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The Psychology of Metal Music, Culture, and Dis/ability

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Heavy metal has long been associated with deviance and non-conformity (Messick and Aranda 2020; Snell and Hodgetts 2007; Lynxwiler and Gay 2000), but it is less clear if that encompasses nonvoluntary forms of non-conformity. Metal culture prides itself on being inclusionary (Wray 2018), although that is more an ideal than an objective reality, since despite becoming more inclusionary since its 1960s’ inception, biases have prevented women (Shadrack 2021; Berkers and Schaap 2018; Heesch and Scott 2016), individuals from some religions (Moberg 2012; Hecker 2005; Kartheus 2015), and non-white fans (Dawes 2012) from being treated equally. These biases have been explored in academic and popular literature, but there is less written about metal fans with dis/abilities. Consistent with Goodley (2018), this chapter uses the term ‘dis/ability’ to reference a broad range of disabilities and disorders because it acknowledges the duality of these conditions and avoids potentially ableist associations.

This chapter focuses on how widespread dis/ability is among metal fans, the role of stigma, historical contextualization, and what psychological functions are fulfilled that make metal culture an appealing place for membership. Included here is preliminary theoretical work based on existing trends and evidence, which are substantiated further by qualitative data. This chapter speaks of dis/abilities in broad strokes, so although there is overlap across people of differing life experiences, further nuance is needed when speaking of individual dis/abilities and experiences. This chapter outlines some possible psychological functions metal culture can provide for members with dis/abilities, including mood and symptom maintenance, representation, social relatedness, a sense of belonging, and as an outlet for sharing experiences.

Hardback ISBN: 9781789389456
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References

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  14. Guibert, C. and Guibert, G. (2016), ‘The social characteristics of the contemporary metalhead: The Hellfest survey’, in A. R. Brown , K. Spracklen , K. Kahn-Harris and N. W. R. Scott (eds), Global Metal Music and Culture, London: Routledge, pp. 167–89.
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  22. Hoffin, K. (2019), ‘“Sans compassion nor will to answer whoever asketh the why”: Personal sovereignty within black metal’, Metal Music Studies, 5:2, pp. 151–62.
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  23. Kartheus, W. (2015), ‘The “other” as projection screen: Authenticating heroic masculinity in war-themed heavy metal music videos’, Metal Music Studies, 1:3, pp. 319–40.
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  25. Lower, J. S. (2020), ‘The blindness blues: Race and disability in the American country blues’, unpublished thesis, Buffalo: State University of New York at Buffalo.78
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  27. McFerran, K. S. , Garrido, S. , O’Grady, L. , Grocke, D. , and Sawyer, S. M. (2015), ‘Examining the relationship between self-reported mood management and music preferences of Australian teenagers’, Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 24:3, pp. 187–203.
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  28. McKay, G. (2015), ‘Punk rock and disability’, in B. Howe , S. Jensen-Moulton , N. Lerner and J. Straus (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Music and Disability Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 226–44.
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  30. Messick, K. J. and Aranda, B. E. (2020), ‘The role of moral reasoning & personality in explaining lyrical preferences’, PLoS One, 15:1, p. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228057.
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  31. Messick, K. J. , Aranda, B. , and Day, C. (2020), ‘The experiences of metal fans with mental and developmental disorders in the metal music community’, Metal Music Studies, 6:2, pp. 193–214.
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  32. Mizell, L. , Crawford, B. , and Anderson, C. (2005), Music Preferences in the US: 1982–2002, Washington: National Endowment for the Arts.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Moberg, M. (2012), ‘Religion in popular music or popular music as religion? A critical review of scholarly writing on the place of religion in metal music and culture’, Popular Music and Society, 35:1, pp. 113–30.
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  34. Ollivier, R. , Goupil, L. , Liuni, M. , and Aucouturier, J. J. (2019), ‘Enjoy the violence: Is appreciation for extreme music the result of cognitive control over the threat response system?’, Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 37:2, pp. 95–110.
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  35. Olsen, K. N. , Powell, M. , Anic, A. , Vallerand, R. J. , and Thompson, W. F. (2020), ‘Fans of violent music: The role of passion in positive and negative emotional experience’, Musicae Scientiae, 26:2, pp. 364–87.
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  36. Paterson, L. , McKenzie, K. , and Lindsay, B. (2012), ‘Stigma, social comparison and self-esteem in adults with an intellectual disability’, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 25:2, pp. 166–76.
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  37. Riley, K. (2019), ‘Agency and belonging: What transformative actions can schools take to help create a sense of place and belonging?’, Educational and Child Psychology, 36:4, pp. 91–103.
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  38. Rowe, P. (2018), Heavy Metal Youth Identities: Researching the Musical Empowerment of Youth Transitions and Psychosocial Wellbeing, Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
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  39. Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. (2002), ‘Overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective’, in E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan (eds), Handbook of Self-Determination Research, Rochester: University of Rochester Press, pp. 3–33.
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  43. Strudwick, P. (2014), ‘On stage talent counts, not dis/ability’, The Guardian, 1 April, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/01/constant-flux-learning-dis/abled-bands-mainstream.
  44. Tsatsou, P. (2021), ‘Is digital inclusion fighting disability stigma? Opportunities, barriers, and recommendations’, Disability & Society, 36:5, pp. 702–29.
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References

