University sociology professor Deena Weinstein observed that metal fans tend to be white males who are drawn together out of a sense of tribalism that affirms their identity. Outsiders are welcomed so long as they follow the group’s “codes of dress, appearance, and behavior, and show devotion to the music,” she writes. “Neither sexist, ageist, nor racist on principle, the metal subculture is exclusivist, insistent upon upholding the codes of its core membership.”
