Just out of curiosity – does Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox sound in anyway similar to say, Kiarely “Kia” Castillo or Janel Monique Duarte (formerly) of Conquer Divide? Do Lizzie Hale of Halestorm and Fernanda Lira of Crypta share some common characteristic that defines what they sound like? Or are all of the bands just lumped together because of their gender? Do Babymetal and Jinjer belong in the same ‘female-fronted‘ genre when that description does absolutely nothing to describe what any of these artists sound like.
Kawaii metal, progressive metalcore, melodic death metal, deathcore, symphonic metal – those are genres that actually define what an artist sounds like. So fucking what, it’s a ‘female-fronted’ band. Tell me what their music sounds like. We don’t say ‘male-fronted’ or ‘male vocalist,’ so if we’re talking about equality here, in its true theory – gender shouldn’t be mentioned. It’s not a factor in how a band sounds. Courtney LaPlante, Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Vélez of The Warning, Fernanda Lira, and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and their vocals don’t have a whole lot in common except for the fact that they often fall in women’s normal range – but that’s about it.
Women have existed in the same space as men since the beginning of Homo sapiens – females and males have existed since the beginning of life. So, why is it a big deal that a woman is doing the same thing as a man? That question in general opens up the discussion of ‘gendered’ roles in the workplace, entertainment, and in the home, however. But it’s a relevant question for the consistent highlighting of a vocalist’s gender when it is a woman behind the microphone. Men have never had to justify or highlight the fact that they were a man in an interview, an album, at a festival – yet there’s an expectation that women should not only be highlighted, but almost… (patronisingly) praised. ‘Ah, yes, you can be a part of this too. Look at you! Good job.‘ There’s a certain diminishing and chauvinist nature to this kind of labelling that is honestly more destructive than productive.
For the most part, women don’t give a fuck if it’s a male vocalist. It’s never been a point of comparison – “Yeah, he’s pretty good for a male vocalist” – rather, it’s “Yeah, he’s pretty good.” Why is it necessary to point out that “she’s pretty good for a female vocalist.” It’s an irrelevant, unnecessary, and quite honestly, lazy, description of any ‘female-fronted‘ artist. The Warning‘s melodic hard rock, Crypta‘s death metal, Within Temptation‘s symphonic metal, Jinjer‘s progressive metalcore, and Kittie‘s heavy metal become reduced to a mere three word description that doesn’t tell the listener, a potential fan, anything about the band except for their damn gender.
Calling bands ‘female-fronted’ doesn’t actually include women in metal spaces, rather it separates them, and creates a divide between how bands are categorised and identified sonically – women become commodities and inclusion becomes something to be ‘praised.’ That’s not what women want.
They want to exist in the same space as a man, in peace, without surprise or celebration. They just want to be. So, just… stop describing a band as ‘female-fronted’ and start using genres that elaborate on what they sound like.
Pictured: Arch Enemy, Babymetal, Calva Louise, Conquer Divide, Crypta, Evanescence, Halestorm, Lacuna Coil, Jinjer, Kittie, Spiritbox, The Warning, Within Temptation
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