International Women's' Day has been and gone butBillie Eilish is keeping the conversation going. In the past, she has been criticised for her tendency to gravitate towards baggy clothes. This, she has revealed isin an effort to avoid sexualisation. A fair enough call considering the singer started off her career at the age of just 14.
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Kicking off her tour in Miami on Monday night the 'Bad Guy' singer addressed judgments on her wardrobe choice in a powerful two-minute video:
"Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me."
"If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman, If I shed the layers, I am a slut".
In the black and white video, Eilish is showing a bit of skin as she removes her top and slides into a black tar-like liquid. In the background fans can hear her monologue, delivering an important message about passing judgements:
"Though you've never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?"
"You make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are. We decide what they're worth."
Billie Eilish showing her body. That’s it. That’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/PV9WCxZLtC
— linda - fan account (@selankagomez) March 10, 2020
This isn't the first time that Eilish has spoken out about her wardrobe choice, in an interview withNME the 18-year-old spoke about what it's like to be a female artist:
"I’ve spoken a lot to female artists about this because if you’re not a female artist you probably don’t think about this. If I was a guy and I was wearing these baggy clothes, nobody would bat an eye. There’s people out there saying, ‘Dress like a girl for once! Wear tight clothes you’d be much prettier and your career would be so much better!’ No it wouldn’t. It literally would not.”’
The star also dished about the issue again last year in her '#MyCalvins' campaign:
“Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath. Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat a**,’ ‘she’s got a fat a**.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know.”
Despite any haters commenting on her wardrobe or her body, many women have supported Eilish in her decision, shunning society for making her feel like she needs to cover up to avoid lingering eyes.
The teen singer's video hit home for lots of other young girls as well, many have taken to Twitter to rally behind the message:
The way that billie eilish revealing her body at her own discretion is going to empower girls to make their own choices ... I have no choice but to stan.
— mia + (@apontemia_) March 10, 2020
BILLIE EILISH HER BODY SHAMING SPEECH IS EVERYTHING EVERYBODY NEEDS TO HEAR!!!!!!! I wish I was a teen when she came up she would’ve given me so much strength! luckily my gen had Demi Lovato for topics like that 🤍🙏🏼
— NAAZ (@BitsOfNaaz) March 10, 2020
people hated on Bil for wearing big baggy clothes and not showing her body. I SWEAR IF PEOPLE GONNA HATE ON HER FOR SHOWING OFF HER BODY IMMA THROW MY HANDS- @billieeilish I am so proud.
— proudofbil (@proudofbil) March 10, 2020