During a recent interview with British GQ, Dua Lipa opened up about how women are often held to higher standards than men in the music industry. The singer explained how females in the pop scene have to be “athletes as much as singers,” but males will often not meet those same standards.
“I remember going to a show by… A male artist that actually doesn’t do anything on stage. And they got this stellar five-star review. But then you have women who get up on stage and they’re practically doing cartwheels, costume changes — it’s a spectacle. And then [reviewers] nitpick every little thing,” she explained. “It almost seemed like a myth to be able to do everything on stage. I was like, ‘At least if I can just sing my song really well then nothing else matters.’ But I think now I’ve come to terms with the fact it just has to be all or nothing. It’s made me so much stronger.”
The 24-year-old revealed that after this revelation, she knew that she had to perform dance routines alongside her songs on a tour, so she practiced “for two weeks, just doing the routine over and over again until I literally knew it in my sleep.”
As fans know, this isn’t the first time the “New Rules” songstress has spoken out about sexism in the music industry. Just after her brand new album Future Nostalgia was released, she claimed in the UK’s The Sunday Times that “there is a lot less scrutiny of male pop stars.”
“I just feel I’m here because I do music, but when people write articles like that about me, it takes it away from my talent and makes me a thing. An object. People like to just objectify women,” the performer said at the time. “We constantly change the way we are so we don’t get harassed. Cover our bodies so boys don’t say things. From when we are kids we are told the way boys act towards us is completely normal.”
Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.
