Annie Lennox Talks Feminism, The American Songbook on ‘Nostalgia’“The term &am

Annie Lennox Talks Feminism, The American Songbook on ‘Nostalgia’“The term ‘feminist’ is still very divisive and polarizing. And even women sometimes want to distance themselves from it for a variety of reasons, and that is a challenge.”Radio.com: “I Put A Spell On You” was an interesting song for you to cover. It’s been done so many times.Annie Lennox: Well, you know the original song written by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, I mean, it’s extraordinary in its machismo power and its madness. There’s nothing like that song, and I felt that if I was to do a version of it, that it would be the female response to that machismo power, you know? And so, I just entered into it in that spirit.Radio.com: You’ve said that you wanted to make the song “Summertime” a voice for the voiceless.Annie Lennox: My gender has given me the opportunity to sort of engage with women who are coming from a very different background from me. I feel that women in developing countries, particularly, and girls, are at the very bottom of the ladder. There’s not even a comparison to Western countries, and that is where I feel that feminism and empowerment of women needs to happen, and that just means as Malala [Yousafzai] has said, “Give girls education, get them books. Get them into school, and you’ll see the world start to transform.” I believe in that.Radio.com: I read about an event that you were speaking at, and you had asked all the feminists to stand up, and only half of the women stood up. That was surprising.A few years ago, I was attending an event in London, it was the “Woman of the Year” awards, there were 400 women there, all exceptional women. I was given an award and I was flattered by that. During my acceptance speech, I said, with a sense of pride, “Well, I’m a feminist, everybody in the room who is a feminist please stand up.” And half the room stood up while the rest stayed seated. And I was taken aback by that. But it taught me something: it really taught me that the term “feminist” is still very divisive and polarizing. And even women sometimes want to distance themselves from it for a variety of reasons, and that is a challenge. That, specifically, the challenge that feminists, male and female, need to address.Radio.com:I think some people still think of feminism as a ’60s bra-burning thing.Annie Lennox:Yes: that’s what it was, a strident movement. Women were very angry and did express a rage against a kind of machismo society. It had to be that way [back then]. But in order for it to evolve, it must be inclusive of everyone. At the end of the day, if it’s divisive, then we really need to do something about it. Because then everyone gets fractionalized, and then we fight against each other.“Read the full interview hereI’ve read many interviews with Annie Lennox over the years, and I believe her heart is generally in the right place, but she can make some problematic statements for lack of a deeper understanding of social politics.For example, her comment about "strident” feminists. Were many feminists in the 60’s, and are many feminists today, majorly pissed off at how women are treated? Sure. And rightfully so in the face of epidemic violence against women, second class citizenry worldwide, a popular culture of degradation and insult to women, and the literally million other reasons #WhyWeNeedFeminism.So to use the word “strident,” which is an emotionally loaded and negative term, against 2nd wave feminists is to undermine the legitimate and understandable reasons for that outrage. No kidding here: “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” A perfect example of this is Ferguson and the treatment of black people in America. Clueless white people just won’t stop about “why is everyone so angry?” in the middle of a blatantly racist system where people’s children are being murdered in the streets for their color. The problem isn’t the anger.She does say, “it was necessary then and we need to evolve.” I think this statement, while ultimately true, makes it seem like the problem is with how feminists are acting, vs. how anti-feminists are acting. If women’s rights, health, image and safety weren’t being attacked daily on all fronts, maybe you’d see some less pissed-off feminists! Give it a shot society! Treat women right and I can bet you that you’ll see a lot less anger.Also, to say there’s no comparison between Western and Non-Western countries in terms of women is flat out racist. Of course there are comparisons. There are non-Western countries and regions that have lower rape rates than the U.S. Where there are women presidents while the U.S. has never had one. We can and should be fully critical of sexism and misogyny ANYWHERE, but to focus on “how the West is better” is racist and misleading. -- source link

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