Table Of ContentQueerness in Heavy Metal Music
While the growing field of scholarship on heavy metal music and its subcul-
tures has produced excellent work on the sounds, scenes, and histories of
heavy metal around the world, few works have included a study of gender
and sexuality. This cutting-edge volume focuses on queer fans, performers,
and spaces within the heavy metal sphere and demonstrates the impor-
tance, pervasiveness, and subcultural significance of queerness to the heavy
metal ethos.
Heavy metal scholarship has until recently focused almost solely on the
roles of heterosexual hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity in fans and per-
formers. The dependence on that narrow dichotomy has limited heavy metal
scholarship, resulting in poorly critiqued discussions of gender and sexuality
that serve only to underpin the popular imagining of heavy metal as violent,
homophobic, and inherently masculine. This book queers heavy metal stud-
ies, bringing discussions of gender and sexuality in heavy metal out of that
poorly theorized dichotomy.
In this interdisciplinary work, the author connects new and existing
scholarship with a strong ethnographic study of heavy metal’s self-identified
queer performers and fans in their own words, thus giving them a voice and
offering an original and ground-breaking addition to scholarship on popu-
lar music, rock, and queer studies.
Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone is Associate Professor of Anthropology and
Curator of Nance Collections at the University of Central Missouri, USA.
Routledge Studies in Popular Music
1 Popular Music Fandom 4 Sites of Popular Music
Identities, Roles and Practices Heritage
Edited by Mark Duffett Memories, Histories, Places
Edited by Sara Cohen, Robert
2 Britshness, Popular Music, and Knifton, Marion Leonard, and
National Identity Les Roberts
The Making of
Modern Britain 5 Queerness in Heavy
Irene Morra Metal Music
Metal Bent
3 Lady Gaga and Popular Music Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone
Performing Gender, Fashion,
and Culture
Edited by Martin Iddon and
Melanie L. Marshall
Queerness in Heavy
Metal Music
Metal Bent
Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone
First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Clifford-Napoleone, Amber R., 1974– author.
Queerness in heavy metal music : metal bent / Amber R. Clifford-Napoleone.
pages cm. — (Routledge studies in popular music ; 5)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Homosexuality and music. 2. Heavy metal (Music)—History and criticism.
3. Gender identity in music. I. Title.
ML3838.C55 2015
781.66086’64—dc23 2014043518
ISBN: 978-0-415-72831-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-85172-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
To the queer fans of heavy metal, wherever you are.
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Contents
List of Figures viii
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1 Heavy Metal Queerscape 10
2 Black Leather 25
3 Outsider Togetherness 49
4 Everybody Knows 78
5 Eat Me Alive 109
Conclusion 143
Appendix 145
References 151
Index 165
List of Figures
0.1 Image of crowd at heavy metal concert. Photo by author. 1
2.1 T-shirt from the 1993 International Mr. Leather
competition, a competition for male-bodied members
of the leather/BDSM community. The t-shirt image is
based on the image of Rob Halford, and demonstrates
the crossover between the leather/BDSM and metal
communities. 37
2.2 Motorcycle jacket and vest of a gay leatherman, with
patches and pins from motorcycle runs and leather/BDSM
clubs across America. From the collections of and
permission by Leather Archives and Museum, Chicago,
Illinois. 43
2.3 Closeup of gay leatherman’s vest showing patches and
pins. From the collections of and permission by Leather
Archives and Museum, Chicago, Illinois. 43
2.4 Image of metal fan’s vest, also known as battle vest or
armor. Rather than patches from motorcycle runs and
clubs, this metal vest has patches from metal bands,
tours and concerts. Vest and image courtesy of Joseph
Bauer. (May be two images, front and back). 44
2.5 Studded jacket of the author. Permission of the author. 44
4.1 Artwork featuring Joan Jett’s white Melody Maker guitar.
The topic of discussion among queer fans of heavy metal
is the stickers on Jett’s guitar. Visible in this artwork are
stickers including “Tough Titties,” “69,” (a slang term and
symbol for mutual oral sex), a famous activist
image of two female symbols holding hands, and the
official pride flag for leather/BDSM-identified people:
the black, blue and white striped flag with a red heart in
the upper left corner. Permission and copyright Karl
Haglund, Fugitive Art. 97
List of Tables
3.1 Gender identity of respondents 51
3.2 Sex of respondents 52
5.1 Methods of heavy metal consumption used by queer fans 115
5.2 Preferred metal genres by selected gender and
sexual identities 116
5.3 Focus of queer fans during concerts 123
