A study of fan perceptions of the gender dynamics in the traditionally homosocial and hypermasculine environment of the heavy metal subculture, this work was sociologically framed on the basis of gender difference theories, specifically centered on salient gender phenomena involving othering/ gender performativity, objectification, and doing gender. The empirical research was specifically aimed at developing an interpretive understanding of attitudes about gender expressed by women and men who self-identify as metalheads. Relying on semi-structured interviews, we thereby sought to uncover the meanings metalheads themselves attach to the conditions and development of those aspects of the heavy metal subculture that relate closely to gender. Following the famous Thomas theorem that ideas are real in their consequences (Merton 1995), perceptions are far from trivial to examine. How fans feel and think about women as members of the heavy metal community will also shape how gender dynamics will develop and evolve. Our study has thus provided important empirical data concerning how and to what extent women are accepted and treated in an environment that is still— though less clearly than in the not too distant past— dominated by men.

It was a particular goal of our work to illustrate the value of applying a sociological perspective rooted in theories of gender difference in the world of heavy metal. Restricted to examining fan perceptions on women in heavy metal on the basis of the theory of doing gender, we recognize our study's limitations in not being able to generalize from the interview findings. A large-scale quantitative survey of the heavy metal community and its many sociologically relevant dimensions still remains to be done. A complementary analysis of the conduct that men engage in at metal shows, rather than treating masculinity as a background condition, would also enrich the scholarly study of gender in heavy metal.