I wrote on the topic of "Women in Metal" for my college newspaper, The Daily Iowan last summer (unfortunately I cannot find a link to the article on the great DI archive system) and got a wide number of comments, both positive and negative.
It's amazing how many males will make sexist remarks on articles about women in metal. Just today, Blabbermouth.net posted an article mentioning a recent KNAC.com interview with Arch Enemy frontwoman Angela Gossow in which she called Revolver's Hottest Chicks in Metal special edition "an embarrassment for women" (note: Gossow did originally pose for the magazine).
I couldn't agree more. Sure a woman's sex appeal can help sell a band's music, but there is a limit to this. I don't think a woman should have to demean herself to sell records and the Hottest Chicks in Metal series borderlines on doing just that (example: a near-nude photo of In This Moment's Maria Brink).
On the other hand, I did also get a chance to interview the frontwoman from Eyes Set to Kill, Alexia Rodriguez, who posed for the magazine (alongside her sister no less) and she said this:
“The people at Revolver really support our music, and they did before they even knew me and Anissa,” Rodriguez said. “I mean if it were in Playboy, I’d have to say it would be a negative thing, but because it’s a well-known metal magazine, I think it’s a pretty good thing.”
I can't say I fully agree with Alexia's positive attitude, but her photos were probably classier than some of the others, so I get where she is coming from.
I'm glad that Angela Gossow publicly ridiculed the mag and I think she is the perfect woman to do so. She is strong-minded and a brutal death metal vocalist. An inspiration for all women who are fans of metal in my opinion.
I'm not saying Revolver needs to can the idea entirely, but if it does continue, it should make sure to keep the photos classy and not topless (even if the breasts are covered up). After all, you wouldn't want to see a topless (or pantsless) dude in the magazine.
The saddest thing I have seen in all of this is that instead of enjoying the fact that women are actually getting into the music men have always loved, we are ridiculing them, mocking them and treating them like shit because of it.
The more women in metal, the better in my opinion. Sure some bands with female fronted vocalists aren't all that great, but the same can be said with male fronted bands as well. If you don't like a band, don't listen to it, but anyone refusing to listen to Arch Enemy ever since it got a "chick singer," well... it's their loss.
