ABSTRACT

How does music play a role in normalising men’s sexual violence towards women? Using mainstream rock and metal music as an illustrative case study, we offer a nuanced account of the ways in which men’s sexual violence is normalised. Using a definition of sexual violence drawn from Liz Kelly’s notion of a continuum, which reframes sexual violence as the loss of women’s ability to control sexual experiences, we explore the ways in which sexual violence is a prevalent lyrical and audio-visual component of rock and metal songs. We show that a pernicious theme of rock and metal over the last 25 years is the erosion of women’s ability to refuse sexual activity and to have voice and be heard. We argue that this erosion of women’s consent takes place through the representational use of emotional abuse, controlling/coercive behaviour, and through the objectification of women. The erasure of consent presented through these methods becomes a key means of establishing sexual control. Through manipulation, the confusion of what counts as sexual violence and how it is defined, men’s sexual violence against women is normalised.

摘要

音乐如何在使男性对女性的性暴力正常化方面发挥作用？我们以主流摇滚和金属音乐作为说明性案例研究，对男性性暴力正常化的方式进行了细致入微的描述。我们使用莉兹·凯利（Liz Kelly）的连续体概念中的性暴力定义，将性暴力重新定义为女性控制性经历的能力的丧失，我们探讨了性暴力是如何成为摇滚乐和音乐中普遍存在的抒情和视听组成部分的。金属歌曲。我们表明，过去 25 年摇滚和金属音乐的一个有害主题是女性拒绝性活动、表达意见和被倾听的能力受到侵蚀。我们认为，这种对妇女同意的侵蚀是通过代表性地使用情感虐待、控制/胁迫行为、并通过女性的物化。通过这些方法消除同意成为建立性控制的关键手段。通过操纵、混淆什么是性暴力及其定义，男性对女性的性暴力变得正常化。