To address the introduced issues of gender in the heavy metal subculture, the empirical component of this book relies on interviews with 10 women and 10 men who identify as fans of heavy metal. In keeping with the subjectivist approach of our examination, we did not apply an external standard to establish who qualifies as a fan of heavy metal, but instead let the respondents make that determination themselves. Because the focus of our work is on perceptions concerning women in the metal community, it is important to note that the interviews were conducted by the first author of this book, a woman, who herself also participates in the world of metal, a genre of music the second author has been involved with since the transformation from hard rock to heavy metal from the late 1960s onwards. The interviews were conducted with approval from the Institutional Review Board at the University of South Carolina, and both authors successfully passed required training for research involving human subjects.

It goes without saying that the small sample size of the interviews cannot lay claim the criteria of a random selection of research subjects upon which generalizable conclusions could be reached to a broad population. However, by selecting an equal number of men and women, we are able to reach conclusions on the critical role that gender plays in the opinions of heavy metal fans about their favorite music community. Furthermore, as our study is oriented at an adequate understanding of subjective experiences rather than an explanation of objective conditions, the findings derived from the interviews are illustrative of relevant issues in the sociology of gender and the dynamics of doing gender to bring out subjective but relevant meaning (Westmarland 2001).

Interviews

Because of the focus on the evolving status of women in a traditionally masculine world, an equal number of 10 men and 10 women were purposely selected to be interviewed. Importantly, we hereby do not rely on sex rather than gender as categories of selection, let alone address the question of the relationship between gender identity and biological sex.