This study has shown that women face...

This study has shown that women face marginalization and multiple binds, no matter what their contribution to crew scene hardcore is. If they transgress ornamental norms of self-presentation, they may be defeminized yet not fully masculinized. Similarly, following arbitrary ornamental standards provides ‘eye candy’ for the male gaze, while potentially disqualifying women from the scene. A dichotomized aggression myth is reinforced when female indirect aggression defers to male direct aggression. When women are directly aggressive, such as in the case of crew scene dancing, they are likely to become an object onto which humiliation is projected. Woman may feel the need to overcompensate displays of direct aggression in an attempt to legitimate their position in the scene. One example of this is Rhonda’s intense expression of territoriality, which is an active challenge to hegemonic masculinity. Many women have duly reported that they have ‘that I don’t give a fuck attitude’ about gender constrictions in crew scene hardcore. They attend shows because they love the scene. Nevertheless, women struggle for validation in this scene where respect is professed to be a central value. Even women with key positions such as a musician or show promoter, roles without which the scene would not exist, struggle for respect from their peers. As Eric remarked regarding Monica, a promoter of shows in New York, ‘she has some [respect] … but she’s still a girl, remember?’ These points were made by illuminating the experiences of women in the scene set against its hypermasculine performances, while employing crews as enforcers of an ideal type of control.

— Jeff Purchla, “The powers that be: Processes of control in ‘crew scene hardcore’”, Ethnography 2011 12: 198 (via allinyourrows)