Here in Her.ie headquarters we absolutely love Beth Ditto. She’s incredibly talented, she’s fierce, fabulous and doesn’t give a damn about what anyone thinks of her. She’s the poster-woman for being unapologetically yourself and we salute her for it.
Recently the Gossip front woman was interviewed by The Advocate magazine about her life and her upcoming book Coal to Diamonds, and we have to say, our girl crush on her got even bigger when we read some of her quotes about inspiring female musicians and learning to love and the impact her weight seems to have on her career.
In the interview, Beth credits feminism, therapy and learning to accept herself as what saved her from her life in Arkansas where she grew up. Beth describes the place as being somewhere where women “never had a break to catch their breath or as themselves what the hell happened…”
Speaking about her weight, Beth is frank and honest.
“I think it’s great. I feel like it’s just like taking one for the team. I think it’s really cool that there are people like Adele on the cover of Vogue and Rolling Stone, and like I think it’s really important that people are talking about your body, because if they don’t, then you’ll never be able to break that barrier,” said Beth.
Beth has always encouraged women to be proud of who they are
According to Beth because of herself, Adele and other full-figured singers, when younger women who are overweight want to be a singer in a band “it’s going to be a lot f**king easier… I know [some musicians] are like, ‘Oh, it’s all about the music.’ But I come from riot grrrl, where it’s not just about the music, it’s about the political message, and that’s just as important as the music to me. I don’t mind being a guinea pig.”
For years, Beth has been outspoken about the fact that she doesn’t care what the media says about her weight and that she would never let their perceptions about her body hold her back. In fact, she encourages them to talk about her weight so she can challenge the negative things they have to say and show that there is nothing ‘wrong’ or ‘unhealthy’ about having a fuller figure.
We think Beth is super-inspiring and an amazing role model. Her book is available now if you fancy reading more about this awesome woman.
