BLOODY RAIN AND THORNY ROSES. GENDER CODING IN THRASH AND HAIR METAL

• Authors: SIMON Brigitte
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

In the mid 1980s two new subgenres of heavy metal were created in the USA: hair/glam and thrash metal. Hair metal was mostly played by men who were perceived as effeminate – something which seemingly goes against metal‘s emphasis on masculinity (and implied homophobia). Thrash metal distanced itself from its rival by a more masculine visual code, a more aggressive sound, but also with the choice of words and subjects in their lyrics. By comparing early albums by some of the most famous bands of both subgenres it is possible to point out the most common supposedly 'feminine' and 'masculine' keywords, themes and images which are embedded in their albums, as well as different strategies of constructing 'masculinity'.

Keywords

EN

heavy metal; lyrics; gender stereotypes; masculinity; misogyny

• Publisher: Inter Litteras Research Centre, STEFAN CEL MARE University, Suceava, Romania; STEFAN CEL MARE Publishing House
• Journal: Concordia Discors vs Discordia Concors: Researches into Comparative Literature, Contrastive Linguistics, Cross-Cultural and Translation Strategies
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 6
• Pages: 55-86

Contributors

author

SIMON Brigitte

• University of Vienna, Austria