Race and gender in globalized and postmodern metal

Abstract

Heavy metal has developed into a globalised and postmodern phenomenon, whereas some aspects of the theoretical conceptualization of it is closely associated with Western Europe and North America from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. With the point of departure in a discussion of a field study of the roles played by race and gender in the metal scene in Gaborone, Botswana, I argue that this mismatch makes difficult a historical understanding of contemporary heavy metal music.