Just seen Billie Eilish report on news. What a load of bollocks...

[ssd]

Honestly it must he a total head nip being young these days. 19 yr olds telling us not to body shame then appearing in vogue in a corset. But said 19 yr old being an expert in telling us how to feel, and of course that stupid trendy word 'empowerment ' used as much as possible. Maybe it was the same in my day, but then social media wasnt about to give eedgits a platform to be an expert on everything. Pop stars always got too much attention, but now with sm it must be increased tenfold.
Thank fuck I'm old and middle aged.

TatianaBis nope in my 50's

TatianaBis, you must be very dim.

Yes, the corset thing - over the centuries it's become sexualised, yet another aspect of a woman's body and female-sex-specific clothing we've now been trained to see only through the 'male gaze'. It was a woman's support garment: I remember old working-class women of my grandmother's generation practically held together by them because their bodies had been damaged by multiple childbirth and physical work.

Among wealthy women it was used to pull in the waist to create an hourglass shape. And for whose benefit? Not unusual for ladies to faint because of too-tight corsets.

@Divineswirls

TatianaBis nope in my 50's

In that case there’s no excuse.

When I was much younger, not much older than Billie, I borrowed a friends Vivien Westwood leather black corset, tight black rubber trousers and sky high heels for a Halloween party.

I felt amazing and very empowered esp by the heels. I've never worn anything like it since as it's not me but I will always remember how amazing it made me feel.

I was completely oblivious to how people would perceive me at the time I was just overwhelmed with how positive I felt wearing this costume, I remember that feeling to this day. I was out of my comfort zone but it was a fancy dress at a very cool diverse party.

It's hardly a choice, because she mentions not feeling "like a woman" & hating her stomach etc as motivation for the photoshoot.

It sounds like she's folding under the pressure of our hypersexualized society, which dictates that women are nothing more than f objects. Is it really a choice when women are either fable or invisible?

She obviously isn't comfortable in her own skin. Since when does wearing baggy clothes mean someone isn't a woman?? This is the message young girls are getting: that to be a woman is to be a sex object.

I don't think that airbrushing oneself & using corsets = the way to go. We should be embracing ourselves as we are, not trying to change ourselves so that we look like Barbie dolls.

Anything That pleases the male gaze is "empowering" apparently. What a lie.

Here's a good video about the lie of female empowerment:

Christ she’s 19, a megastar who’s probably still finding who she is like all 19 year olds. God knows why she being held up as the ultimate role model for feminism and empowerment and is letting the side down otherwise.

Some people on mumsnet seem to hold women (especially young women) celebrities to ridiculous standards. Exhausting.

No one is holding her up as that. People are feeling sad that yet another young woman who seemed to be resisting self objectification and finding her worth in posing in underwear, or having to conform to hackneyed idea of sexual empowerment that just so happens to conform completely to the desires of the male gaze, has either drunk the kool aid or been made to conform to it by manipulative managers.

It's not damning her - it's damning the forces upon her and feeling sad that they won out.

To the lady who felt so powerful in a corset and heels you were possibly enjoying fulfilling male fantasy - there didn't have to be a man, or men in mind, we internalise this shit because we are bombarded with it from a tragically young age. We're bombarded with the this fake crap that consciously we know to be bollocks and yet.... millions are spent bombarding us with images of hypersexualised half naked women that are held up as examples of success or winning something so it's hardly surprising that when a young woman finds herself conforming to those images she feels connotations of power and winning something. Briefly.

How anyone can feel ‘powerful’ in something you can’t breathe in?

What’s powerful about that?

Can you imagine a man saying they feel powerful in some kind of restrictive garment??

I must be really old. I’ve never heard of her!

@Suzi888

I must be really old. I’ve never heard of her!

I have heard of her, my daughter played me something of hers a couple of weeks ago. I've forgotten since what I heard though.

She'll probably regret saying this stuff when she's matured a little. I know I sound patronising but she is very young. I was very naive at 19, but thought I knew everything. She'll probably look at that photo in 10 years time and wish she hadn't worn it.

Back when I was a clubber I mostly dressed in baggy jeans, mild crop tops with my hair pulled back. Once in a while I would get all dolled up, a mate would do may make up, glitter in my hair, lots of lycra, you get the picture. Once I had a feminist type march up to and tell me off, apparently she had lost all respect for me.

This seemed very petty, shallow and catty at the time, now think about what you're doing to Billie.

I would call myself a feminist, that has never changed because my outward appearance has.

Billie is a relatable, quirky, sulky breath of fresh air, let her have some fun without the rude remarks.