  1. Arnett, J. (1991), ‘Heavy metal music and reckless behavior among adolescents’, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 20:6, pp. 573–92.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Berkers, P. and Schaap, J. (2018), Gender Inequality in Metal Music Production, Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Branco, C. , Ramos, M. R. , and Hewstone, M. (2019), ‘The association of group-based discrimination with health and well-being: A comparison of ableism with other “isms”’, Journal of Social Issues, 75:3, pp. 814–46.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Brown, L. C. (2013), ‘Stigma: An enigma demystified’, in L. J. Davis (ed.), The Disability Studies Reader, London: Routledge, pp. 147–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Brown, L. S. and Jellison, J. A. (2012), ‘Music research with children and youth with disabilities and typically developing peers: A systematic review’, Journal of Music Therapy, 49:3, pp. 335–64.77
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Caswell, M. , Migoni, A. A. , Geraci, N. , and Cifor, M. (2017), ‘“To be able to imagine otherwise”: Community archives and the importance of representation’, Archives and Records, 38:1, pp. 5–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Church, D. (2006), ‘“Welcome to the Atrocity Exhibition”: Ian Curtis, Rock death, and disability’, Disability Studies Quarterly, 26:4, p. 1.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Couser, G. T. (2005), ‘Disability, life narrative, and representation’, PMLA, 120:2, pp. 602–06.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Dawes, L. (2012), What Are You Doing Here? A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal, Brooklyn: Bazillion Points.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. D’Eloia, M. H. and Sibthorp, J. (2014), ‘Relatedness for youth with disabilities: Testing a recreation program model’, Journal of Leisure Research, 46:4, pp. 462–82.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Gebhardt, S. and von Georgi, R. (2007), ‘Music, mental disorder and emotional reception behavior’, Music Therapy Today, 8:3, pp. 419–45.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Gebhardt, S. , Kunkel, M. , and von Georgi, R. (2016), ‘The role musical preferences play in the modulation of emotions for people with mental disorders’, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 47, pp. 66–71.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Goodley, D. (2018), ‘The dis/ability complex’, DiGeSt: Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies, 5:1, pp. 5–22.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Guibert, C. and Guibert, G. (2016), ‘The social characteristics of the contemporary metalhead: The Hellfest survey’, in A. R. Brown , K. Spracklen , K. Kahn-Harris and N. W. R. Scott (eds), Global Metal Music and Culture, London: Routledge, pp. 167–89.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Hagerty, B. M. , Lynch-Sauer, J. , Patusky, K. L. , and Bouwsema, M. (1993), ‘An emerging theory of human relatedness’, Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25:4, pp. 291–96.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Hall, M. (2016), ‘Horrible heroes: Liberating alternative visions of disability in horror’, Disability Studies Quarterly, 36:1, p. 17.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Hall, S. A. (2010), ‘The social inclusion of young adults with intellectual disabilities: A phenomenology of their experiences’, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Lincoln: University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  18. Hartmann, G. (2017), ‘10 awesome wheelchair crowd surfers’, Loudwire, 6 November, https://loudwire.com/10-awesome-wheelchair-crowd-surfers/.
  19. Hecker, P. (2005), ‘Heavy metal in a Muslim context’, ISIM Review, 16:1, pp. 8–9.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Heesch, F. and Scott, N. (2016), Heavy Metal, Gender and Sexuality: Interdisciplinary Approaches, London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Hicks, J. A. and King, L. A. (2009), ‘Positive mood and social relatedness as information about meaning in life’, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4:6, pp. 471–82.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Hoffin, K. (2019), ‘“Sans compassion nor will to answer whoever asketh the why”: Personal sovereignty within black metal’, Metal Music Studies, 5:2, pp. 151–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Kartheus, W. (2015), ‘The “other” as projection screen: Authenticating heroic masculinity in war-themed heavy metal music videos’, Metal Music Studies, 1:3, pp. 319–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Lesiuk, T. (2010), ‘The effect of preferred music on mood and performance in a high-cognitive demand occupation’, Journal of Music Therapy, 47:2, pp. 137–54.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Lower, J. S. (2020), ‘The blindness blues: Race and disability in the American country blues’, unpublished thesis, Buffalo: State University of New York at Buffalo.78
  26. Lynxwiler, J. and Gay, D. (2000), ‘Moral boundaries and deviant music: Public attitudes toward heavy metal and rap’, Deviant Behavior, 21:1, pp. 63–85.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. McFerran, K. S. , Garrido, S. , O’Grady, L. , Grocke, D. , and Sawyer, S. M. (2015), ‘Examining the relationship between self-reported mood management and music preferences of Australian teenagers’, Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 24:3, pp. 187–203.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. McKay, G. (2015), ‘Punk rock and disability’, in B. Howe , S. Jensen-Moulton , N. Lerner and J. Straus (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Music and Disability Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 226–44.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Messick, K. J. , Jong, J. , van Mulukom, V. , and Farias, M. (2023), ‘The nontheistic sacred: The psychological functions of metal music and artefacts’, The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 33:3, pp. 198–213.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Messick, K. J. and Aranda, B. E. (2020), ‘The role of moral reasoning & personality in explaining lyrical preferences’, PLoS One, 15:1, p. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228057.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Messick, K. J. , Aranda, B. , and Day, C. (2020), ‘The experiences of metal fans with mental and developmental disorders in the metal music community’, Metal Music Studies, 6:2, pp. 193–214.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Mizell, L. , Crawford, B. , and Anderson, C. (2005), Music Preferences in the US: 1982–2002, Washington: National Endowment for the Arts.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Moberg, M. (2012), ‘Religion in popular music or popular music as religion? A critical review of scholarly writing on the place of religion in metal music and culture’, Popular Music and Society, 35:1, pp. 113–30.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Ollivier, R. , Goupil, L. , Liuni, M. , and Aucouturier, J. J. (2019), ‘Enjoy the violence: Is appreciation for extreme music the result of cognitive control over the threat response system?’, Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 37:2, pp. 95–110.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Olsen, K. N. , Powell, M. , Anic, A. , Vallerand, R. J. , and Thompson, W. F. (2020), ‘Fans of violent music: The role of passion in positive and negative emotional experience’, Musicae Scientiae, 26:2, pp. 364–87.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Paterson, L. , McKenzie, K. , and Lindsay, B. (2012), ‘Stigma, social comparison and self-esteem in adults with an intellectual disability’, Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 25:2, pp. 166–76.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Riley, K. (2019), ‘Agency and belonging: What transformative actions can schools take to help create a sense of place and belonging?’, Educational and Child Psychology, 36:4, pp. 91–103.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Rowe, P. (2018), Heavy Metal Youth Identities: Researching the Musical Empowerment of Youth Transitions and Psychosocial Wellbeing, Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. (2002), ‘Overview of self-determination theory: An organismic dialectical perspective’, in E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan (eds), Handbook of Self-Determination Research, Rochester: University of Rochester Press, pp. 3–33.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Shadrack, J. H. (2021), Black Metal, Trauma, Subjectivity and Sound: Screaming the Abyss, Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Sharman, L. and Dingle, G. A. (2015), ‘Extreme metal music and anger processing’, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9, Article 272, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00272.79
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Snell, D. and Hodgetts, D. (2007), ‘Heavy metal, identity and the social negotiation of a community of practice’, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 17:6, pp. 430–45.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Strudwick, P. (2014), ‘On stage talent counts, not dis/ability’, The Guardian, 1 April, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/01/constant-flux-learning-dis/abled-bands-mainstream.
  44. Tsatsou, P. (2021), ‘Is digital inclusion fighting disability stigma? Opportunities, barriers, and recommendations’, Disability & Society, 36:5, pp. 702–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Walters, A. S. , Barrett, R. P. , and Feinstein, C. (1990), ‘Social relatedness and autism: Current research, issues, directions’, Research in Developmental Disabilities, 11:3, pp. 303–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. White, J. L. and Massiha, G. H. (2015), ‘Strategies to increase representation of students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)’, International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 4:3, pp. 89–93.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Wray, D. D. (2018), ‘Where heavy metal is headed’, Noisey: Music By Vice, 29 August, https://www.vice.com/en/article/9kmjvy/where-heavy-metal-is-headed.

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