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On this episode, Marc talks to Laina Dawes, author of “What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal,” first published in 2013 by Bazillion Points books, then republished in a new edition in 2020. It's a combination of memoir, oral history, and highly-researched documentation of the roles black women have played in heavy metal, both as artists and as fans, and by extension in all kinds of music scenes.As she writes, “What are you Doing Here? reveals the common thread of strength and determination among black women musicians in male-dominated music industries. We have a track record of resilience against all the obstacles put in our path.”So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Laina Dawes, here it is!
We call up nine official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters to see who they're choosing on their ballot this year. Some even let us influence their decision! Featuring Karen Glauber, Jim McGuinn, Gregg Geller, Bob Merlis, Laina Dawes, Roy Trakin, Evelyn McDonnell, Lauren Onkey, and Chris Molanphy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Midlands-based journalist, singer and guitarist in the black feminist punk band Big Joanie and author of the book 'Why Solange Matters', Stephanie Phillips knows her stuff when it comes to music and books. So we were dead excited when she agreed to come on Songbook to talk about Kristin Hersh's memoir 'Rat Girl'.Whilst chatting about the book Jude and Stephanie manage to cover Destiny's Child, reading the NME in the noughties, writing teenage diaries, the dreaded 'what's it like being a woman in a band' question and why Stephanie doesn't need or indeed want to play music with men.A brilliant chat between two brilliant women.Books mentioned in the podcast:Why Solange Matters by Stephanie Philips https://bit.ly/3ByoEkM Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning https://uk.bookshop.org/books/guitar-girl/9780340860717 Paradoxical Undressing [or Rat Girl in the US] by Kristin Hersch https://bit.ly/3oNq1nV My Rock n Roll Friend by Tracey Thorn https://bit.ly/3OVCwZs The Raincoats by Jenn Pelly https://bit.ly/3OVOgv1 Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus https://bit.ly/3oQNSTM What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal by Laina Dawes https://bit.ly/3cPVymu You can buy Jude's book The Sound of Being Human: How Music Shapes Our Lives here: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-sound-of-being-human-how-music-shapes-our-lives/9781474622929Finally White Rabbit's Spotify Playlist of 'booksongs' - songs inspired by books loved by our guests - is here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7chuHOeTs9jpyKpmgXV6uo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Joe & Kristen are back at it, calling up five more Rock Hall voters to see who they're choosing on their ballot this year: Rob Tannenbaum, Laina Dawes, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Roy Trakin, and Alec Wightman. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Joe & Kristen are back at it, calling up five more Rock Hall voters to see who they're choosing on their ballot this year: Rob Tannenbaum, Laina Dawes, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Roy Trakin, and Alec Wightman. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joe & Kristen are back at it, calling up five more Rock Hall voters to see who they're choosing on their ballot this year: Rob Tannenbaum, Laina Dawes, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Roy Trakin, and Alec Wightman. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joe & Kristen are back at it, calling up five more Rock Hall voters to see who they're choosing on their ballot this year: Rob Tannenbaum, Laina Dawes, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Roy Trakin, and Alec Wightman. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Welcome to episode nine of Season 2 of the I Am Black History podcast brought to you by InTheBlack:Canada (ITBC) and DeeP Visions Media. This is a continuation of my conversation with Laina Dawes. In this episode, Laine shares what it's been like to navigate the world of heavy metal as a Black women and in particular the stuggles she had when writing her book, What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal. Laina is currently completing her studies as a PHD candidate of Ethnomusicology at Columbia University. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/donna-paris/message
As we come to a close with Black History Month, I shall talk about one aspect of the black community that is very much overlooked and that is alternative black culture. I discuss my thoughts on Laina Dawes' 2013 book "What Are You Doing Here?" I can relate to sometimes being the only POC in a predominately white and male space with this genre of music. Laina and a bevy of other black women talk about their experiences of being black and women in the metal, punk, hard rock and hardcore scene. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rolemartyrx/message
