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Billie Eilish makes statement on body shaming at Miami concert

Justin

Justin

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Oct 25, 2017
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At her concert last night in Miami Billie Eilish played a video interlude where she delivered a monologue about body shaming while removing her clothing down to her bra before sinking into a black pool (of course). Billie is outspoken on being very uncomfortable with her body and has given her desire to not have people see it as one of the reasons she wears baggy clothes and is always covered up. I debated posting this since I saw a lot of shitty comments on Twitter about it but there were even more from her young fans who found the message very empowering.

5/26 updated with official video


Do you really know me?

You have opinions about my opinions, about my music, about my clothes, about my body.

Some people hate what I wear, some people praise it. Some people use it to shame others, some people use it to shame me.

But I feel you watching ... always. And nothing I do goes unseen.

So while I feel your stares, your disapproval or your sighs of relief, if I lived by them, I'd never be able to move.

Would you like me to be smaller? Weaker? Softer? Taller?

Would you like me to be quiet?

Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach? My hips?

The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted?

If what I wear is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I am a slut.

Though you've never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?

You make assumptions about people based on their size. We decide who they are. We decide what they're worth.

If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means?

Is my value based only on your perception?

Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?
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stumblebee

stumblebee

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Jan 22, 2018
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The interlude itself is well done, but I would not recommend watching this video with sound, because holy shit
 
Video Games Are Dumb

Video Games Are Dumb

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Good for her for making a personal statement. But personally I've been very happy with her wearing baggy clothes because she only turned 18 four months ago. Some of those music video scenes were...pretty fucking gross for a 17 year old to be in.

Which makes me wonder, who told her to do those scenes? Creepy. But like I said, good for her having her own healthy image of herself and expressing it.

EDIT: Guess I'll explain further. How a young woman chooses to express herself is cool. How a company chooses to sell that same young woman is a lot more suspect to me. Even as a teenager I thought "Hit Me Baby One More Time" was pretty fucking creepy. Since then, it seems the media has because a little more responsible. But every now and again, there's some like Billie Eilish, and I worry how that person it going to turn out. She's already said some dumb shit about rap music and people went after her. She's a kid. Brain development really doesn't reach full development till 25. I hope she has the right people surrounding her.
 
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Komo

Komo

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Yeah I saw this and I hate that I feel like the media is gonna spin this.
 
CloudWolf

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tenor.gif
 
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Justin

Justin

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Oct 25, 2017
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Seattle, Washington
Video Games Are Dumb said:
Good for her for making a personal statement. But personally I've been very happy with her wearing baggy clothes because she only turned 18 four months ago. Some of those music video scenes were...pretty fucking gross for a 17 year old to be in.

Which makes me wonder, who told her to do those scenes? Creepy. But like I said, good for her having her own healthy image of herself and expressing it.
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which videos are you taking about. I can't think of any where she isn't in her standard baggy clothing. I mean the most skin she shows is her back in Bury a Friend but all of that is her idea.
 
chefbags

chefbags

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Oct 25, 2017
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Video Games Are Dumb said:
Good for her for making a personal statement. But personally I've been very happy with her wearing baggy clothes because she only turned 18 four months ago. Some of those music video scenes were...pretty fucking gross for a 17 year old to be in.

Which makes me wonder, who told her to do those scenes? Creepy. But like I said, good for her having her own healthy image of herself and expressing it.
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I mean I would think it would be her since its her creative choice and her music.
 
Loud Wrong

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I couldn't hear her statement over the cries of "I'm gonna bust a nut!!" from a woman in the crowd.
 

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
Which makes me wonder, who told her to do those scenes? Creepy. But like I said, good for her having her own healthy image of herself and expressing it.
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Maybe her family? I think they are closely involved in her creative life and tour with her etc. And her brother literally writes her music

makes lines about being on her knees etc. a little weirder though
 
Jakenbakin

Jakenbakin

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Jun 17, 2018
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Video Games Are Dumb said:
Good for her for making a personal statement. But personally I've been very happy with her wearing baggy clothes because she only turned 18 four months ago. Some of those music video scenes were...pretty fucking gross for a 17 year old to be in.

Which makes me wonder, who told her to do those scenes? Creepy. But like I said, good for her having her own healthy image of herself and expressing it.
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At the same time a woman, young our otherwise, shouldn't be compelled to hide her body. That men are made uncomfortable by the sight of a woman's body or that their response is to objectify is a problem of men, not women. Not that I disagree, I definitely prefer a less sexualized industry in general, just pointing out from her own words it's important to remember.
 
ZeoVGM

ZeoVGM

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Oct 25, 2017
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Video Games Are Dumb said:
I don't like the over sexualization of young women in media. What a person does with their own body is cool, what a media conglomerate does is exploitation.
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Your statement came off like you were saying girls her age should be wearing baggy clothes, which is what made it sound strange.

And I'm still not sure what you're referring to with the "conglomerate" and how it relates to scenes in her videos (which you said as plural but only gave the one questionable example).
 
lowmelody

lowmelody

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Powerful statement that is going to fly over people's heads if that audience is anything to go by.
 
Duane

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I just like the fact that what she's saying seems very genuine. I think how sexualized or non-sexualized or anything else a performer wants to be should be up to them - we all invent ourselves to some extent anyway, including the rest of us non celebrity people. The things that she's saying here aren't exactly new, but the fact that she has seemingly curated her own image for the most part is great, and this statement seems like she's working through it all herself too. That's kind of a rarity in the music world, I think.
 
