Sophie Ellis-Bextor concert. Ugh

We all know she has legs that go on for days and likes to show them off

Careful, OP. That sounds perilously close to that DM favourite 'flaunting'.

So was she 'showing them off'

or...were they just...her legs?

How about: She was wearing a really short skirt because it was practical for her dance routines.

(Yes, of course wolf whistling is grim).

Not really tbh, I'm so exhausted with this stuff it's hard to be articulate. All I can say is that 'empowerment' is a ridiculous word reserved for people who have to be given power by the people who always have power no matter how 'sexually suggestive' they are.

I couldn't get worked up about this.

As a previous poster said, if she was in a short dress and kept bending over, she did know exactly what she was doing. Plus there are other ways to pick something up from the floor, and if you must bend over to do it, you don't have to bend with your arse to the audience.

Didn’t take long.

Yeah I agree with you there. I'm not condoning it, I was replying to the poster who was trying to turn the tables and saying, actually, I think pop acts in particular are 100% aware that pop and a sexual image go hand in hand (and always have done) and have ways as performers of putting up a barrier against that. Even when they are playing up to it in their act. (Harry Styles not SEB, I have never seen her live.)

But yeah, would I prefer that shitty men didn't wolf whistle at artists, or worse? Yes I absolutely would.

Well said. And yes her legs are totally gorgeous. If I had them I would want to show them off constantly. I wouldn't of course because as soon as some man tried to cross boundaries I'd be blamed for it.

Her legs are chef's kiss. It's one thing admiring her divine legs, it's another things acting like a cartoon animal.

Spot on. The men who wolf whistled knew exactly what they were doing. And every woman knew exactly what those men were doing, no matter how much they try to justify it with 'she should cope' and 'she chose to wear a skirt.'

I wonder how long it will be for centuries of misogyny to be rooted out of our psyches? Will it ever go?

Care to elaborate?

You know what THIS sort of response is why wolf whistling is wrong. The whole 'she knew what she was doing' attitude - vile vile vile vile.

Yes. She's a stage performer.

Strange how no one ever comments that the sad, lecherous gits openly heckling her also knew exactly what they were doing, eh?

I think she knew exactly what she was doing!!!!

Total bollocks. I can't believe people still think like this. Genuinely it gives me the shivers.

And SEB is 46, so surely around 50 is age appropriate?

Wolf whistling is sexual harassment now?

Yes. It always has been.

Regardless of whether SEB should 'cope' or not, wolf whistling also has an effect on the audience, who have paid money to be there. Whooping and cheering are supportive, wolf whistling has a very particular tone that drags down the overall atmosphere. It's rude and unnecessary, much like opening a loud sweet packet during a play. Adults should know not to do it.

The likes of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Janis Joplin managed to be hugely successful without needing to be undressed on stage or being sexually suggestive. That’s real empowerment imo.

Most of the audience were 50+ which somehow made it even more grim

Odious ageist shite. Just what about older people makes this "grim"?

What's your age limit? Are you OK?

Pretty predictable that the variety of misogynist, MRAs and their credulous handmaiden-bots who constantly infiltrate this site would pitch up on this thread with their never-ending parrot-cry of 'men's shitty behaviour is always a woman's fault'.

💤

I haven't seen Elvis but I have seen Harry Styles live, and that guy is in a world of his own, just vibing most of the show. I'd imagine that 0.001% of whatever suggestive stuff is being directed towards him actually makes it to his consciousness. The audiences are pretty wholesome, though.

On stage and off stage are two different worlds. Pop music sells using appearance, a light veneer of suggestibility (or more depending who the star is), adoration. Not comfortable in the real world but SEB has been around long enough to be able to cope with a few wolf whistles.

YABVU to voluntarily subject yourself to her nasal wailing 🙉

I also went to her concert recently, presumably in a different location because I didn't notice any wolf whistling at all. In fact, the vibe was lovely and supportive and sweet. If someone had wolf whistled I think it would have bothered me because it would have spoiled the atmosphere. Wolf whistling can be 'bantery' and appropriate in certain circumstances but it would have felt totally off in an SEB concert, sort of mocking and mean and vaguely threatening. I totally get why you didn't like it.

🤣

It always has been. Many men and also women have internalised misogyny and normalise disgusting stuff like this, some even thinking of it as a ‘compliment’.