Comedian Fifi Dosch Argues That Nu Metal Lyrics Are About Gender Dysphoria... And She Might Have A Point

In the year of our Lord 2000, in the hit “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle),” Fred Durst called upon the “ladies, and the fellas, and the people that don’t give a fuck.” If even Fred Durst, the Jacksonville native who wore red caps before they were problematic, could recognize more than two genders nearly a quarter of a century ago, then there is no reason for any further discourse as we enter 2025.

Turns out, though, perhaps the lyrics penned by Durst and Co. aren’t the only gender-affirming ones in heavy music. TikTok creator and comedian Fifi Dosch, who recently launched her podcast Skin Suit with fellow creator and comic Robin Tran, has pointed out a number of lines from various nu metal songs that make a case: that accessible heavy music can be boiled down to gender dysphoria.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Oxford Dictionary defines gender dysphoria as “a state of severe distress or unhappiness caused by feeling that one's gender identity does not match one's sex as registered at birth.” To put it succinctly, the outside doesn’t match the inside, and that’s a problem.

Dosch cites examples from Korn, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and Slipknot, with lines that are on the nose (Slipknot’s “Wait and Bleed”: “this is not the way I pictured me”) to the more abstract (the beatboxing section of Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” is just bottom dysphoria noises, according to Dosch’s assessment). Commenters go on to point out other lyrics that fit with the theme, particularly the chorus from Deftones’ “Change (In the House of Flies)”:

While this one-minute video is intended to be humorous, Dosch does make some points, and given some of the angstier, more relatable notes that nu metal touches on, it’s not a stretch to apply some of these words to situations of inner turmoil regarding gender identity.

Except for Sevendust's “Enemy,” we know that it was about Dez Fafara. But I digress.

Check out Fifi Dosch’s hot take on TikTok: