Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Annie Lennox

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: 

Annie Lennox

In my own personal big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to what can only be described as...The True Divas. These are ones who may do many things in life, but from the moment they opened their mouths to sing they became the one thing they were meant to become: a true diva.

One such siren?

Annie Lennox

The purest art is born when an artist remains deliberate without resorting to manipulation.

Red hot and icy blue.

Hers is the skill of embodying competing elements while making them harmonious.

Early on, she recognized and explored the unnerving power behind the world's concepts of masculinity and femininity - playing them off one another, challenging and toying with our perceptions as she dazzled us with our own reactions.

But hers was also never a singular vision - not musically. The polar station of synth driven pop may have served as a gateway to the mainstream, but it was her gift for grafting elements of classical R&B, folk and arthouse songs which allowed her to grow as an artist. Her beauty and foreign aesthetics beckoning the world to join her on her unique journey - one imbued with an intelligence, both emotional and observed, rarely found in popular music.

Her album Diva remains one of the most stunning moments in musical history; not only for its visual accompaniment, but for the stark baring and exploration of the various emotional worlds this woman - any woman - must occupy at the same time. 

Her life, marred by a single tragedy - one of the most chilling and destructive a woman can experience - would eventually encompass that of an activist; utilizing her position to call attention to the plight of women in third world countries. 

She remains as vital, as cautious, as brittle as ever. Constantly surprising and exceeding the world's expectations.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? Feminism

"I would say that although my music may be or may have been part of the cultural background fabric of the gay community, I consider myself an outsider who belongs everywhere and nowhere... Being a human being is what truly counts. That's where you'll find me. I would like to see the gay population get on board with feminism. It's a beautiful organization and they've done so much. It seems to me a no-brainer."
 

"Women's issues have always been a part of my life. My goal is to bring the word 'feminism' back into the zeitgeist and reframe it. I'm appalled the word feminism has been denigrated to a place of almost ridicule and I very passionately believe the word needs to be revalued and reintroduced with power and understanding that this is a global picture. My issue with the state of women became incredibly stimulated when I was visiting developing countries and it became obvious that women bore the brunt of so many things in society. Why are we not valuing the word 'feminism' when there is so much work to be done in terms of empowerment and emancipation of women everywhere? 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."

 

"I don't think feminism is about the exclusion of men but their inclusion... we must face and address those issues, especially to include younger men and boys. Men need to understand, and women too, what feminism is really about. The word feminism needs to be taken back. It needs to be reclaimed in a way that is inclusive of men. We all fight over what the label 'feminism' means but for me it's about empowerment. It's not about being more powerful than men - it's about having equal rights with protection, support, justice. It's about very basic things. It's not a badge like a fashion item. If we value what we've inherited for free - from other women - surely it's right morally and ethically for us to wake up and say, 'I'm a feminist."
 

Precious - Annie Lennox

I've Got A Life - The Eurythmics

September In The Rain - Annie Lennox

And one last parting shot...

"Please don't ask me for the actual answer to anything, because I don't have it. Because all I do is look at stuff and ask questions. What can I say? I just think the world's barking mad. Look, I'm not an expert. I'm just an ordinary person."