CloudWolf

CloudWolf

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
Mmmmmkay, go watch the video cause it this scene she says
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I know the video and the video itself isn't sexual. Her sitting on the guy's back shows her being in total control of the dude (instead of vice versa which is the usual power structure), but that in itself isn't sexual. Now, of course the lyrics do contain obvious sexual allusions, but, those are lyrics she wrote herself. So what you are saying is young women aren't allowed to write sexual allusions in lyrics because men might find it attractive?
 
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Justin

Justin

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lowmelody said:
Powerful statement that is going to fly over people's heads if that audience is anything to go by.
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i read around a bit and I feel like most people in the stadium got the point and there were a lot of comments about people being in tears during the statement. I think a lot of the cheering comes from people knowing she was super unhappy and depressed all last year even saying she has felt very attacked lately and this statement being her trying to take the narrative back into her control and becoming more comfortable with herself.
 
ZeoVGM

ZeoVGM

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
It was 47 year old director Dave Meyers.
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She edited the video herself. She was very involved in the process.

You should rethink what you're doing here. She made a statement about body shaming and you -- a man -- used the thread to give your opinion on what a woman should or shouldn't be wearing and how she should be acting in her music videos, despite the fact that she is deeply involved in the creative process.
 
Video Games Are Dumb

Video Games Are Dumb

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ZeoVGM said:
She edited the video herself. She was very involved in the process.

You should rethink what you're doing here. She made a statement about body shaming and you -- a man -- used the thread to give your opinion on how a woman should or shouldn't be wearing and how she should be acting in her music videos, despite the fact that she is deeply involved in the creative process.
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Naw I'm just fine, thanks. She can do whatever she wants. I can think whatever I want. I'm good. I'm not telling women what to wear. Pretty obvious. If you want to debate that subject, bug someone else.
 
lowmelody

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Justin said:
i read around a bit and I feel like most people in the stadium got the point and there were a lot of comments about people being in tears during the statement. I think a lot of the cheering comes from people knowing she was super unhappy and depressed all last year even saying she has felt very attacked lately and this statement being her trying to take the narrative back into her control and becoming more comfortable with herself.
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That is good to hear. I shouldn't judge a group by my perception of what I think is their worst.
 
CloudWolf

CloudWolf

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
The scene....where she's in a red room on top of a muscular man doing push ups talking about making a woman jealous because she's wear his cologne...isn't sexual. I'm tapping out.
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See my edit for an explanation. It's to show a power structure. The entire song is about Billie/the protagonist of the song being a power player and dominating men and women either through sheer will or sexual manipulation. The video shows this by showing her in the end being in total control of the dude instead of the other way around. The imagery itself contains nothing sexual: it's a dude doing pushups with a woman in loose, baggy clothers on his back. I don't see how anyone can get sexual excitement out of that.

And again, those lyrics are written by HER. Not by the global media conglomerate, not by a big company looking to make a quick buck out of the sexuality of a young woman, by her. So all of this just seems like you really are criticizing a 17-year old girl for writing a song that dares to be dark, subversive and yes, sexy instead of just writing a lovey-dovey sexless pop song to please the masses.
 
Bio

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I can't believe this is a discussion we still have to have in 2020. What other people wear, or how they look, is none of my fucking business. Why anyone thinks it should be their call how other people look is beyond me.
 
The Albatross

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DIdn't know that her aesthetic was influenced by body discomfort, thought it was merely her personal brand. Good on her to promote body acceptance and do her thing.
 
uzipukki

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Video Games Are Dumb said:
Naw I'm just fine, thanks. She can do whatever she wants. I can think whatever I want. I'm good. I'm not telling women what to wear. Pretty obvious. If you want to debate that subject, bug someone else.
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You do understand, that in your initial comment you were telling her what to wear. You said what you'd prefer she wore or didn't. It's not yours or any one elses decision. Also, why the fuck did you even have to comment on her clothes in the first place? What purpose did that serve?
 
Video Games Are Dumb

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uzipukki said:
You do understand, that in your initial comment you were telling her what to wear. You said what you'd prefer she wore or didn't. It's not yours or any one elses decision. Also, why the fuck did you even have to comment on her clothes in the first place? What purpose did that serve?
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Because that's the point of her entire statement. In the words of Billie Eilish "duh"
People have brought up her baggy clothes in a negative way previously. And to me, that's fucking creepy, because at the time she was 17 years old. To me, it's still creepy. This is not a conversation I am starting, it's been ongoing. That's why she did this at her concert.
 
Gentlemen

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"let's talk about body shaming, celebrity, and billie eilish's relationship with both"
Era Poster: IS BILLIE EILISH BEING EXPLOITED?
the sooner gamers stop infantilizing women the better
 
Video Games Are Dumb

Video Games Are Dumb

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RedMercury said:
It's one way to take it but I don't think she is asking for or making people sexualize it.
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So, true story. A friend of mine showed me this music video right when it came out, she's a big fan, he kids are 3 and 6 and also into Eilish. So her kids are dancing around like she in the video up until the ending, they just stop and watch. I remember turning to my friend and saying "wow, she's kinda young for that" and she replied "yeeeeaaaah"

One way to take it, sure. But I think most people would read it that way.
 
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