It is a shame that female leads still have to hold their ground to this day. This issue has been debated since the dawn of time, and it doesn’t seem likely to be resolved anytime soon. Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia, who has been in the industry for thirty years, shared her view on the subject to Jonathan Montenegro’s Sobre La Docis podcast. Let’s dive into what she had to say.
“Do I feel that things have changed? Absolutely, yes,” exclaimed the frontwoman, pointing to the progress in the industry compared to the day she started. “When I started, there were not so many bands with a female in the lineup. Metal was still a no-no for females because it was a male-dominated scene. Which it still is, but of course, there are many more bands with a female in the lineup, which makes me happy even though we are still seen differently.”
However, she is not optimistic that female leads will ever be equal to male leads in the metal scene. Cristina admitted, “I don’t think that it will ever happen that we are going to be seen equally, and partially it is okay like this because we’re different. I think that we are a different world.”
To Scabbia, one of the major deal breakers is that females are categorized for their looks rather than what they contribute to the genre. She added, “What I don’t like about being a female in a male-dominated world is the fact that very often we are judged by our looks, which I get it; many guys get the same… but for women, it’s kind of like… Let’s say for the guys, if they have the look, it’s a plus. For women, if they have the look, it’s a plus in terms of media attention; it’s a plus in terms of — I don’t know — people drooling with you, but it doesn’t necessarily add up to the potential you already have. And that is a shame.”
The musician continued, “I understand that the look is the first thing that you see, but it will be cool if it will be possible to go beyond that, especially in music, where the instrument you play, the voice you’re pushing out of your body and the feelings you’re trying to convey with your music are the most important things.”
Cristina would prefer people look past how good they look in their tank tops on stage and instead focus on their talent and what they bring to the industry. How long will this will be a struggle for females in the music scene? It’s tough to tell, but change can only happen with everyone stepping up to do their part to shift the conversation to the playing field.
