13 replies to this topic

[Bogart]

She talks about her relationships (Chris, Alex and Blake) and why she prefers men's gym over women's.

Sunday 8, october 2006.

"I'm not really a girl. I'm not even a boy's girl. I'm a man's man - and that doesn't mean I'm a big dyke. Men are far more straightforward. They don't dwell on things and play psychological games. I'm not saying all women are like that, or that some men don't play those games, but on the whole men are more easy-going and don't piss time up the wall. Life's short. Anything could happen, and it usually does, so there is no point in sitting around thinking about all the ifs, ands and buts.
I'm only 23, so I don't feel I'm experienced with men, or with people in general. All the songs I write are about human dynamics, whether it's with girlfriends, boyfriends, or family. When I did the last album, Frank, I was a very defensive, insecure person, so when I sang about men it was all like, 'Fuck you. Who do you think you are?' The new album is more, 'I will fight for you. I would do anything for you', or 'It's such a shame we couldn't make it work'. I feel like I'm not so teenage about relationships.
I've never been a boyfriend kind of girl. I'm too selfish. A couple of years ago I would have said that I would end up as one of those women who lives with 20 cats and 40 piles of newspapers, but I'm thinking a bit more optimistically now because I've met someone I really like. I've been with Alex for six months and he moved in about a month after we met - it felt natural, and not at all scary. He's like my best mate, which probably sounds really sad. Actually, there is something inside me that is a proper little housewife. I love cooking for him, even though he's a chef and knows much more about cooking than I do! I constantly want to look after people, but I've only met a couple of men in my life who deserved or appreciated it. My first proper long-term boyfriend Chris (he's the fella that I wrote my first album about) was lovely, but he didn't really appreciate it. It was my second boyfriend, Blake, who kick-started my domestic instinct. I immediately saw he was someone who hadn't been treated right, so I practically put him in my bag and said, 'Right, you're coming with me!'
I wouldn't say I'm a feminist, but I don't like girls pretending to be stupid because it's easier. I would say that there is still more pressure put on women to look good, but I have some very vain male friends. The papers go on about how I lost weight, but I didn't even notice myself losing it. I used to smoke £200 worth of weed a week, that's two ounces, which is disgusting, and it made me eat crap food on impulse. I lost the weight when I stopped smoking weed and got into the gym instead. I like my gym because there are all these sweaty men around to gear me up and get my adrenaline going. You want to sweat and look good. When I'm in a women's gym and they see me in my standard make-up (it's my war-paint, I wear it all the time), the women look at you as if to say, 'Who are you trying to impress?' At the men's gym it's like, 'Run girl, run!' I don't mind being looked at by men, I'm competitive - anyway, every girl likes being looked at by men.
If I'm checking out a man I'll usually go for someone who is at least five nine, with dark hair, dark eyes and loads of tattoos (that was Blake). But, saying that, my current boyfriend is the most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life, and he's blond, so I guess it doesn't matter that much. I just like a man who I can muck about with, and who can take a joke. I admire men who don't take anything seriously, like Dean Martin, who had this amazing ability to distance people from himself. He never talked about troubles with his marriage and would have a line for everything. Also Sammy Davis Jr, who treated all that racism like water off a duck's back. He was like, 'Fuck it, I've got music.' That's how I feel."


http://www.theguardi...ps.amywinehouse

[WhoDat]

Interesting that she didn't call herself a feminist. I guess feminism is about what you do, not what you say though. You don't need to openly brand yourself a feminist to be one, and I think a lot of women are feminists without realizing it ('feminist' seems to be almost a dirty word these days, sadly). Amy broke a lot of ground and completely embodied to me what a lot of feminism is about though.

[HelloSailor]

This article was already posted, but I can't find the thread where we discussed it...

[Cecilia]

This article was already posted, but I can't find the thread where we discussed it...

I don't think it was discussed extensively, thre's an old thread in the archive here: http://www.amywineho...bout-men-by-Amy and it was also posted on page 2 of this thread a couple of years ago: http://www.amywineho...you-travel-quot. Hope that helps.

[HelloSailor]

Sorry Cecilia, I confused this interview with the one in this thread: http://www.amywineho...-Observer-2007)

I think it's the style of writing which reminded me of the other interview.

[crol]

I think in the past few years women are more comfortable with calling themselves feminists - especially since the release of Caitlin Moran's How To Be A Woman and various other blogs/books. I call myself a feminist, and I'm a man! There's a common misconception that feminists believe men should step back and women should take charge, which is rubbish - it simply means that women are equal to men and should be seen and treated as such. Which sounds incredibly obvious but when you really notice the way the world is run and the way people treat one another, we still have a long way to go.

I think Amy embodies feminism perfectly in that she lived purely for herself, without others' expectations placed upon her. She did what she wanted to do, whether it was the right thing to do or not, and at no point did she compromise herself for the benefit of men. Simple.

[Bogart]

Oh God. Thanks [MENTION=1624]Cecilia[/MENTION] . I'm sorry!!!

[WhoDat]

I think in the past few years women are more comfortable with calling themselves feminists - especially since the release of Caitlin Moran's How To Be A Woman and various other blogs/books. I call myself a feminist, and I'm a man! There's a common misconception that feminists believe men should step back and women should take charge, which is rubbish - it simply means that women are equal to men and should be seen and treated as such. Which sounds incredibly obvious but when you really notice the way the world is run and the way people treat one another, we still have a long way to go.

I think Amy embodies feminism perfectly in that she lived purely for herself, without others' expectations placed upon her. She did what she wanted to do, whether it was the right thing to do or not, and at no point did she compromise herself for the benefit of men. Simple.

I don't know how feminism became such a dirty word when, like you say, it's simply the belief that women are entitled to the same rights as men. In theory, every reasonable person is a feminist. This image of bra-burning, career-obsessed women seems to be associated with feminism, and that's just not what it's about. It can mean a lot of things.

To me, feminism is about women being free to make choices about their own lives and their own bodies without being restricted or coerced into anything or thought of as 'less than' for doing what they want. Those choices can span everything from being a stripper, to being a traditional housewife and mother, to being a CEO of a company, to being a pop star. The bottom line is that women make these choices for themselves and are in control of their own lives, that they won't be pushed into anything and won't be held back from anything.

I think Amy was actually a pretty great feminist icon. She did what she wanted and she was a trailblazer, for male and female artists alike. She made the kind of music she wanted to make because she loved it. She created a look that she loved, with no regard for what anyone thought of it (I remember when she first came out and people thinking she was this bizarre individual simply because she look like a pristine Barbie). She paved the way for countless other people in music who came after her, but especially other women. She was a career woman, but also realized that there's more to life than a career. She was a multi-faceted individual who understood that it is possible to be many things at once, that we don't have to be confined to one role or go along with certain expectations.

Even if she would never have called herself a feminist, I think she lived the life of one, certainly.

[amylove]

Interesting that she didn't call herself a feminist. I guess feminism is about what you do, not what you say though. You don't need to openly brand yourself a feminist to be one, and I think a lot of women are feminists without realizing it ('feminist' seems to be almost a dirty word these days, sadly). Amy broke a lot of ground and completely embodied to me what a lot of feminism is about though.

I think a lot of young women today don't call themselves feminists because they don't relate to feminism anymore. We kind of take for granted the rights we have because we don't fully understand the struggle women had to get them. There's a political aspect to feminism that perhaps Amy wasn't too keen on but I think Amy believed women can do whatever men can do and eventually, if she had live longer, she would've expressed that more.

[Cecilia]

Oh God. Thanks @Cecilia . I'm sorry!!!

No worries, there wasn't an open thread dedicated to discussing just this interview, so it's perfectly fine to have this one

[WhoDat]

I think a lot of young women today don't call themselves feminists because they don't relate to feminism anymore. We kind of take for granted the rights we have because we don't fully understand the struggle women had to get them. There's a political aspect to feminism that perhaps Amy wasn't too keen on but I think Amy believed women can do whatever men can do and eventually, if she had live longer, she would've expressed that more.

There is a political aspect to feminism, and I still think there is a need for it. Not to get into it too much, but while there are restrictions on bodily autonomy and pay gaps and troubling attitudes to sexual violence, there is a place for feminism in modern society. I think women do take their rights for granted, but I also think a lot of women don't realize the ways in which they are restricted or thought of differently until it's right in their face and they're getting a pay check for less money than the guy who did the same job as them or are being expected to leave their careers because they've had a child or are being told some bs about how if they hadn't behaved a certain way, they wouldn't have been sexually assaulted.

But back to Amy!

I think there's some interview out there from the Frank era where she expressed some sentiments that seemed to indicate that she was in touch with feminism somewhat. She was talking about how she wanted to make music that women could relate to, music that if they heard it, would make them feel less alone or less stupid about feeling a certain way or getting into a certain situation with a man or something. She also said in the same interview that she felt like girls weren't putting themselves out there enough, musically. That would suggest to me that she definitely was aware of how she relates to other women and a lack of relateable female figures in music.

[amylove]

Thought of these two

[Bogart]

No worries, there wasn't an open thread dedicated to discussing just this interview, so it's perfectly fine to have this one

Cool then! thanks

[WhoDat]

I think that first video is the one I was thinking of!