errrr i feel a rant coming on.....
i dont have a fucking clue why i like metal. i think it was because i wasn't raised with the whole 'play with your barbie and wear pink' thing. my parents have always encouraged individuality amongst me and my brother and sisters. i dont think about the fact metal relates more to males because i think more females are becoming involved in heavy metal bands, and more girls recognise that and listen to metal.

and the whole 'put your fists in the air' thing isnt a masculine thing to be honest - well, i dont think it is anyway! more and more females are getting into metal which is great!!!!!

and for me, i love opeth (yeh so i am a girl) but i like heavier stuff than that, i mean i love grindcore like napalm death and bolt thrower, and for some reason i just dont think of it as misgenistic or anything like that. if i think its awesome then i will listen to it whether its nasty about woman or not - i dont give a shit!

ohh i dont make sense. i know what i mean.....

Written by Daru Jericho on 14.08.2007 at 04:26

I'd like to say metal is more marketed at males. For example, misogynistic themes in grindcore songs which males are more likely to 'relate' to than a female, and of course females may even be turned away from it. Many are. And then you get the violent and morbid imagery and so on. Obviously, some girls are attracted to it.

There's a reason why symphonic and gothic metal bands usually have a larger female following. The female vocalist. Bolt Thrower have a female bassist but nobody cares about them. Yeah, girls are also more likely to be drawn to the gothic image too.

Then there's the musical aspect itself. The heavy guitars, growled vocals, heavy (triggered) drums, aggression ~ it's all testosterone filled. I mean, check out mosh pits. It's rare to find a woman in them. But regarding my previous statement, girls are definitely more inclined to listen to melodic metal as opposed to the extreme.

So in short, as said before, females prefer the delicate. Obviously this is not exclusive to all. And to the person who paraphrased that metal girls aren't as concerned about their appearance compared to 'normal, mainstream' girls, I offer a big screw you!

I agree with you about the heavier genres of metal being 'marketed' at males, while symphonic and gothic are targeting a female audience, especially when they have a female lead. However, I know a number of males who love the music but aren't so into the growling vocals of heavier metal.

I love extreme metal and I also love melodic metal. I like melodic metal because I like density in my music, hence why Lacuna Coil doesn't appeal to me and bands like Nightwish and Dark Tranquillity do. LC need may have many layers in their music but they haven't learn how to use them properly to create quality songs.

For the most part though gothic/symphonic/melodic metal is always a good introduction to metal and one can just progress into the heavier genres as they go. I see this with a lot of my friends who aren't metal heads but have come to shows with me and connect with the bands that have a female lead. They will learn eventually, haha.

yes, girls are softer, maybe they need more romance and sweet melodies, so some piano or violin with female vocals are ok I think. most of them like depressive music, doom and even gothic stuff... for me it's hard to find a black metal girl from around here to know as much as I do.

Well, there is the fact too that metal isn't mainstream. It doesn't get radio play, so the only way to find it is to seek it out on your own. From my own experience, my female acquaintances, co-workers, and friends find metal not "cool" enough to listen to. They want to hear "club" music or watered down radio-friendly music such as Nickelback and Hinder, because it's what everybody else is listening to. Some of them will listen to Nightwish or Lacuna Coil, but that's about it. It kind of bugs me, to be honest, because I can never find other female metal fans around where I live. In the part of Pennsylvania where I live, the market is dominated by rap/hip-hop and country.

Well,I think(or actually-have noticed)that there were much more boys/men who listen to metal,than girls/women. : But it isn't something bad because so,metal girls are even more liked by the guys who listen to this kind of music.And I even feel special because of that reason.

Written by Author on 03.03.2008 at 18:46

Well, there is the fact too that metal isn't mainstream. It doesn't get radio play, so the only way to find it is to seek it out on your own. From my own experience, my female acquaintances, co-workers, and friends find metal not "cool" enough to listen to. They want to hear "club" music or watered down radio-friendly music such as Nickelback and Hinder, because it's what everybody else is listening to. Some of them will listen to Nightwish or Lacuna Coil, but that's about it. It kind of bugs me, to be honest, because I can never find other female metal fans around where I live. In the part of Pennsylvania where I live, the market is dominated by rap/hip-hop and country.

i feel your pain lol, you wouldn't wanna hear the garbage people were addicted to a few years ago here..

Written by Elodie Artour on 03.03.2008 at 19:12

Well,I think(or actually-have noticed)that there were much more boys/men who listen to metal,than girls/women. : But it isn't something bad because so,metal girls are even more liked by the guys who listen to this kind of music.And I even feel special because of that reason.

yeah lol it's like in economics, a product that is very rare is much more expensive but the question was why are there so few girls..

