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Slater922
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:24 pm
Posts: 2342
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:13 pm 
 

This may sound like a stupid question now, especially since pretty much every single person on the planet could care less if someone enjoys some extreme metal. However, back in the day, being a metalhead was more taboo than now, and even today, there are some mega-conservatives who aren't too thrilled with some black/death metal bands. While I personally haven't faced any discrimination, It would be interesting to hear some stories about someone on here being treated differently based on their music tastes, whether it happened just recently or 30 years ago.
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Xytras71
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:57 am
Posts: 488
Location: Toronto, Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 7:37 pm 
 

Hardly ever really. The only thing I can recall was in early 90s (I was in my very early 20s), I did some volunteer work in a food bank when I used to live in Montreal, and I was wearing Deicide T-shirt the one with Legion logo and after a couple of hours the manager asked me not to wear it again inside as some people found it offensive. Don’t know if it actually qualifies as discrimination against me, lol

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simonitro
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 3:41 pm
Posts: 473
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:42 pm 
 

Many times especially people from my origin country, Lebanon. There was a dude asked me at work what I'm listening to and responded "Oh! Just listening to Darkthrone.... y'know, metal and stuff." and he was: "Do you worship the devil?" and I was: "Well, we play Monopoly every Friday night :p".

Another guy was researching death metal album covers and trying to persuade me not to listen to it and I was "that album looks so interesting... what's the name of that band and that album?"

It's never going to work on me, actually. I, usually, troll people back because why the hell not?

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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 9:46 pm 
 

Yes.

Being a metalhead with long hair in high school in the late 90s/early 2000's, I got called every homophobic slur in the book. I got called a girl, or that I looked like a girl constantly. I had people stick gum in my hair. I had people call me "columbine".

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Inkshooter
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:55 pm
Posts: 1064
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 10:52 pm 
 

In high school? Yes, a lot. But if it wasn't the long hair and the black metal shirts it would have been something else. Teenagers are horrible.

In literally any real-life social situation? Not at all, not in stores, not in train stations, not on the bus, not even in churches. I live in Seattle though, so I probably don't even stick out that much, and I don't have long hair any more.
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Rodman
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:15 am
Posts: 976
Location: Sydney, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:01 pm 
 

The West Memphis 3

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In_Zane
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:33 pm
Posts: 475
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:00 am 
 

Nope, as I don't show that I am one (not on purpose, I just don't have band shirts... I have a battle vest though.)
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~Guest 1195014
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:21 am 
 

Not really, but definitely had some stupid shit at school (definitely remember getting called a "satanist" as a kid* and being a bit shaken by that). I guess most of my shirts being prog metal makes things easier, and I managed to avoid any "long hair is unprofessional" nonsense so I feel I've been a little lucky in that sense.

* for listening to the known satanic extreme deathgrind band, Iron Maiden

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KrigareTjovane
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:06 am
Posts: 545
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:35 am 
 

When I was in the psych ward with a bunch of other suicidals about 9 years ago this older guy assumed I was a pothead because I was wearing an Overkill shirt and I have long hair. He was correct, but damn he didn't have to call my ass out like that lol.

Honestly not even a real discrimination, but it's a fun memory.

As the metal guy in my grade in high school, everyone always treated me with respect, especially the teachers. If anything they were all extra nice to me because of a stupid stunt I pulled in middle school. However once I had a childhood friend come up to me one day and say "you know, I always thought you'd be the type to shoot up the school" and it always stuck with me as a really, really fucked up thing to say to someone. In his defense I had a lengthy history as a trouble-maker but I definitely wasn't on shoot up the school levels of angst.

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Oxenkiller
Veteran

Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:42 am
Posts: 3613
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:25 am 
 

I've never been outright discriminated against, but I did catch a fair amount of crap for being a metalhead back in the day, particularly when I was younger and still had long hair. And yeah, some older, more respectable folks were, I would say, more abrupt and less polite to me than they would have been if I was more clean cut looking. It definitely made it harder to get certain types of jobs, particularly working in retail.

Probably the worst I remember experiencing was mall security, who liked to follow us around and would sometimes arbitrarily order us to leave, claiming we were "loitering" despite the fact that we were seldom actually doing anything wrong (and meanwhile ignoring the groups of clean-cut preppie type dudes hanging out across the courtyard from us.) That, and the occasional drive-by rednecks yelling "Get a haircut faggott" or such sentiments.

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InnesI
The Goat Fucker

Joined: Sat Jun 01, 2013 3:19 pm
Posts: 2187
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:30 am 
 

Inkshooter wrote:
In high school? Yes, a lot. But if it wasn't the long hair and the black metal shirts it would have been something else. Teenagers are horrible.


Yeah, I think this comes with the territory. Most people have some stories from high school about stupid things they've been called regardless of what base the name calling had in reality. I also recognize being called a girl for having long hair but I wouldn't qualify that as discrimination. People also made comments about my skin complexion, ethnic origin and use of glasses. As you say teenagers can be horrible to each other and if it wasn't one thing it would have been another. I wasn't bullied at all but I realize most were being made fun of at some point in time. If a guy had long hair he might have been called a girl. If he had no hair he might have been called baldie or old man or whatever. But real discrimination? No, I don't think I've had that.
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DecemberSoul
Mirties Metafora

Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:46 am
Posts: 1399
Location: Switzerland
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:26 am 
 

Not quite discriminated, but there's one incident I thought I'd share here:
20 years ago, while in my first internship, I was working in a very rural village near the mountains. Mainly farmers and craftsmen living there. One evening after work, I was in need of change and entered one of the local restaurants/pubs. What followed seemed like a scene we've all seen in movies: As soon as I walked through the door, everybody (and it was full of loud folks) stopped dead in their conversation, turned towards me and kept staring at me until I left the place. I remember hearing the taking up again of chatter only as I exited the pub. And if you hadn't assumed by now, I'm a very long-haired male.
It was, perhaps not very coincidentally, the only place where nobody would ever give me a lift even for a full hour of standing next to the road with my thumb stretched out. Everywhere else I would hitch back then, it was usually a matter of a few minutes for someone to stop and letting me hop in. And I used to do that quite often as a youngster.

Oh, and a group of four 12 or 13 year-old girls once approached me at school to interview me (I was 17 at that time), asking me a number of questions directed at finding out who that mysterious, reclusive person was. Among other things, they wanted to know precisely what bands I listen to (I refrained from mentioned metal bands, uttered acts like In Slaughter Natives and Hostia instead) and whether I was a satanist...

Edit: Just remembered that when being aboard a train as a 15-y.o., an elderly coupled sitting across me scrutinized me quietly until they summoned up the courage to talk to me. All they wanted to know was whether I was a girl or a boy. I did look a fair bit like a very young Vikernes back then, with gentle features and all.
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LordStenhammar
Veteran

Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:46 am
Posts: 3062
Location: Not in Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:13 am 
 

Maybe sometimes at school, 7th grade through 9th grade, I think. Got beaten by year older Klamydia fans (a punk band whose fanbase consists mainly of patriotic rednecks). That didn't leave any emotional scars though, just convinced me that I'm on the right way.

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polpet
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:08 am
Posts: 18
Location: Italy
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:11 am 
 

Since I became a metalhead about fifteen years ago, I've never felt any real discrimination against me. Maybe I've been called a girl due to my long (gone) hair once or twice, but never been offended in any other way.
About being treated differently, as weird as it can sound, I had one positive, although strange, experience: a couple years ago I was wandering around in a department store, wearing an Arcturus t-shirt. Suddenly, this random guy, absolutely not "metal looking" (he was wearing an office attire), walked towards me and shook my hand, saying that he was almost moved by having found another Arcturus fan. Then, as quickly as he came, he went away and disappeared in the crowd.

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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:18 am 
 

I'm from the Netherlands and when I went to high school (from 2006 to 2010) they would call me 'gothic'. Any metalhead from here has almost certainly had the same thing happen to them. Because you wore black, you were called 'gothic'. Sometimes they would be like 'are you emo?' because that was a thing at the time. Imagine my shock when I went to high school, just getting into metal and listening to black metal, heavy metal, trash metal etc and people were calling you because of it 'gothic'. I couldn't fathom why at the time, but later on I understood it had merely to do with the black clothing and their lack of knowledge about metal and subcultures. High school was a tough time and I am pretty sure it would have been better if I didn't look 'metal'. I wasn't bullied before high school (didn't look metal in elementary school lol) and not after high school (did look metal for many many years after high school, now not so much), so my conclusion is because I stuck out physically because of the clothing. Kids just see someone looking a tad different and think its funny or something. They also want to appear cool before their peers so they pick on someone. I was never 'discriminated' by adults because of looking like a metalhead. They didn't treat me differently and they were really nice to me. For example, while waiting for the bus to go to school, there were the same adults there every morning as well to go to work. They would say 'good morning to me' and chat me up. A few of them would even sit next to me on the bus and talk to me until they had to get out. Speaking of the bus. Some fellow teenagers at the time wouldn't sit next to me at the bus because I looked like a metalhead (or gothic in their imagination). That did feel a bit like discrimination I suppose? Especially considering the fact that I always was and looked clean, so it wasn't that. You'd just see the dirty look on their faces and then they'd rather stand than sit next to you. Oh well, at least I didn't have to have someone sit next to me! I suppose that as a metalhead I had gotten quite a lot of shit from fellow teens. For example, I was once in this town and suddenly some local youths would yell at me 'kanker gothic' meaning 'cancer goth' (in Dutch swearing with cancer is a common thing). Kids would at the time also ask me if my hairdresser had died (because of the long hair) and maybe say a few times that long hair is for girls, but I don't really recall that all too well. I was never called a f*ggot or something related to it tough. All of this was between 2006 and 2010. After that I went to college and things had gotten better! One prejudice I did encounter (2010 and onwards) was that because I had long hair and glasses, people assumed that I was a die hard gamer nerd (nothing wrong with that, but with their view of it) or they assumed that I was into IT or something, while I was neither of those. Annoying little prejudices. I think I summarised my bad experiences because of being a metalhead pretty well. If someone has questions about any of this, feel free to ask :)

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snarg
Metalhead

Joined: Fri May 22, 2020 4:25 pm
Posts: 468
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:21 am 
 

My mom and dad on a daily basis for over 25 years now, other than that it's fine, love them to death all the same though.

My best friend is a big Ska-punk/core fan, we do take jabs at each other over musical tastes frequently, but all in good fun.

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acid_bukkake
SAD!

Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 10:45 am
Posts: 2232
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:32 am 
 

I get some weird looks from the uptight yuppie types I'll encounter during neighborhood walks or running errands, maybe a few sneers if I'm driving around with the windows down and the volume up (assuming I'm not listening to a podcast), but otherwise? Nah. Closest was probably right after the Columbine massacre because a few friends and I wore leather jackets and band tees.
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Turner
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:04 am
Posts: 2247
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:34 am 
 

Good fucking God no. The most anyone ever felt for me for being a metalhead was indifference.
When I was 20 girls had no interest in metalhead dudes but I never lost a job for my hair, I just lived with people who didn't give a shit.
Maybe metalhead discrimination existed in the 80s but since the 90s I've never experienced it. It's just mostly considered as dorky at worst.

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Gravetemplar
Metal freak

Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:08 am
Posts: 4652
Location: Antarctica
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:44 am 
 

This thread has strong Larry David energy.


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matras
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:01 am
Posts: 1222
Location: Sweden
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:02 am 
 

Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.

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Osore
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 9:55 am
Posts: 595
Location: Serbia
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:09 am 
 

Absolutely, having a two years yunger passive-aggressive colleague being the most recent example. Some people can't hide their hatred and my boss avoids eye contact. They are conservative and my androgynous gothic/metal look freaks them out.
(When people radiate bad energy at you because of your looks, I call that discrimination as well. More so when they refuse to cooperate at work.)

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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:43 am 
 

matras wrote:
Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.


I disagree. Discrimination can come in many forms beyond skin colour, age etc. Where I live, according to the constitution, discrimination can happen based on religion, race, sexual orientation, political views, gender, world view or any other grounds. Within these parameters the experiences of some metalheads might very well fit in the description of discrimination. I have been discriminated in my life based on my ethnic background, and some of my experiences as a metalhead feel pretty much the same and were similar in nature (being called names and being made fun of but on grounds of something else. I am of eastern European origin and my first name is very unusual here and children made fun of it a few times in my football team -soccer for Americans- and as a metalhead I was made fun of too. To me, these experiences are quite similar, though my experiences as a metalhead persisted for years and being made fun of because of my foreign name didn't last as long, thus the impact of my experiences as a metalhead is bigger. I hope this clarifies the situation a bit for you).

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~Guest 1195014
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:45 am 
 

matras wrote:
Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.

There are stories of being called slurs here, accused of being dangerous/violent and getting rejected for jobs. That's textbook discrimination.

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Unity
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:42 pm
Posts: 1886
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:51 am 
 

When I was in high school some people assumed I was a satanist because I wore metal shirts. And the same thing happened to my best friend, even though he's christian.
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Lane
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:54 am
Posts: 1095
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:13 am 
 

Yes. Happened to me in 2008 when there was this horrible Kauhajoki school shooting. It was told in radio that the killer listened to "heavy music" or "metal music", and "wore black clothes" or something, and there was this Jehova's witness at my work, this around 50-years old lady, throwing jokes like "we don't know about Lane, he listens to heavy music and could kill us all," or "Lane wears black, god help us!"

I took it calmly, though. Too calmly... No other worker laughed at her "jokes", either.
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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
Veteran

Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
Posts: 2973
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:52 am 
 

Death By Wall of Text wrote:
matras wrote:
Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.

There are stories of being called slurs here, accused of being dangerous/violent and getting rejected for jobs. That's textbook discrimination.


I seriously don't think that's the same thing at all. Not dismissing anyone's experience here at all too but as a black man that's faced discrimination based off that fact alone, I don't think I'd place racial discrimination in the same terms as being called slurs for wearing your metal shirt or your hair long. I've been looked at weird for saying I like heavy metal but never any discrimination based off that alone.
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~Guest 1195014
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Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:38 pm 
 

Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
Death By Wall of Text wrote:
matras wrote:
Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.

There are stories of being called slurs here, accused of being dangerous/violent and getting rejected for jobs. That's textbook discrimination.


I seriously don't think that's the same thing at all. Not dismissing anyone's experience here at all too but as a black man that's faced discrimination based off that fact alone, I don't think I'd place racial discrimination in the same terms as being called slurs for wearing your metal shirt or your hair long. I've been looked at weird for saying I like heavy metal but never any discrimination based off that alone.

Which is why no one here is comparing it to racial discrimination. There are various forms of discrimination, ranging from stupid and shitty like most of this thread, to utterly horrific like racism. The latter being worse doesn't make the former better or not worth talking about, especially when it includes examples like someone getting accused of being a potential mass murderer for no defensible reason.

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Required Fields
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:32 pm
Posts: 1248
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:56 pm 
 

I'd say this would not count as discrimination, but still...

I remember one time around 11-12 years ago, I was at the liquor store with a friend. I was wearing a Death shirt, and he was wearing a Decapitated shirt. There was this guard there who was eyeing us the whole time; I think he might have expected us to steal or something. My friend talked about this, as he was somewhat irked by it.

I also remember one guy said that there was one girl who would not go out with him because he listened to bands like Pantera and Slayer.
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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
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Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:12 pm 
 

Death By Wall of Text wrote:
Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
I seriously don't think that's the same thing at all. Not dismissing anyone's experience here at all too but as a black man that's faced discrimination based off that fact alone, I don't think I'd place racial discrimination in the same terms as being called slurs for wearing your metal shirt or your hair long. I've been looked at weird for saying I like heavy metal but never any discrimination based off that alone.

Which is why no one here is comparing it to racial discrimination. There are various forms of discrimination, ranging from stupid and shitty like most of this thread, to utterly horrific like racism. The latter being worse doesn't make the former better or not worth talking about, especially when it includes examples like someone getting accused of being a potential mass murderer for no defensible reason.


Touché, especially for your last sentence.
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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:24 pm 
 

Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
Death By Wall of Text wrote:
matras wrote:
Jfc some of you use the word "discrimination/discriminated" very loosely in here. If that's because of your age or skin colour I don't know, but being inconvenienced or made fun of isn't what I would call discrimination.

There are stories of being called slurs here, accused of being dangerous/violent and getting rejected for jobs. That's textbook discrimination.


I seriously don't think that's the same thing at all. Not dismissing anyone's experience here at all too but as a black man that's faced discrimination based off that fact alone, I don't think I'd place racial discrimination in the same terms as being called slurs for wearing your metal shirt or your hair long. I've been looked at weird for saying I like heavy metal but never any discrimination based off that alone.


I am saddened by the fact that you have experienced racial discrimination, but the term ´discrimination´ is not only reserved for racial discrimination. Why does it have to be measured in the same terms? The one facing any kind of discrimination can feel terrrible. The suffering of people should not be compared. One is racially abused, the other because of not being conventionally 'pretty', so to speak. Both can't do much about this. Both is sad and both shouldn't happen.

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~Guest 1195014
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:18 pm
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:28 pm 
 

Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
Death By Wall of Text wrote:
Metal_On_The_Ascendant wrote:
I seriously don't think that's the same thing at all. Not dismissing anyone's experience here at all too but as a black man that's faced discrimination based off that fact alone, I don't think I'd place racial discrimination in the same terms as being called slurs for wearing your metal shirt or your hair long. I've been looked at weird for saying I like heavy metal but never any discrimination based off that alone.

Which is why no one here is comparing it to racial discrimination. There are various forms of discrimination, ranging from stupid and shitty like most of this thread, to utterly horrific like racism. The latter being worse doesn't make the former better or not worth talking about, especially when it includes examples like someone getting accused of being a potential mass murderer for no defensible reason.


Touché, especially for your last sentence.

Don't worry, I'd never ever downplay racism. I think it's worth having this thread, especially that a few examples are a bit more unsettling than I'd expected.

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Hexenmacht46290
Has a GED in Gamercide

Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 8:30 pm
Posts: 772
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:47 pm 
 

Rodman wrote:
The West Memphis 3

This one is actually serious. The police allowed the obviously guilty uncle to get away, didn’t even test the blood on his knife, because they had already decided that the three young people in town, who happened to listen to fucking Slayer, had to have done it. It’s also fucked op, that when the state freed them, it was only on the condition that they didn’t get ruled not guilty, and the state didn’t have to admit it was wrong.

In my life, everyone made fun of me in high school, but I didn’t have long hair or metal shirts. I basically just wore a bunch of clothes from the thrift store, and I just cut my hair myself, with clippers, using a mirror, because it was free. The job I had required men to shave and not have long hair, which I thought was lame. The whole place was lame, it was an amusement park. I didn’t ever get called a woman, because by the time I did have long hair, I was in my 20s, and had a beard, and I was also lifting weights, fueled by an angstlord life, trying to get jacked, and walking around, looking really pissed off all the time.

