WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE ? A BLACK WOMAN’S LIFE AND LIBERATION IN HEAVY METAL

Laina Dawes

[Punk - Metal - Racism]

Laina Dawes is not always the only black woman at metal shows, and she's not always the only headbanger among her black female friends. In her first book, the Canadian critic and music fan questions herself, her headbanging heroes and dozens of black punk, metal, and hard rock fans to answer the knee-jerk question she's heard a hundred times in the small clubs where her favourite bands play: "What are you doing here?"

What Are You Doing Here? investigates how black women musicians and fans navigate the metal, hardcore, and punk music genres that are regularly thought of as inclusive spaces and centered on a community spirit, but fail to block out the race and gender issues that exist in the outside world.

Bazillion Points (2013) 208 p. 15 x 23 cm