Written by Elodie Artour on 03.03.2008 at 19:12

Well,I think(or actually-have noticed)that there were much more boys/men who listen to metal,than girls/women. : But it isn't something bad because so,metal girls are even more liked by the guys who listen to this kind of music.And I even feel special because of that reason.

There's definitely some truth to that. Being a female fan of metal, when there are so few of us around, does kind of feel special. I don't think that most of us listen to metal for that reason, though. There might be a few who listen to it because of the attention they get from guys at shows or whatever.

Going back to the original topic, I don't know why more women don't like metal, but I also don't get why more people in general don't. There are so many styles that I bet I could find just about anybody some sub-genre that they would say, "Heeeey, that's not so bad after all" after they heard it. Maybe women have been conditioned to think over the years that metal is not for them, because I do think that metal was marketed more to guys for the longest time, although not so much anymore.

@archaeopteryx:Nope,I don't listen to metal because of this reason.

Written by Author on 03.03.2008 at 18:46

Well, there is the fact too that metal isn't mainstream. It doesn't get radio play, so the only way to find it is to seek it out on your own. From my own experience, my female acquaintances, co-workers, and friends find metal not "cool" enough to listen to. They want to hear "club" music or watered down radio-friendly music such as Nickelback and Hinder, because it's what everybody else is listening to. Some of them will listen to Nightwish or Lacuna Coil, but that's about it. It kind of bugs me, to be honest, because I can never find other female metal fans around where I live. In the part of Pennsylvania where I live, the market is dominated by rap/hip-hop and country.

Same here and same i can tell about guys too hmmm but usa was jazz n blues land shame that its hip hop

Written by Elodie Artour on 03.03.2008 at 22:51

@archaeopteryx:Nope,I don't listen to metal because of this reason.

Oh, no, I didn't think that you did. Anyone who takes the time to post on forums like this certainly isn't in it for the image. It's just a guess on my part, but I bet there are some women who might claim to like metal just to impress guys, though. Just like there are people who claim to like all sorts of things to fit in with the crowd they want to be associated with, I guess.

Maybe there's a less girls than boys cause they want t ostay away of guys like k7

Yeah,I understood.

Written by Nyxgrinder on 03.03.2008 at 23:44

Maybe there's a less girls than boys cause they want t ostay away of guys like k7

That's not a very nice thing to say.

I happen to like K7.

Written by hanna of steel on 04.03.2008 at 00:45

Written by Nyxgrinder on 03.03.2008 at 23:44

Maybe there's a less girls than boys cause they want t ostay away of guys like k7

That's not a very nice thing to say

I happen to like K7.

ha ha ha
Or maybe to stay away from jerks like myself

Written by Elodie Artour on 03.03.2008 at 19:12

Well,I think(or actually-have noticed)that there were much more boys/men who listen to metal,than girls/women. : But it isn't something bad because so,metal girls are even more liked by the guys who listen to this kind of music.And I even feel special because of that reason.

Sadly, a lot of the female metal fans have this attitude. Especially the female metal fans who are under the age of 18. Metalheads aren't craving for attention, or anything in that sort. Metalheads, that includes both male and females, feel a passion for the music we call metal, and that's why they are into it.

Anyway, there hasn't been any studies related to this. But for example, a typical male hobby is gaming(Another culture that has almost only male fans and only a few female fans). Science has pointed out that males get a stronger impulse of a certain substance(don't know the name of it), than females while gaming, that's why they enjoy it more. That's because men feel competition while gaming. I think for metal there is a similar explanation. It isn't related to competition, but it wouldn't surprise me that the general manly attitude of the metal bands. Also, the depressive, solitairy lifestyle that genres such as black and doom metal promotes, attracts a lot of males. Because that kind of behaviour is more natural for males than it is for females.

Well,I'm younger than 18 but I listen to metal because of the music itself.
Anyway.

Y'know what I think....

...I think there should be a heavy metal dating service. I'm not kidding.

Hey, the goths already have theirs

Written by AntaeusM on 04.03.2008 at 03:53

...

Anyway, there hasn't been any studies related to this. But for example, a typical male hobby is gaming(Another culture that has almost only male fans and only a few female fans). Science has pointed out that males get a stronger impulse of a certain substance(don't know the name of it), than females while gaming, that's why they enjoy it more. That's because men feel competition while gaming. I think for metal there is a similar explanation. It isn't related to competition, but it wouldn't surprise me that the general manly attitude of the metal bands.

