Women singers singing in their knickers.

[Thelasthurdle]

I admit I'm older generation.
I'm a great admirer of singers such as Nina Simone, Linda Ronstadt, Suzi Quatro, Christine Perfect, Joan Baez, Tracy Chapman etc, etc.
They all not only have great voices but also real musical talent.
And they also don't stand and sing in their knickers
So what is it with people like Beyonce and Rhianna? If they really are talented why do they need to sing in their knickers? Why do they need to use sex to sell their songs? They are powerful enough not to bend to the industry pressure on them. Why not stand or fall on their talents rather than on selling their sexuality.?

Beyonce knows full well that her fans will buy her albums, regardless of whether or not she is performing in just her knickers, because she has talent, and her fans can see beyond the knickers.

Same for Lady Gaga.

Same for most talented singers.

I think Suzi Quatro has said in interviews before that having a sexualised look was very uncomfortable for her she really didnt like it, it wasnt her choice

Also, Sabrina Carpenter’s 3 biggest songs have been about 1) men not being able to sleep because she shags so well, 2) telling someone that she won’t stop getting with their boyfriend and 3) that she thinks they should have good sex together.

It would actually seem quite inappropriate to dress in knitwear buttoned all the way up with a ruffled gypsy skirt and sensible ballet flats.

Rihanna has not released music in nine years.

The first female performer that comes to mind when you mention knickers on view is Marilyn Monroe’s famous air vent blowing her dress up in the seven year itch. It’s so famous I don’t even have to post a photo as everyone will be familiar with it. 1955 that was.

The modern day performers dance as well as sing. The stage costumes (‘knickers’) make dance eaiser. It’s all part of the image and the show.

YANBU, but 'tis the way of the world.

Those saying the outfits are for “the male gaze” (just picked this post at random at random as it mentions that), what do you think the male/female split of attendees at Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter concerts is?

I think this is the crux of it. The singers OP mentioned are mostly folk singers. They didn't get into the physical performance the way Beyonce, Taylor Swift, etc. do. Josephine Baker was a singer and dancer and her costumes were pretty risqué.

You have no idea what I've done in and out of jeans, darlin' !

Actually, fascinating things come up on the interwebs if you google "jeans that you can do the splits in" . . . And to be honest, splits weren't specified in the original posting, merely "dancing around." I object to the idea that you can't dance around in jeans. Precision in terminology is everything! (See my user name.)

Of course sex sells. It’s a patriarchy. And we absorb its values so much we come out with shit like ‘her body her choice’.

Yeah the colour of the sequin thong she wears on her body is her choice but the mysognistic market of her particular music genre drive everything else.

Thankfully we still have the (relatively modest dressed by comparison) goddess Taylor Swift whose lyrics include ‘…fuck the patriarchy…’

Pulling off changing the narrative was the great success of the male-dominated music industry. Women are persuaded that it's now empowering to wear far fewer clothes - generally - than men.

Before it was to please the male gaze. It still is, but it's now choice/power/owning sexuality etc.

The far-more-naked-than-men outfits haven't changed. The 'empowerment!' pseudo-feminist messaging to persuade us that something positive for women is going on here, is what's newer.

It's such bullshit.

I love her style too. So gorgeous.

And yes a more relevant example than Rihanna who has not performed or made music in years.

I wonder why OP has not responded to all the comments about Rihanna being an odd choice.

Lots of people have mentioned empowerment, both on this thread and of any discussion about this issue.

Interesting that men don’t tend to dress in this kind of thing to enable their performance. Sure, traditional male ballet dancers wear pretty revealing tights, but you can’t compare what male and female gymnasts wear, nor with most pop.

I listen to a lot of K-Pop. Both girl and boy groups do a lot of performance and dance routines. The men never wear skimpy stuff, ever. Still manage to pull off endless impressive dance-based performances.

Hmmm... Well Linda Rondstadt wore very short shorts, see through tops and no bra...

The only objection is when they have thunder-thighs, or are of a body-positive type. Otherwise, absolutely fine! As a student in mid 1990s, I was shocked to see a naked choir in the production of Orpheus and Eurydice at the ENO (at the ENO, I ask you!!!!). Fully naked choir. So these gals bother me not.

Thankfully we still have the (relatively modest dressed by comparison) goddess Taylor Swift whose lyrics include ‘…fuck the patriarchy…’

Taylor, for whatever reason, doesn't give off sexy vibes like Beyonce and Sabrina have the ability to do, so maybe that's why her more revealing outfits don't get called out like theirs. But the Lover bodysuit and Midnights bodysuit are really not 'modest' compared to theirs, they are pretty much the same in coverage of the body with variation in straps.

Yep - Tay-Tay and Beyonce have an OVERWHELMINGLY female fan base.

I have been to Beyonce concerts and it’s largely straight women and gay men.

@JHound I have such a soft spot for her, I know she's very sexualised...but it feels like it's for women rather than men, if that makes sense?! I feel like she celebrates the female form rather than tries to attract men with it. But I'm probably just being a bad feminist

Suzi and Linda always dressed for church.

I don’t understand the first part of your post? What are you talking about?

Completely agree with this.

That’s it’s empowering to be the headline act of a sell out arena tour, and that women who are the headline act of a sell out arena tour are not comparable to Bianca Censori. The two have nothing to do with each other.

What sequin thong.

How is Taylor Swift more modest than beyonce? They both wear revealing attire that is easy to dance in.

Swift said “Fuck the patriarchy”, Beyonce has included an excerpt from Chimamand’s “We should all be Feminists” in one of her songs.

So why are you differentiating between the two?