City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Fall 12-21-2016 Individual Thought Patterns: Women in New York's Extreme Metal Music Scene Joan M. Jocson-Singh CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/134 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] Individual Thought Patterns: Women in New York's Extreme Metal Music Scene by Joan Jocson-Singh Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Anthropology, Hunter College The City University of New York 2016 Thesis Sponsor: October 2, 2016 Dr. Jonathan Shannon Date Signature of First Reader October 2, 2016 Dr. Aminata Maraesa Date Signature of Second Reader ii Abstract Extreme metal music (EMM) is both an umbrella term and a sub-category of heavy metal, with origins in the early 1980s. It is a complex amplification of heavy metal that has garnered increased attention during the last two decades due to some bands becoming more popular and accessible than anticipated for the styles it comprises. Although women have a small but steady presence in heavy metal, this number shrinks when applied to extreme metal - a subculture which has typically been coded as a masculine domain (Purcell 2003; Kahn-Harris 2007; Walser 1993; Weinstein 1991). For women, participating in such an overwhelmingly male-coded environment can incur sexism, marginalization, and misogyny.