Empowering Women in Hardcore Music: Breaking Stereotypes

Originally Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2005
Written by: Charly Louise Hogan   

Breaking Stereotypes in Hardcore Music

I got into hardcore when I became really good friends with this guy and he got me into Lamb of God, Throwdown, As I lay dying, shadows fall, everything.

Empowering Women at Hardcore Shows

In my opinion, I think that are millions of girls who listen to hardcore or whatever, but then when they go to gigs and stuff they stand there like melons because they’re too embarrassed to do some two-stepping, spin kicks etc. I think its a shame because in the pit at a few gigs there are like one or two girls in there and hundreds of blokes (which isn’t always a bad thing 😉 ).  

Challenging Hardcore Stereotypes

I don’t have one female friend who will stick on their cute pink bandana and come in the pit with me and show the males how it’s done… Which then leads males to think that girls are not as “hardcore” as them…

Hardcore is important to me because I can usually relate to the lyrics and emotions that go into the music. Also, (this maybe because I’m an English literature student) I find it quite interesting reading the lyrics of hardcore bands and trying to work out what they mean by it, and what sort of event in their life they might be describing.

The Appeal of Non-Mainstream Hardcore

Another reason why I love hardcore is that it’s not mainstream and there are thousands of bands that people tell me about each day and I find a new love for them. Also, there are like hundreds of up and coming hardcore bands, in my area and everywhere and I can’t wait to hear some of them because there is a lot of talent out there.

Encouraging Female Participation in the Hardcore Scene

My ideas have changed since I got into hardcore because I had been to a few rock gigs and hadn’t seen any girls in the pit so I didn’t bother going in there myself, and I had a lot of closed-minded male friends who tried to tell me the pit is a place for the men… much like the pub, which I also enjoy! Then I discovered hardcore, learned some ace moves and kicked some male ass, and all I really want is at least one chick friend to double team all-male hardcore dancers with!!!