This week we're imagining the life on a thick atmosphere world. We talk echolocation, cascadian black metal music, vision priorities, bat worship, acoustemology, singing dream sentinels. HOSTED by Dr. Moiya McTier (https://twitter.com/goastromo (@GoAstroMo)), astrophysicist and folklorist GUESTS Dr. Kristen Lear is a bat conservationist, If/Then Ambassador, and National Geographic explorer! You can follower her on twitter at https://twitter.com/BatsForLife (@BatsforLife) and read about her Agave Restoration work with Bat Conservation International her https://kristenlear.wixsite.com/batconservation (website). Future Dr. Laina Dawes is an ethnomusicologist and heavy metal fan. She wrote the book https://bookshop.org/books/what-are-you-doing-here-a-black-woman-s-life-and-liberation-in-heavy-metal/9781935950059 (What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal). Follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/Lainad (@Lainad) and check out her https://writingisfighting.tumblr.com/ (blog). MIDBREAK - Get 10% off your order from Inked Gaming at inkedgaming.com/exolore! - Check out my new show for PBS Digital Studios, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_lsQEz7yLOq6YwIGfRtNTZddCucSvilz (Fate and Fabled)! FIND US ONLINE - patreon: https://my.captivate.fm/patreon.com/exolorepod (patreon.com/exolorepod) - twitter: https://twitter.com/ExolorePod (twitter.com/ExolorePod) - instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exolorepod/ (instagram.com/exolorepod) - website: https://www.exolorepod.com/ (exolorepod.com) - subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ExolorePod/ (reddit.com/r/ExolorePod) CREDITS - Music: https://www.purple-planet.com/ (https://www.purple-planet.com) - Cover art: Stephen J. Reisig, http://stephenjreisig.com/ (http://stephenjreisig.com/) - Editing: Mischa Stanton, https://www.mischastanton.com/ (https://www.mischastanton.com/) - Transcript by Iesir Moss ABOUT US Have you ever wished you could travel to a different world? Exolore can help with that! In each episode, astrophysicist/folklorist Moiya McTier explores fictional worlds by building them with a panel of expert guests, interviewing professional worldbuilders, or reviewing the merits of worlds that have already been built. You'll learn, you'll laugh, and you'll gain an appreciation for how special our planet really is. Exolore is a member of Multitude Productions, an independent podcast collective and production studio.
Welcome to episode eight of Season 2 of the I Am Black History podcast brought to you by InTheBlack:Canada (ITBC) and DeeP Visions Media. This episode is part 1 of my conversation with Laina Dawes. Laine was born in Toronto Ontario but grew up just outside of Kingston, Ontario. Laina is a music and cultural critic and is the author of What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal. Laina is currently completing her studies as a PHD candidate of Ethnomusicology at Columbia University. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/donna-paris/message
Actor John Cho talks about his starring role in Cowboy Bebop, Netflix's new live-action adaptation of the wildly popular Japanese anime of the same name. Our Q This music panellists, Lisa Christiansen and Laina Dawes, unpack Rolling Stone's investigation into the sexual assault and abuse claims against Marilyn Manson. Singer-songwriter Simon Ward of the Strumbellas discusses his new self-titled solo album, Simon and the Island. Kaya Usher, widow of Gord Downie, talks about her debut album, All This Is, and the role her late husband played in inspiring it.
Vi bjuder in författaren Sara Bergmark Elfgren för att snacka hårdrock i skräckfiktionen med utgångspunkt i hennes roman Grim. Tomas tycker att den söte huvudpersonen i Deathgasm är lite för gammal för hans smak och Lars har ett begrepp för EQ-inställningarna på stereon i pojkrummet i Trick or Treat. Vi pratar också om: Gröna Lund, House of Nightmares, Mayhem, Entombed, Grotesque, Morbid, Treblinka/Tiamat, At The Gates, Blod Eld Död, Emil Maxén, What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal, Laina Dawes, Lords of Chaos, Monster Dog, Charles Martin Smith, Gene Simmons, The Gate, Hellraiser, aOzzy Osbourne, Kiss, HP Lovecraft, Alice Cooper, Fredagen de 13:e, Hem & Skola, Technics, “‘the DJ smile”, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Orvar Säfström, Jörgen Tullberg, Uffe Cederström, Tidningen Okej, Beverly Hills, Evil Dead, Shawn of the Dead, Braindead, Flight of the Concords, Immortal, Gorgasm, Stabwound Intercourse, Daniel Radcliffe, Guns Akimbo, Jason Howden, Swiss Army Man, Garden State, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard och naturligtvis lite grann om det ungerska hårdrocksbandet Ossian. Patreon-lyssnare avnjuter dubbel speltid där snacket fortsätter om Saras bok och om de i varierande utsträckning fullständigt umbärliga hårdrocksskräckfilmerna Rocktober Blood och The Devil's Candy.
