‘This gave me a Mastodong’: A decolonial analysis of the Black twerking dancers in Mastodon’s The Motherload music video

Abstract

The article presents a decolonial and intersectional approach to production and reception of The Motherload music video (2014) in the context of heavy metal culture and how female Black bodies are displayed in media culture. We discuss the feminist dichotomic approach on the objectification of female bodies and the defence of Black female empowerment in the performances recorded. Our debate focuses on racial and sexual hierarchies in the metal music scene and in The Motherload music video, using the female Black body as a means of gaining visibility and adherence to this scene where women are often sexually objectified in its social dynamics.