The Dogma Case: Power, Control, Silence – and why Women Break Out

The story of Dogma reads like a drama in several acts. Musicians leave, serious accusations fly through the air, and a project falls apart in public. But if you take a closer look, you realize that Dogma is not a scandal. Dogma is a mirror.

Visa problems. Manipulation. Contracts that lawyers describe as “slave labor.” Musicians who have their social media accounts taken away as soon as they set boundaries. And the sentence that sums it all up: “They're only complaining because they're women.”

For years, female musicians have been reporting on structures that exercise control over creativity, bodies, income, and even identity. Masking, gag orders, confidentiality clauses—almost ironic in a scene that likes to market itself as rebellious, free, and “real.” Dogma frontwoman Kim Jennett said, “It wasn't a band. It was a brand.” What sounds like smooth PR means in practice that women were interchangeable. Vocally, physically, legally.

It becomes particularly bitter when women are marketed under the label of feminism—while they have no voice behind the scenes. When empowerment is sold to the outside world while control and exploitation take place in the background, the most perfidious contradiction of all arises: Femininity as a costume. Silence as a contract.

The latest allegations made by Zoe Federoff show the same pattern: manipulation, pressure, abuse of power—and as soon as a woman steps out and speaks up, she is publicly defamed. Private matters are used against her. Reputation damage is used as a weapon.

The patterns overlap:

• Women express criticism → are replaced.

• Women set boundaries → are accused.

• Women leave → their version is questioned.

• Women speak out publicly → they are silenced.

Because women are finally speaking up.

Because networks are growing.

Because social media gives them a voice that can no longer be controlled by a label or a manager.

And perhaps also because they know:

If they don't say anything, nothing will change.

If they say something, they risk everything.

Not every band is toxic.
Not every management team is manipulative.
But the structures that enable such cases to occur are real:

• Lack of control over fees, contracts, rights

• Unprofessional or deliberately manipulative management teams

• Gatekeepers who exert pressure

• Women who are afraid of suffering professional consequences

• Fans who judge women more harshly than men

When women in metal speak up, it's rarely about gossip. It's about respect. It's about safety. It's about working conditions that truly deserve to be called that. Dogma isn't the end of a band. It's a reminder of how urgently this scene needs honest reappraisal.

Note: Created with the support of AI tools — guided, curated and finalised by the Dark Divas editorial team.