Joining Lars, James, and Kirk is bassist Robert Trujillo, who climbed aboard Team Ugly full force. They step back to look at why and how The Black Album became one of the best-selling albums of all time – and how the remastered deluxe edition and the breadth of The Metallica Blacklist make it even more powerful today. What comes next? Suffice to say, the band is not looking back. The red carpet guest list includes: Bob Rock, Rob Halford, Alice Cooper, Jon Pardi, Ross Halfin, David Fricke, Laina Dawes, Ann Powers, Gregg Steele Heppner, plus many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Joe and Kristen call up some official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters to see who they chose on this year's ballot. In some cases, they even fill it out live on the air! Featuring Mike Norman, Laina Dawes, Arthur Levy, Lauren Onkey, Miles Marshall Lewis, Gregg Geller, Rob Tannenbaum, Amy Linden, and Chris Molanphy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Joe and Kristen call up some official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters to see who they chose on this year's ballot. In some cases, they even fill it out live on the air! Featuring Mike Norman, Laina Dawes, Arthur Levy, Lauren Onkey, Miles Marshall Lewis, Gregg Geller, Rob Tannenbaum, Amy Linden, and Chris Molanphy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Joe and Kristen call up some official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters to see who they chose on this year's ballot. In some cases, they even fill it out live on the air! Featuring Mike Norman, Laina Dawes, Arthur Levy, Lauren Onkey, Miles Marshall Lewis, Gregg Geller, Rob Tannenbaum, Amy Linden, and Chris Molanphy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Joe and Kristen call up some official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voters to see who they chose on this year's ballot. In some cases, they even fill it out live on the air! Featuring Mike Norman, Laina Dawes, Arthur Levy, Lauren Onkey, Miles Marshall Lewis, Gregg Geller, Rob Tannenbaum, Amy Linden, and Chris Molanphy. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts.
Published author, cultural commentator and professor Laina Dawes paired with the clown of Slipknot for an honest conversation about identity, adversity, and ultimately finding solace in music in what has become an especially uncertain world. Sharing their personal experiences, both good and bad, the duo find common ground in challenging the expectations and thriving outside of the confines of the general pubic considers typical. The highly personal conversation examines counter culture from an intellectual perch.
The one about "Heart's All Gone." Featuring Laina Dawes. Laina shows up around 1:38:35. Learn more about Laina's book What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal here: https://www.facebook.com/whatareyoudoingherebook Check out more of Laina's work at https://writingisfighting.tumblr.com/
zElizabeth Keenan! Use the hashtag #ReadingGlassesPodcast to participate in online discussion! Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com! Reading Glasses Merch Links - Reading Glasses Facebook Group Reading Glasses Goodreads Group Amazon Wish List Newsletter Elizabeth Keenan Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan Elizabeth's Twitter Books Mentioned - Zone One by Colson Whitehead When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Carter Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee Girl by Blake Nelson The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes High Fidelity by Nick Hornby The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib Just Kids by Patti Smith Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin and Nina Vakueva (Artist) White Tears by Hari Kunzru A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker Not That Bad edited by Roxane Gay Girls to the Front by Sara Marcus Let's Call It a Doomsday by Katie Henry Lords of Chaos by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind Louder Than Hell by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman White Line Fever by Janiss Garza and Lemmy Kilmister What Are You Doing Here? by Laina Dawes
Como prometido no episódio 17, vou comentar os resultados da pesquisa "Público brasileiro de rock e metal", que foi inspirada no trabalho da jornalista Laina Dawes.Baixe o pdf com todos os resultados da pesquisa "Público brasileiro de rock e metal": http://bit.ly/pesquisapdf Siga o Atlas do Rock no Facebook (www.facebook.com/atlasdorock) e no Twitter (twitter.com/atlasdorock).Citados nesse episódio:What are you doing here? (livro) - whatareyoudoingherebook.com/Huaska (banda) - www.youtube.com/huaska
Journalist and music/cultural critic Laina Dawes' book What Are You Doing Here? explores the race and gender issues of African-American female fans of metal, hardcore and punk music. Subtitled "A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal", this is not only Laina's story but also of black musicians and their fans in a genre and culture that is primarily white and male. Visit the book site: https://whatareyoudoingherebook.com/about Visit the book Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/whatareyoudoingherebook Purchase the book: http://www.bazillionpoints.com/shop/black-women-in-heavy-metal/ Subscribe to TMT on iTunes: http://bit.ly/TalkMusicTalk Or Stitcher Radio: http://bit.ly/TMTStitcher Or TuneIn Radio: http://bit.ly/TMTtunein If you enjoy the podcast, please take a moment to leave a review and/or rating.It Reviews and ratings help to improve TMT rankings and spread the word. Thanks! "Liz (The Talk Music Talk Theme)"-FULL VERSION Written and Composed on an iPad by boice. https://soundcloud.com/thisisboice/liz-talk-music-talk-theme
