I often forget how young Billie Eilish is. She’s only 21! Up until recently she had a go-to look for red carpets and public appearances that was baggy and obscured her body. I loved that she had houses like Gucci and Chanel abandon their own aesthetics to make clothes that matched her preferences. It also seemed like a smart move in terms of self-preservation while she was a teenager with a changing body. People can’t critique your body if they can’t see it! But recently Billie’s been wearing looks that are more revealing, and fans have been giving her a hard time for it, calling her a sellout. Billie responded to her critics on Instagram stories and she had a lot to say.
The “Ocean Eyes” singer penned a message to her critics May 27 after seeing chatter about her evolving style. “i spent the first 5 years of my career getting absolutely OBLITERATED by you fools for being boy ish and dressing how i did,” she began her Instagram Story note, “& constantly being told i’d be hotter if i acted like a woman.”
“and now when i feel comfortable enough to wear anything remotely feminine or fitting,” she continued, “i CHANGED and am a sellout…and ‘what happened to her’ oMg iT’s nOt thE sAmE biLlie she’s just like the rest, bla blah…you guys are true idiots. LOL. I can be both you f–king bozos. LET WOMEN EXIST!”
The 21-year-old also shared a “fun fact” with her haters. “did you know women are multifaceted!!!!!???” she asked. “shocking right?? believe it or not, women can be interested in multiple things.”
“also femininity does not equal weakness???!!! omg?! insane right? who knew?” she added. “and also totally unheard of and insane to want to express yourself differently at different times.”
That last part about “femininity does not equal weakness” makes me think she’s been chatting with Lana Del Rey LOL. That’s such a Lana thing to say. Anyway, Billie’s right about all of this. She’s not a kid anymore and it’s only natural for her look to evolve as she gets older. And women can’t win–if we dress for comfort or modesty, we’ve “let ourselves go”. If we dress in a revealing way, we’re arrogant or bimbos or “asking for it”. One way or another we’re going to get shamed for something. I struggle with this myself all the time–the place where I work is 90% male, and the industry is overwhelmingly male. Most of the time I dress in a more masculine way so that they subconsciously think I am part of the same “in group” as they are. I’m camouflaging like one of those moths with fake eyes on it so it doesn’t get eaten. On rare days when I wear a dress or skirt, the men react to me completely differently but that attention doesn’t always make me feel good. It feels like they think of me as an “other,” an intruder in their masculine environment. If it feels demeaning for me to deal with that from a few people at work, I can only imagine how it feels for Billie to get that kind of flak online from lots of people.
One of the things about fandom culture I really don’t like is the gross sense of ownership from fans. To borrow from psychology, fandom culture is super codependent. Why do people think that it’s okay to try to control how their favorite pop star dresses? Or, like in Ariana Grande’s case, concern-troll her for losing weight? Why can’t people just appreciate the music they create and lay off how they look? I’m sure there are examples of this for famous men but it seems much worse with celebrity women. I’m here for Billie’s changing aesthetic, and I hope she doesn’t let the haters get in the way of dressing exactly how she wants.
Instagram Stories photos via Harper’s Bazaar, other photos credit: JPI Studios/Avalon and Vegan/Backgrid
