Frith and McRobbie declared that, in terms of 'control and production, rock is a male form' (1978: 5). This argument was illustrated with reference of two different types of music: cock rock and teenybop. Cock rock is a term that was coined by feminists during the early 1970s to refer to male performers such as Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey and Robert Plant, who were 'aggressive, dominating and boastful.' Women were often portayed as subordinate in their songs and represented as sex objects on LP covers. The music was 'loud, rhythmically insistent, built around techniques of arousal and climax, the lyrics are assertive and arrogant.cock rockers' musical skills become synonymous with their sexual skills' (Frith and McRobbie, 1978: 7). They believe that men dominate and control the production, reproduction and dissemination of rock music - and this is reflected in the music. Comparing this with teenybop, which was judged to be consumed almost exclusively by girls, Frith and McRobbie found a contrasting representation of male sexuality based on softer ballad styles, and evocations of self-pity and vulnerability which encouraged female fantasies about being the partner of a singer. .
Frith and McRobbies' argument was based on a narrow series of essentialist assumptions which privileged heterosexual behaviour. As Weeks (1986) has argued, 'male and female sexuality is far more varied and differentiated.' Against Frith and McRobbies' argument that rock is male because it is controlled by men and therefore expresses a male sexuality, Robert Walser (1993) has proposed a more dynamic and historical approach by claiming that rock has been actively 'made as male.' Focusing on a specific subgenre, heavy metal, he notes that heavy rock is not enjoyed entirely by male audience and neither does it communicate one type of masculinity. Walser continues to argue that heavy metal musicians do not simply express some essential maleness but instead are involved in what he calls 'forging masculinity.