With guest Laina Dawes, we discuss Phil Anselmo's (Pantera) "White Power" gesture on stage at Dimebash, as well as his history with white supremacy.Song Credits:"The World Is Yours" by Faith No More,"Shorties With MP40s, The Personal Is The Political" by Thou,"Ashes of the Damned" by Abbath,"Hold My Breath" by Eight Bells
We talked about Laina's book "What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal" (Set for re-release in late 2017) and also the cancellation of Afropunk ATL!Song Credits:"Disciple" by Slayer,"Rats" by Old Man Gloom,"Cain Enabler" by Weedeater,"10,000 Years" by High On Fire
Laina Dawes is the author of What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012).What Are You Doing Here? is Laina’s first non-fiction book and the first non-fiction, general interest book to specifically focus on race, gender and identity in metal, hardcore and punk music cultures. Laina is also a freelance music and cultural critic whose writing can be found in print and online magazines, and she is currently a 2nd year graduate student at The New School for Social Research in New York City. We talked about New York vs Toronto fashion (guess which city someone look at your outfit and say "B*tch have you lost your mind?!").... She talked a lot about how to integrate her love of metal with her appearance; also how navigate respectability politics her aversion to bright colours and her enduring love for Mary J. Blige. Please refer to www.dresscodecracker.com for images of Laina, plus links to her writing and music recommendations! Dress Code Cracker's intro and outro music is by Nameless Dread.
I had the chance for a friendly chat with my friend, author Laina Dawes before embarking on the West Coast tour with Pelican.
Author / journalist and heavy metal fan Laina Dawes stopped by to chat about here recent book "What are You Doing Here" a Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal".
There is a growing subculture of women who love and listen to heavy metal music. This podcast wll discuss the racial and gender stereotypes associated with the heavy metal genre as well as social media outlets for like-minded women like us who love listening to heavy metal. Guests will be Ursula from Hear Evil News and author Laina Dawes who wrote the book, "What Are You Doing Here?": A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal
Extreme metal, punk, and hardcore. Slayer. Sick of it All. Cro-Mags. Decapitated. Behemoth. Musically aggressive rock bands with growling vocals and lyrics about annihilation, death, and dismemberment. A genre of music that, even more than more mainstream music genres, seems to be the province of (straight) white males. But wait. In What are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012), Laina Dawes examines an overlooked and numerically small segment of the extreme music scene: black women. Putting her sociological training to good use, Dawes presents a macro structural cultural analysis of race in North America (Dawes is Canadian) and how this plays out in the micro-arenas of high school community and heavy metal shows. Using in-depth interviews with a number of black women punk and metal artists including Skin, Sandra St. Victor, Militia Vox, Diamond Rowe, Urith Myree, Tamar-Kali, Ashley Greenwood, Yvonne Ducksworth, Camille Douglas, Alexis Brown, and others, Dawes highlights the self and societal contradictions of being black, female, and a fan of extreme music. Most significantly, the black friends of these women accuse them of not being black enough and their white metal friends (and strangers, for that matter) are dumbfounded about what a black woman might find interesting in this world of white males. The answer to both, writes Dawes, is easy: Metal fandom allows these women to be themselves, to be individuals, to escape the narrow confines of prescribed gender and race roles in North American society. Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer, an active public speaker, and a contributor to CBC Radio. She is also a current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com and contributing editor for Blogher.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Extreme metal, punk, and hardcore. Slayer. Sick of it All. Cro-Mags. Decapitated. Behemoth. Musically aggressive rock bands with growling vocals and lyrics about annihilation, death, and dismemberment. A genre of music that, even more than more mainstream music genres, seems to be the province of (straight) white males. But wait. In What are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012), Laina Dawes examines an overlooked and numerically small segment of the extreme music scene: black women. Putting her sociological training to good use, Dawes presents a macro structural cultural analysis of race in North America (Dawes is Canadian) and how this plays out in the micro-arenas of high school community and heavy metal shows. Using in-depth interviews with a number of black women punk and metal artists including Skin, Sandra St. Victor, Militia Vox, Diamond Rowe, Urith Myree, Tamar-Kali, Ashley Greenwood, Yvonne Ducksworth, Camille Douglas, Alexis Brown, and others, Dawes highlights the self and societal contradictions of being black, female, and a fan of extreme music. Most significantly, the black friends of these women accuse them of not being black enough and their white metal friends (and strangers, for that matter) are dumbfounded about what a black woman might find interesting in this world of white males. The answer to both, writes Dawes, is easy: Metal fandom allows these women to be themselves, to be individuals, to escape the narrow confines of prescribed gender and race roles in North American society. Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer, an active public speaker, and a contributor to CBC Radio. She is also a current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com and contributing editor for Blogher.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Extreme metal, punk, and hardcore. Slayer. Sick of it All. Cro-Mags. Decapitated. Behemoth. Musically aggressive rock bands with growling vocals and lyrics about annihilation, death, and dismemberment. A genre of music that, even more than more mainstream music genres, seems to be the province of (straight) white males. But wait. In What are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012), Laina Dawes examines an overlooked and numerically small segment of the extreme music scene: black women. Putting her sociological training to good use, Dawes presents a macro structural cultural analysis of race in North America (Dawes is Canadian) and how this plays out in the micro-arenas of high school community and heavy metal shows. Using in-depth interviews with a number of black women punk and metal artists including Skin, Sandra St. Victor, Militia Vox, Diamond Rowe, Urith Myree, Tamar-Kali, Ashley Greenwood, Yvonne Ducksworth, Camille Douglas, Alexis Brown, and others, Dawes highlights the self and societal contradictions of being black, female, and a fan of extreme music. Most significantly, the black friends of these women accuse them of not being black enough and their white metal friends (and strangers, for that matter) are dumbfounded about what a black woman might find interesting in this world of white males. The answer to both, writes Dawes, is easy: Metal fandom allows these women to be themselves, to be individuals, to escape the narrow confines of prescribed gender and race roles in North American society. Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer, an active public speaker, and a contributor to CBC Radio. She is also a current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com and contributing editor for Blogher.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Extreme metal, punk, and hardcore. Slayer. Sick of it All. Cro-Mags. Decapitated. Behemoth. Musically aggressive rock bands with growling vocals and lyrics about annihilation, death, and dismemberment. A genre of music that, even more than more mainstream music genres, seems to be the province of (straight) white males. But wait. In What are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012), Laina Dawes examines an overlooked and numerically small segment of the extreme music scene: black women. Putting her sociological training to good use, Dawes presents a macro structural cultural analysis of race in North America (Dawes is Canadian) and how this plays out in the micro-arenas of high school community and heavy metal shows. Using in-depth interviews with a number of black women punk and metal artists including Skin, Sandra St. Victor, Militia Vox, Diamond Rowe, Urith Myree, Tamar-Kali, Ashley Greenwood, Yvonne Ducksworth, Camille Douglas, Alexis Brown, and others, Dawes highlights the self and societal contradictions of being black, female, and a fan of extreme music. Most significantly, the black friends of these women accuse them of not being black enough and their white metal friends (and strangers, for that matter) are dumbfounded about what a black woman might find interesting in this world of white males. The answer to both, writes Dawes, is easy: Metal fandom allows these women to be themselves, to be individuals, to escape the narrow confines of prescribed gender and race roles in North American society. Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer, an active public speaker, and a contributor to CBC Radio. She is also a current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com and contributing editor for Blogher.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Extreme metal, punk, and hardcore. Slayer. Sick of it All. Cro-Mags. Decapitated. Behemoth. Musically aggressive rock bands with growling vocals and lyrics about annihilation, death, and dismemberment. A genre of music that, even more than more mainstream music genres, seems to be the province of (straight) white males. But wait. In What are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal (Bazillion Points, 2012), Laina Dawes examines an overlooked and numerically small segment of the extreme music scene: black women. Putting her sociological training to good use, Dawes presents a macro structural cultural analysis of race in North America (Dawes is Canadian) and how this plays out in the micro-arenas of high school community and heavy metal shows. Using in-depth interviews with a number of black women punk and metal artists including Skin, Sandra St. Victor, Militia Vox, Diamond Rowe, Urith Myree, Tamar-Kali, Ashley Greenwood, Yvonne Ducksworth, Camille Douglas, Alexis Brown, and others, Dawes highlights the self and societal contradictions of being black, female, and a fan of extreme music. Most significantly, the black friends of these women accuse them of not being black enough and their white metal friends (and strangers, for that matter) are dumbfounded about what a black woman might find interesting in this world of white males. The answer to both, writes Dawes, is easy: Metal fandom allows these women to be themselves, to be individuals, to escape the narrow confines of prescribed gender and race roles in North American society. Laina Dawes is a music and cultural critic and opinion writer, an active public speaker, and a contributor to CBC Radio. She is also a current affairs columnist for Afrotoronto.com and contributing editor for Blogher.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices