Ming Ling
Becoming ‘Transgressor’: Webzine as a collaborative platform aids the freedom of female extreme metal musicians’ self-expression
Summary
In extreme metal music production, female musicians have been marginalized severely in this men-dominated field. Their music skill is underestimated while their body representation is fetishized, which can be seen from the marketing strategies that been used by many heavy metal medias. Specifically, female musicians have to deal with the trade-off between dressing feminine to stand out and strengthening their masculinity to fit in. Thus, their self-expression is restricted.
As a visual artist, researcher as well as a female musician myself, I wondered that if there were a new kind of metal media for female musicians to aid the freedom of their self-expression. In this practice-based research, six female-lead extreme metal bands plus one special guest participated in, and a brand new, visually-focused webzine called Transgressor
has been made, offering insightful interviews and experiments on fanzine visuals through interactive collages.
Please click the link below to check out Transgressor the zine:
