"Would you like me to be smaller? Weaker? Softer? Taller?" Billie Eilish said last May. "Would you like me to be quiet? Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach? My hips? The body I was born with; is it not what you wanted?"
The singer has had a love-hate relationship with her body. From thoughts of self-harming at the age of 12 to finally accepting how she looks, Eilish has come a long way. However, the Lovely crooner had often been called out for wearing 'baggy' clothes, the reason being how the media usually objectifies women's bodies.
“That’s why I wear baggy clothes,” the crooner had told Teen Vogue in 2019. “Nobody can have an opinion because they haven't seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘She’s slim-thick’ or ‘she’s not slim-thick’ or ‘she’s got a flat butt’ or ‘she's got a fat butt.’ No one can say any of that because they don't know.”
However, for the June issue of the British Vogue, the Bad Guy crooner bares all. Clad in a satin corset by Alexander McQueen, Eilish is all set for a more refined version of herself with newly-dyed blonde hair and an agenda against those who exploit underage girls. Fans get a first glimpse of the artist unlike she has ever been seen before. And she has also explained why. Here are four noteworthy things from the 19-year-old’s recent tell-all.
Confidence is key
Eilish talked about being misconstrued when she talks about body-shaming. "If you’re about body positivity, why would you wear a corset? Why wouldn’t you show your actual body?” She asked rhetorically. “My thing is that I can do whatever I want. It’s all about what makes you feel good. If you want to get surgery, go get surgery. If you want to wear a dress that somebody thinks you look too big wearing…if you feel like you look good, you look good.”
A ‘personality transplant' no one asked for
The multi-Grammy-winner also shared how she wouldn't align herself with the media’s interpretation of the 'perfect wife.' Eilish called out the stereotypical ideal of of 'falling for a classic hot girl and then making her undergo a personality transplant.
"She’s this completely different character of wifey. It really messed me up. It’s like, you’re attracted to that person, though. You created that person. Suddenly, you’re a hypocrite if you want to show your skin and you’re easy and you’re a slut. If I am, then I’m proud. Let’s turn it around and be empowered in that. Showing your body and showing your skin – or not – should not take any respect away from you.”
The much-needed women’s anthem
"I really think the bottom line is, men are very weak,” she commented. “I think it’s just so easy for them to lose it. ‘You expect a dude not to grab you if you’re wearing that dress?’ Seriously, you’re that weak? Come on!"
Eilish’s latest single Your Power is a narrative many needed to hear. "It’s an open letter to people who take advantage – mostly men,” she confessed. "I would like people to listen to me. And not just try to figure out who I’m talking about because it’s not about that. It’s really not at all about one person. You might think, ‘It’s because she’s in the music industry.’ No, dude. It’s everywhere. I don’t know one girl or woman who hasn’t had a weird experience or a really bad experience. And men, too – young boys are taken advantage of constantly.”
The singer went on, "I wanted to say that it doesn’t matter who you are, what your life is, your situation, who you surround yourself with, how strong you are, how smart you are. You can always be taken advantage of. That’s a big problem in the world of domestic abuse or statutory rape – girls that were very confident and strong-willed finding themselves in situations where they’re like, ‘Oh my god, I’m the victim here?’ And it’s so embarrassing and humiliating and demoralising to be in that position of thinking you know so much and then you realise, I’m being abused right now.”
‘Enjoy your fame'
Eilish also revealed she went through the same ordeal when she was younger. However, time and again, she was asked to keep quiet and enjoy the fame she had gotten at such a young age.
Her abuser, though, wasn't an industry giant. Without sharing details, the singer lamented on the power one might hold over someone else who is trying to make it big and how that isn't just limited to the entertainment industry. "There are all these people who are incredibly vulnerable and would honestly do anything you say," Eilish explained. "That’s a crazy feeling. Nobody should be given the power that we’re given."
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