What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal

The topic/subject matter of this book is sure to appeal to those with an interest in heavy music, music history, anthropology, and sociology. The many accounts of women of color within the heavy music scene shine a much needed light on the experiences of those who aren't the typical straight, white, males who dominate the scene. As a lifelong fan of heavy music, the perspective of these women is something I'm eager to learn more about.Unfortunately the book suffers from a lack of any real editorial process. There are many typos throughout, and some sections of the book are repeated. The introduction by Skin is printed twice, and the portion of the appendix dealing with the author's survey questions was printed three times.Beyond that the chapters have no real thread that focus the content of each section. The entire book reads like a long list of personal accounts, (which I appreciate) without any guiding thesis or narrative.I wanted to like the book more. While I feel grateful and even a bit more enlightened after having read these women's stories, I think the book would be more impactful if there was a greater organization and analysis of the information.

Great thesis with a mediocre execution. This is perhaps the first book of its kind that examines, in depth, the experience of Black women in Heavy Metal, which makes it important. Her writing style and the way she organizes thoughts lacks maturity and exposes how unseasoned she was at this point in her career as an author. The themes are so repetitive that they become a series of exhausting mantras that beat you about the head as you read the book. By the time you're two thirds through, you want the experience of reading this to be over regardless of how important the content is. She did, however, do good work by exposing readers to artists like Skunk Anansie, and the book is worth skimming just to check out the bands and artists specifically mentioned.Having met the author and interacted with her extensively, it's fair to say that from her point of view she sees herself as the leading expert on any topics pertaining to race in heavy music, acts as though she has cornered the market on dialog in this arena, and is threatened by anyone else doing research in this very specific area. She perceives opinions from white people, other black people, and men that are not in lock step with hers as wrong and goes out of her way to make them know their opinions are not valued. Her bullying, when confronted with differing opinions in the real world, is contrary to the way she paints herself as a constant victim of racism and otherness in her writing. Laina also has an opportunistic streak and has used the deaths of major figures like David Bowie as a platform to race bait conversations and promote her personal politics and work.

This is a book I purchased with great enthusiasm and read with diminishing interest as I neared the end. Some of the book is undeniably invaluable and I would not have known some of the things the author pointed out had I not read this book. With that said, I understand the need to iterate and even reiterate, but some of these points were made so many times that it started to seem like there was a contractual obligation to reach 200 pages.I also checked out the bands mentioned in the book as I made my way through. For every fantastic Family Stand and splendid Skunk Anansie there were bands that were well and truly bad, embarrassing even.Also: Phil Anselmo? Was the author really genuinely surprised to learn that some of his views fit very well with his abiding love of Confederate flags? Chuck D? Three classic records on his CV, but his "Flav don't like homos" and "still they got me like Jesus" ideas have always been there for all to see. Why be "stunned" when he gets defensive? He has always been defensive.A book that needed to be written but for this reader it would have been a better book if it has come in at about 150 pages.

Reading this book blew me away because I never knew there was so many black women into metal. We went the the same BS just for b ing diffent. Like the women in the book, I too was ostracized, called an Oreo and whatnot. It used to bug me when I was younger. Now put put up my horns with pride. #proudmetalhead

As a former rock critic who dealt with the dearth of black rock bands in general, I felt as if Laina was telling my life story as I read this book. As a black woman in the rock world, I found myself fighting very hard to be taken seriously, even though I worked for one of America's largest and best newspapers. The fact that the story has changed so little all these years later makes me sad, but the fact that Laina and several other strong black female musicians are fighting the good fight--and winning, in some cases--makes me proud. This is topic that needs to be discussed, and this book is leading that discussion. It's a clarion call to all black rockers everywhere--but especially to the women who dare to blaze new trails. Beautiful book!

I found this book reading about women in heavy metal. The subject intrigued me, as a white woman and fan of heavy metal I knew what kind of suspicion and exclusion I have felt in the scene so I couldn't imagine what it might be like for women of color. It was an incredible journey and really opened my eyes to things going on in my own scene. Once my attention was brought to the sexism and prejudice in the scene it seemed really obvious. Every fan who calls them self a devotee to the hard rock, punk, hardcore or heavy metal scene should read this. All of us.

I personally can’t know what it’s like to be a black woman going to metal shows in North America, because I’m not one and I don’t live there. However, I can get a good idea of the experiences of this group of women from Laina Dawes who writes with an academic air about her own experiences and those of other women who filled in her questionnaires or spoke to her. Dawes makes the point that in order to have a reasoned argument you need to do so calmly and in the right tone. Because of this there is nothing preachy or argumentative in this book, but there is a lot to think about and challenges to viewpoints. There is some interesting and non-sensationalist discussion of Phil Anselmo. If you like metal and Sociology/Women’s Studies then this book is for you. I had lots of moments of a feeling of metal community when she was writing about bands I love. It’s the sort of book that will stay with me long after I’ve closed its cover. It’s already made me think about my own (fictional heavy metal) writing and about the characters I include and omit.

I'm only on the first couple of chapters and I can already tell this will be my bible to read over and over again. I've learnt many things from it and I can relate to it all and that is an awesome feeling to know other people are going through the exact same things on the other side of the world.

I was trying to think of a particular type of person to recommend it to but honestly this is a book anyone can glean something from. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time. If you find yourself on the fence about buying it, do yourself a favour and go for it.

havent got round to fully finish reading this book yet. but from what i have managed to read is informative to the max. diversity is the way to go. planet rock!

Livre très intéréssant qui traite d'une sujet peu discuté dans la scène Heavy Metal, à savoir ce que c'est d'être une femme noire dans un milieu très majoritairement masculin et blanc, avec une historique du genre en début du livre. J'ai pu découvrir de nouvelles artistes grâce à ça.