Gender Inequality in Metal Music Production

Abstract

Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His research focuses on social stratification on the basis of whiteness, race-ethnicity and gender in various cultural fields. This work has been published in journals such as New Media & Society, Popular Communication, Sociologie and Metal Music Studies.

“Maybe it’s … skin colour?” How race-ethnicity and gender function in consumers’ formation of classification styles of cultural content

“…This is the fundamental cognitive basis for gender and ethno-racial essentialism: the notion that certain gender or ethno-racial groups inherently possess (or lack) certain traits or skills (Gelman 2003). An illustration of this is the way that female musicians are often lumped together based on their femininityamplifying between-category differenceswhereas their male counterparts are split from each other and are seen as unique individuals (Berkers and Schaap 2018). So, to what extent are lumping and splitting practicesbased on race-ethnicity and/or genderpatterned in classification styles?…”

Engineering a Place for Women: Gendered Experiences of the Music Technology Classroom

“…As such, they are tokens i.e. members of the numerical minority (less than fifteen percent) in skewed groups (Berkers & Schaap 2018;Kanter 1977). The observations of our interviewees are consistent with estimates that music technology degrees are comprised of a majority of men (Born & Devine 2016).…”

“…Moreover, the work of female producers largely goes unrecognized: only four women have received Brit nominations for best producer, none of whom won (Savage 2012). Previous research have explained this alignment between masculinity and technology as being the result of, amongst others: music socializationgender stereotyping of instruments (Clawson 1999a) and instrument preferences of children (Wych 2012); gendering of genres (Baker, 2013;Bayton 1998; Gavanas & Reitsamer 2013)both rock and electronic music are associated with 2 masculinity and technology (electric guitar, DJ equipment), whereas pop, which requires little to no technological skill (singing, acoustic music), is associated with femininity; gendered music talk among participants (Werner & Johansson 2016) and in the media (Davies 2001); and the absence of female role models (Berkers & Schaap 2018) and experts (Straw 1997).…”

Lights, cameras… mentors

“…Do not forget your little cables?"'. Moreover, women are expected to fulfill the role of singer or dancer, referred to role-encapsulation (see Berkers & Schaap, 2018). Conchitta provided an example: 'They will automatically put an extra mic on the stage.…”