantage to put woman in front of every marketing picture, but are just another memeber of the band. Like Kylesa, Acid king, Eluveitie or Thorr´s hammer.

That's very interesting what you are saying, I also noticed that female band members, especially singers get a lot of shit from people (so called fans too), and always get judged by their appearance. If they look sexy or feminine, people call them slutty, and accuse the band that they are using the singer's looks to get popular. Most of the times they don't even bother to check out her voice, otherwise they would know that she may be very talented AND good looking (example: Charlotte Wessels, Elize Ryd). Simone Simons is the one who has the most haters (but most obsessed fans too ), there are a lot of hate pages "dedicated" to her on Facebook, mocking on her appearance, personal life, interests and voice. I don't think any male metal singers have as many (or any) hate pages.
If the singer doesn't look that "hot", or dresses "normally", some people ask why is she so ugly/fat. It seems these women can't win either way.

I think everything I would say has been mentioned already. I agree that female metalheads seem to automatically be "black sheep" while it's more socially acceptable for guys to listen to metal. And I've definitely seen guys who aren't very welcoming to female metalheads or female metal musicians. As mentioned above, too many guys will bitch about metal chicks being ugly but then go and assume that every attractive female metalhead is a poser and that any band she joins only gets attention because of her appearance. It seems like every female metalhead has to prove themselves before being taken seriously.

Earlier in this thread, people were saying that female metal fans are less enthusiastic. Something I've noticed is that most females who call themselves metalheads are one extreme or the other. You have those girls who say they like metal but only listen to super melodic stuff or generic deathcore, who only listen to metal because their boyfriend or some other guy they're trying to impress does, or because they're the stereotypical angsty teen. On the other hand, you have female metalheads who are way more into metal than the majority of male metalheads. Unfortunately, this type is way less common :/
And I think part of the reason why ladies may seem less enthusiastic is due to traditional gender roles. Girls are raised to be gentle and ladylike while guys are raised with the belief that it's okay to be more rambunctious.

I think its in the marketing. Until recently the metal PR tended to ignore females for the most part. . Until recently, most metal bands did not even have small size, or female oriented band merchandise available. Visual marketing also excludes female relatability. Images of women are more often than not only used if the band includes females or are marketing something to men using overt sexual reference (ie: how many times does a guitar magazine show near topless models or sexual images geared towards men?). Furthermore, venues and promoters ignore the female fanbase and their general safety. Sure the mosh pit culture is prevalent in the metal scene, but how likely is a 120lb female to go to a lamb of god concert if she knows there will be a wall of death? That's not event counting the prevailing sexual harassment that goes on at these events, disproportionate to most other genres of music. However, bands hat do market to their female audience tend to have them more equally represented at shows. a good example of this is Opeth and Apocalyptica. Until record labels recognize that here is an untapped resource metal will remain a male dominant genre.

Interestingly enough, Numetal PR reps were very smart about this and it is witnessed by the large female fanbase bands such as Korn, Papaoach, Marilyn Manson and others have.

Written by Guest on 15.04.2013 at 11:25

Written by NucloWhatEvaTHMf on 15.04.2013 at 08:22

This is just one of the many reasons why woman ratio is pretty low in the scene, but I think female artists and fans are often considered odd or disturbed, sometimes a little slutty, by the prejudice people outside the metalculture. So it probably takes a little more mental toughness from the girls compered to men to eat that shit and just be what you want to be. Some of the metalheads are of course also prejudice and stupid, can´t denial that either.
Maybe things are getting better, I wouldn´t know, but with a little bit of search there are probably lot of bands with female members, even those non-"girly" bands who don´t take the advantage to put woman in front of every marketing picture, but are just another memeber of the band. Like Kylesa, Acid king, Eluveitie or Thorr´s hammer.

That's very interesting what you are saying, I also noticed that female band members, especially singers get a lot of shit from people (so called fans too), and always get judged by their appearance. If they look sexy or feminine, people call them slutty, and accuse the band that they are using the singer's looks to get popular. Most of the times they don't even bother to check out her voice, otherwise they would know that she may be very talented AND good looking (example: Charlotte Wessels, Elize Ryd). Simone Simons is the one who has the most haters (but most obsessed fans too ), there are a lot of hate pages "dedicated" to her on Facebook, mocking on her appearance, personal life, interests and voice. I don't think any male metal singers have as many (or any) hate pages.
If the singer doesn't look that "hot", or dresses "normally", some people ask why is she so ugly/fat. It seems these women can't win either way.

Like I said you have to concentrate on yourself and what you like because no matter what you do, people are always either going to hate or love what you are doing. In those cases you mention they are indeed using the singer to get their band more attention and sale, which is really sad. Good looking woman is the best marketing gimmick you can have and people criticize everything that you are giving to them. So if you are going to exploit yourself more than your music, chances are people will see your tits first and then you better be ready for a reaction. It´s probably not even the bands fault, it´s just a bad contract.
Tool is for exsample a band that has a full independence to their music and how they promote themselves. They let the music speak for itself and show different kinds of images to back it up, keeping also attention away from the musicians, even on the stage shows. I just read their book. I recommend it even if you don´t like their stuff.

Written by Guest on 15.04.2013 at 11:03

Written by Olli on 14.04.2013 at 20:14


Another thing that's been mentioned alot is that when you DO get female band members, they're almost always the vocalist, which is weird considering that the vocals are really the only thing females cant do the same as males!

But why should they sound the same as males? Is that what you are implying? They sound different, show emotions differently, and suit some styles much better than males (gothic, symphonic, some types of power). Some people say that female singers sound worse than male singers, don't have as much power, but I think it's stupid. They just sound different, especially if you are used to male singers exclusively.

Naa, what I was getting at is that women can play guitar for any genre like thrash, death or black the same as guys, but you don't see that often as you see female vocalists.

Written by Olli on 15.04.2013 at 18:53

Naa, what I was getting at is that women can play guitar for any genre like thrash, death or black the same as guys, but you don't see that often as you see female vocalists.

Oh, now I understand. Yes, it's weird that there are so few female guitarists (and even fewer drummers), but there are some reasons for that, as I wrote in my first post.

Completed the survey : )) . IMO I think same that metal still considered as masculine element culturally. I dont consider bands like Motley Crue, Gun N Rose... masculine, but the vast majority of metal rock, like thrash/death/core/black are still mostly genres with big amount of bands which are the one dominates and outrun the culture, having all male members and aggressive type musically... so the masculine is the common-reflected seen by people. Though, one thing I recognize that female metal fans and singers deeply into metal, actually don't lose their femininity like the common culture stick them to be "rough" when of metal...

Completed the survey

Completed the survey. I also like the fact that someone in this thread actually used the word "rambunctious".

Written by Joppe on 10.04.2013 at 13:19

I'd guess it's something like males 10:1 females. SAUSAGEFEST !

I'd rather say 1:5

I dont mind chicks in the metal community.