....

My brother has been a DM for years and led campaigns with both male and female players. While the guys are content to play the game as Gary Gygax intended, the girls like to create a virtual social reality within the game. My brother has witnessed girls attempting to play out a variety of dynamic social relationships including romance, love triangles, all-girl cliques, social ostracization, and flirting.

This "social play" often spilled over into reality, with players storming off and never returning. I remember watching one game years ago where a female player wanted to hang out in the tavern, pick up a cute guy (preferably an elf) and get laid before starting on the adventure. In another more recent game, a female player desperately wanted to role-play a medieval version of a certain contemporary pop singer. (She refused to play when he rejected her character.) And then there was the lawful good pacifist vegetarian druidess who did nothing but cast healing spells. Trouble started when she refused to heal one of the player characters, apparently in retaliation for his chaotic evil alignment - and his unwillingness to convert to her religion.

Needless to say, this sort of thing is maddening to male players who just want to go on a killing and looting spree.

Reading everyone's posts, there seem to be a lot of valid reasons for the greater number of guys than girls who listen to metal. I share the opinion that metal is aggressive, which is typically a male characteristic. Your gender determines your biology. Guys with all that testosterone can better relate to aggressive music, plus they arguably appreciate technical pieces of work more (eg all that fancy guitar work) because of how their brains have developed.

Females are more emotional hence why they may be drawn towards goth style music - especially as IMO a lot of the really heavy metal out there does not inspire emotion in me, just makes me think "yeh that's fancy"! Also females are programmed to be social creatures, and metal is not very conducive to sociability since most of society don't listen to it!

Yes, these comments are very generalised and presumptuous!

Programmed to be social creatures? You should tell my girlfriend that!

But yes, I agree with the rest. Biology does play a part in it. Also, I think metal, as a whole, has a reputation. It's aggressive, it's fast and it's uncompromising. That reputation isn't always going to appeal to most people, especially women, if you ask me. It's a rather unfair reputation but we, as human beings, tend to base a lot of first opinions on generalisations. Every genre, or sub-genre within metal contains bands who like to enforce more melody, and generally softer music upon it's audience. If people knew this, then perhaps things might be different. As someone suggested, metal is only something you can truly be aware of if you explore it, but most people choose not to because of it's reputation. I can think of several bands, from different genres, who could easily quash any impression that metal is far too aggressive. *Rants*

Written by Author on 14.03.2008 at 17:01

Reading everyone's posts, there seem to be a lot of valid reasons for the greater number of guys than girls who listen to metal. I share the opinion that metal is aggressive, which is typically a male characteristic. Your gender determines your biology. Guys with all that testosterone can better relate to aggressive music, plus they arguably appreciate technical pieces of work more (eg all that fancy guitar work) because of how their brains have developed.

Females are more emotional hence why they may be drawn towards goth style music - especially as IMO a lot of the really heavy metal out there does not inspire emotion in me, just makes me think "yeh that's fancy"! Also females are programmed to be social creatures, and metal is not very conducive to sociability since most of society don't listen to it!

Yes, these comments are very generalised and presumptuous!

You are mostly right. However, there are plenty of guys who can also enjoy emotional music, and there are plenty of girls who enjoy technical music. I don't think there is any connection between preferring emotional/technical music and gender.

Otherwise, try to explain why so many female metal fans enjoy Opeth. They are quite technical and progressive. Also, Dream theater has a fair amount of female fans. They are both bands who are mostly praised for their skills as musicians.

Also, I don't think metal is an obstacle for 'your social life'. Actually, being a metalhead makes socialising even easier. Simply because you recognize you belong to the same lifestyle by clothes. That makes socialising a lot easier. You even saw a girl posting it in this thread. She could easily get in contact with a lot of males by listening to metal, so even metal has a social function.

Something I have also noticed is that metal attracts quite a lot of those plus minus 14 years old boys who live in their room all day long. Female metalheads aren't like this at all, when there are quite a lot of male fans who are like this. It kinda proves your argument that females are programmed to be social, while guys aren't(or at least, not having such a big social need compared with girls).