I live in a more liberal, educated area, with a handful of rednecks. Religion isn’t very popular here. Most people aren’t going to think you’re a menace to society, they just have pop music tastes, and don’t understand much about non-mainstream music. I have a manufacturing job, and none of my metal shirts have gore or misogyny. The edgiest one is a Dying Fetus one. I was in a supermarket, and someone(who looked like a stereotypical middle aged suburbanite woman), looked scared and disgusted, which was pretty cool. Usually, people in stores ask me about the band, or artwork. A cashier at Costco even asked me “have you heard the new Electric Wizard album? Unfortunately, it sucks.”

If anything, I’ve learned that heavy metal appreciation is much more widespread, in the population, than just people who “look like it.”
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Samoroth
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:59 pm
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:51 pm 
 

Oh this isn't about me, but a friend of mine who went on vacation to Croatia was put aside at the airport and questioned for several hours because of his long hair. They were convinced that he was either on drugs or smuggling drugs.

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Required Fields
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:32 pm
Posts: 1248
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:38 pm 
 

I forgot to mention, the Iranian death metal band Arsames was sentenced to 15 years in prison for "being a Satanic metal band".
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Metalhead

Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:32 pm
Posts: 1248
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:41 pm 
 

Also, not quite the same as discrimination, but treated in a hostile manner for being a metal performer...

Some friends of mine tried to get metal shows going in the local area. Sadly, they were strongly denied by the venues they tried to book metal shows at. They wouldn't even let you play covers of songs by hard rock bands like AC/DC or Van Halen at these venues, apparently.

I live in a place where you are very lucky to even being able to get a pop-punk show greenlit, let alone a metal show. If it's not country, then you're going to have a hard time getting your show booked.
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Terri23
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Posts: 3177
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:00 pm 
 

In school, back in the 90's, I used to get some stick for listening to music that was "out of touch". Nothing too bad, but it was irritating.

As an adult in my twenties, I experienced a different form of discrimination. I looked like a guy from a thrash band. I was once fined for something completely frivolous (crossing a city intersection as a pedestrian while the red light was lit, despite not a single car coming in either direction). I also found it more difficult to find jobs. I can confirm this as I cut my hair and remodeled my wardrobe 5 or 6 years back, and since then, jobs I absolutely would have got turned down for I have now been offered.

Also, the "random searches" at the airport definitely weren't random. I was "randomly searched" every single time I attempted to catch a flight.

Similar to Required Fields, I have also more recently tried to get metal bands shows in new venues, and have found similar pushback based on the stereotype that metal equates to violence and vandalism.
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kazhard
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:42 pm
Posts: 837
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:18 pm 
 

Well not really, although a few douchebags grabbed me by the ponytail in highschool which is pretty fucking insulting
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Vadara
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 16, 2016 11:14 pm
Posts: 484
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:04 am 
 

For a more unique perspective I guess, I am black and have absolutely had family members warn me against being into any kinda heavy music because they think metalheads are all neo-nazi skinheads.

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Metal_On_The_Ascendant
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Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 6:38 am
Posts: 2973
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:57 am 
 

Vadara wrote:
For a more unique perspective I guess, I am black and have absolutely had family members warn me against being into any kinda heavy music because they think metalheads are all neo-nazi skinheads.


Heh. I've had heated arguments about that and always with family. The one that stands out was after Talib Kweli went on Twitter denouncing Taake and I was sorta baited into defending extreme metal, or at the most defining it. Good times.
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Zerberus
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
Posts: 2325
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 7:14 am 
 

Oddly enough I don't think I have been. I've had some fairly conservative office-type jobs, and I wear my hair in a long pony tail, and currently I work in a job with lots of customer relations. That said I of course don't know if looks/being a metalhead somehow played into me not getting a job at all the job interviews I've been to over the years.

Generally speaking Denmark is probably pretty lax with this sort of thing. Sure I've been called a girl for having long hair, but who hasn't. The most I can think of is probably when I'm out alone with my kids at playgrounds and such where some other parents are definitely eyeing me up.
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