Source: The New Statesman
“I’m not going to use my sexuality to define me”
What do you think of yourself as first, an advocate or a musician?
I have different hats; I’m a mother, I’m a woman, I’m a human being, I’m an artist and hopefully I’m an advocate. All of those plates are things I spin all the time.
Will you always make music?
I only want to make music because I have a passion for it. The momentum of success that we had as the Eurythmics was so powerful that
I couldn’t get off the bus for a decade. I got to my thirties and suddenly felt that I didn’t have a life – it was just about travelling and touring and making albums. Money is a good thing and it’s obviously useful, but to work only for money or fame would never interest me.
Is there a positive side to fame?
It certainly has something of value if you are famous for doing good work or creating great art. Fame for fame’s sake is toxic – some people want that, with no boundaries. It’s unhealthy.
What was the significance of your androgynous style?
It was about being in a partnership, in a duo with a man. In a way, it was saying: we are equals and I’m not going to use my sexuality to define me. I’m going to be as good as a man. I’m even going to make you wonder what I am.
Would that work nowadays?
That was then. I thought that things could progress, but nobody is thinking along those lines any more. Sex sells. It sells cars, shampoos, everything. The message to young women is: “You look a certain way and that’s powerful.” Well, it’s not, actually.
Are you troubled by mass culture being so sexualised?
There’s no problem for me with sexuality itself. We’re all sexual creatures. But it troubles me when hardcore misogyny is used in such a generic and accepted way. Playing into that – the game of “the whore” – might make women some money, but it is not truly empowering.
Do we still need feminism?
Feminism is a word that I identify with. The term has become synonymous with vitriolic man-hating but it needs to come back to a place where both men and women can embrace it. It is particularly important for women in developing countries.
Have you ever experienced sexism?
In ways, of course – it’s part of society; it could just be a patronising comment – but compared to the disparity that I’ve seen in the developing world, my experience of sexism is minuscule.
Is charity the best way to help the developing world?
Charity is necessary – as is aid – but I agree with the argument that we should be teaching people to help themselves. However, it should be a human right for a mother to have access to life-saving treatment. We can get Coca-Cola spread across the world; why not vital drugs?
What do you think of the coalition government?
When I was a kid, grown-ups identified themselves with a party and it was very cut and dried. Nowadays to say you’re left- or right-wing – no onereally knows what that means any more. In a way, the coalition represents where we’re at. We’re in the middle of nowhere: a bit right-wing, a bit left-wing, a bit in the middle.
Is there a plan?
You make a plan because you have to. I recognised that I wanted to be a singer-songwriter back in the 1970s, but a lot of it is timing, fluke, determination. If I were to write down my life as a game of snakes and ladders, I would be going up the ladders and down the snakes all the time. That’s kind of how it seems to work.
Is religion a part of your life?
I’ve nothing against anybody who has a faith, but I look at organised religion and I’m appalled by what I see, the hypocrisy and the double standards. The universe is an extraordinary place, but bigotry comes in and spoils it.
Is there anything you’d rather forget?
One wants to forget bad experiences, disappointments, but you have to deal with your own unfinished business – it’s almost like you have to spin it into gold. You have to look really hard at your bitterness, your destructive tendencies and your knee-jerk reactions, and say: “How do I take responsibility for myself?”
Do you vote?
For many years I didn’t. I thought: I don’t believe in this political system, so not voting is valid. Then I voted Labour in 1997. But I was disgusted and hugely disillusioned by the invasion of Iraq. If I’m going to vote, I want to believe 100 per cent in who I’m voting for. So I’m back to not voting.
Are we all doomed?
Well, we’re all going to die. The sooner we accept that life is temporary, the easier we can be about our living.
Defining Moments
1954 Born on Christmas Day in Aberdeen
1980 Forms Eurythmics with Dave Stewart
1990 Leaves Eurythmics to concentrate on family and work for Shelter
1992 Releases her debut solo album, Diva. It goes to number one in the UK
2007 Becomes Oxfam global ambassador
2010 Is appointed Unesco’s goodwill ambassador on Aids
2011 Sets up Equals, a network of charities, to mark 100th International Women’s Day