Last week, I signed an online petition and inadvertently opened a pandora’s box of misogyny. The protest was raised over a guitar effects preset called the “Pussy Melter,” released by TC Electronic in collaboration with the guitarist Satchel, whose band Steel Panther is often referred to as a hair-metal parody act. As if the name of the preset didn’t broadcast its intended audience, the description on TC Electronic’s website left nothing to the imagination:

Wanna make a physical impact on your audiences, with an epic delay tone? Then Satchel’s got you covered! When we met up with Steel Panther’s oh-so-humble guitarist, he had only one condition: that the tone be as wet as the ladies on the front row! With “Pussy Melter” that’s exactly what you get: a delay tone, which perfectly nails that heavy metal lead tone, whilst simultaneously ensuring that the janitor ain’t going home early! So if glam rock guitar solos and wet floor signs are your idea of a good time, then “Pussy Melter” for Flashback Delay is definitely the TonePrint for you!

Naturally, I and many others were offended by this, prompting guitarist Jessica Fennelly to draft the petition to discontinue “Pussy Melter” (which TC Electronic has since done). Last Tuesday, after I signed Fennelly's petition, I shared it on Twitter with the 10,000 or so people who follow the account of my band, Braids. As musicians like Japanese Breakfast, Ted Leo, and Emily Reo reacted to or shared the post, I quickly became the focal point of an online hate campaign. Within hours, I was called a cunt, a whore, and a fucking piece of shit hundreds of times. Braids’ social media accounts were hacked and targeted, with abusive comments left all over unrelated Facebook posts and Instagram photos. A prominent metal vlogger branded me a hypocrite (since one Braids music video is set in bed) and sold “it’s far easier to sit around and bitch” T-shirts (and posters!) in my honor. Even the addresses and phone numbers of my bandmates were posted on Twitter, proving that doxxing can extend to male musicians if they’re aligned with a publicly outspoken woman.

All in all, almost 1,000 people took time out of their lives to tell me that I am, in short, the reason people hate feminists, attempting to kill rock’n’roll, destroying free expression, and totally bereft of humor. While I’ve seen this kind of attack play out online many times before, this experience has taught me firsthand that women who fight against misogynistic language will be told their concerns are unimportant compared to everything else going on in the world. Apparently noting that something is sexist is pointless, yet arguing its pointlessness is a constructive use of time. These folks claim that Steel Panther’s exploitation of women is part of their parody of ’80s glam-metal debauchery—all in good fun, they say. Their inability to even hear my critique suggests to me that the “parodic” female degradation extends beyond the stage and into the behavior of Steel Panther’s fans.

The funny thing is, Steel Panther doesn’t necessarily think of itself as a parody act. “The label of being a parody band is not something we put on ourselves,” lead singer Michael Starr told L.A. Weekly two years ago, adding that the guys “just truly sing about shit that makes us laugh.” Oftentimes this means taking cheap shots at women and minorities. Sample lyrics from their song “Asian Hooker”: “Find a geisha girl/Take her for a whirl/Wrap a tuna roll on my dick/And the bitch is on her knees/Sucky fucky/Sucky fucky/Sucky fucky/Smells like sushi.” Comedic gold, right?