Written by Author on 14.03.2008 at 17:51

As someone suggested, metal is only something you can truly be aware of if you explore it, but most people choose not to because of it's reputation. I can think of several bands, from different genres, who could easily quash any impression that metal is far too aggressive. *Rants*

Haha I totally agree - I recently trapped unsuspecting friends in a car with me and my music, and their unanimous response was "if I can make out the melody, it can't possibly be metal!" Having said that, genres like speed metal don't do anything for "softening" metal's reputation! Maybe I can make that call because I don't listen to the stuff so don't really know what it's like

Written by AntaeusM on 14.03.2008 at 18:44

Otherwise, try to explain why so many female metal fans enjoy Opeth. They are quite technical and progressive. Also, Dream theater has a fair amount of female fans. They are both bands who are mostly praised for their skills as musicians.

I myself only listen to what I consider very emotional music, but I love a bit of Dream Theater and Opeth! (admittedly the more melodious songs) No one is 100% one way or the other. As for the sociability thing - it's all a hunter/gatherer thing! And yes, metal fans form their own cliques but they're a minority of the population - at least down here they are.

It is impossible to make a generalization, to say that girls usualy prefer lighter music can be true, but I know many female metal fans and I think that there are less female than male metal fan just because they are not being exposed to it as much, for example, many action and horror movies have metal songs in their soundtrack, whereas movies that are more related to female audiance do not.
I got to metal after a friend of mine sent me a song that he heard on a movie, and I think many metal fans got to it by friends or "accident" and maybe girls have less metal friends.
this is just my opinion, feel free to disagree

I'm one of the people that don't agree with girl becuz I think they can't be singer or can't believe with every song and they are agree with rind of metal u know , but I know some girls can be metaller

I already found myself trying to figure out why 90% of the Metal gigs I go to are attended by guys. Although I cannot generalize, I believe the reason must have something to do with the same thing that draws women into finding babies "sooo cute!" whenever the set eyes on one, much faster than men. :

You see, there's this corny, lame side to us that exists since the beginning of mankind, which is genetically there to prepare us for motherhood, taking care of the descendants, maintaining the species, and all that crap.
Well... I think that prevents most women to feel atracted to the whole aggressiveness inherent to Metal music. Some may be persuaded to like it, but it rarely is their own initiative to listen to that kind of music.

I conclude this from having observed my female friends over around 15 years... I can count by the fingers of one hand the ones who like Metal - and I'm still the one who loves it the most, the others just 'like' it or tolerate it.

Written by ArtiA on 20.04.2008 at 16:42

I'm one of the people that don't agree with girl becuz I think they can't be singer or can't believe with every song and they are agree with rind of metal u know , but I know some girls can be metaller

I agree that there is a difference between guy and girl metal vocalists, the basic voice is different, but as metal fans there are all the same, you don't need to have a good growlingscreamingsinging voice in order to bang your head do you? and this is the only difference, the voice

Written by Berfones on 21.04.2008 at 12:16

Written by ArtiA on 20.04.2008 at 16:42

I'm one of the people that don't agree with girl becuz I think they can't be singer or can't believe with every song and they are agree with rind of metal u know , but I know some girls can be metaller

I agree that there is a difference between guy and girl metal vocalists, the basic voice is different, but as metal fans there are all the same, you don't need to have a good growlingscreamingsinging voice in order to bang your head do you? and this is the only difference, the voice

I must say one thin , I don't any agreement with " some " metaller girl .as Isaid they aren't be good metaller I know , u feel it and seeitinevery cases , and about vocalist , that is my opinion: I can't patience with that but I must say I like clear or dark vocalist , I don't worry with this

Written by ArtiA on 21.04.2008 at 15:52

Written by Berfones on 21.04.2008 at 12:16

Written by ArtiA on 20.04.2008 at 16:42

I'm one of the people that don't agree with girl becuz I think they can't be singer or can't believe with every song and they are agree with rind of metal u know , but I know some girls can be metaller

I agree that there is a difference between guy and girl metal vocalists, the basic voice is different, but as metal fans there are all the same, you don't need to have a good growlingscreamingsinging voice in order to bang your head do you? and this is the only difference, the voice

I must say one thin , I don't any agreement with " some " metaller girl .as Isaid they aren't be good metaller I know , u feel it and seeitinevery cases , and about vocalist , that is my opinion: I can't patience with that but I must say I like clear or dark vocalist , I don't worry with this

For clean vocals there are lots of lead female vocalists, if it fits the genre, like Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and many many more, but in black and death metal there are much less because their voice does not fit in the music all the time, but there are some guest female vocalists, like in Behemoth's Grom where a woman sings clean vocals, and as I said in my first post here, if there are less female members and fans in the metal world it is only due to the circumstanses

Thats True You Know There Is More Guys Into Metal Than Girls. Probably Because They Were The Unlucky Ones And Were Suffacated By The Emo Scene! xD