Lana Del Rey caught a lot of flack last year for dismissing feminism outright in an interview with the Fader. She said that the struggle for equality between the sexes was “just not an interesting concept.”
Now, she’s clarified her stance in an interview with James Franco for V magazine, but we still shouldn’t expect any Girl Power anthems from LDR any time soon.
The luxury we have as a younger generation is being able to figure out where we want to go from here, which is why I’ve said things like, “I don’t focus on feminism, I focus on the future.” It’s not to say that there’s not more to do in that area. I’ve gotten to witness through history the evolution of so many movements and now I’m standing at the forefront of new technological movements.
I’m not undermining other issues. But I feel like that’s obvious, like I shouldn’t even have to bring that up.
Of course, no one is asking LDR to make music that she doesn’t want to. No one’s asking her to join a protest or donate to causes. But a mere acknowledgement of the suffering of women who have come before her would be nice. She does have a bit of a point in that women can focus on other things now that the movement has won them more freedom. But no one would be making a stink if she hadn’t dismissed the movement that shaped her very existence as a woman born in the United States in the latter-half of the 20th century.
She’s allowed to make and market such aggressively bland music because a lot of women did take a stand on something. You’re selling Urban Outfitters-approved ennui from the shoulders of giants, Lana. There are ways to move forward while acknowledging the good done in the past.
You might well be the future, LDR. If that’s the case, then I’ll cop the words of one excellent futurist-feminist and say “I thought the future would be cooler.”
(Via Pitchfork)
