Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia doesn't think women will ever receive equal treatment in the male-dominated world of heavy metal.
The frontwoman offered her view on gender equality during an interview for Jonathan Montenegro's My 3 Questions To series, which saw her asked whether she thinks women are now taken more seriously as musicians in the metal scene than they were when her band was formed, in 1994.
As a response, she says (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): "Do I feel that things changed? Absolutely, yes. 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 very 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.
"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 sort of a different world."
Elaborating on what bothers her about the lack of equality in the industry, Scabbia continues, "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, because people should not be judged by their looks. I understand that the look is first thing that you see, but it will 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."
Listen to the full interview below:
