Billie Eilish has claimed that men’s bodies aren’t scrutinized because “girls are nice,” in a new candid interview.
The 21-year-old soft-voiced singer – who hit stardom after her song ‘Oceans Eyes’ went viral on SoundCloud – has had to navigate her emergence into womanhood in the public eye.
As a young woman, she has proudly used her platform of 110 million followers to speak out about her choice to wear oversized and androgynous-style outfits – revealing that it was a way of avoiding commentary on her body.
In her latest interview with Variety’s The Power of Women issue, Eilish pointed out the double standards when it comes to body expectations for men and women, claiming that men don’t face the same type of scrutiny.
Billie Eilish performs onstage during Lollapalooza at Grant Park on August 03, 2023. Credit: Michael Hickey / Getty
“Nobody ever says a thing about men’s bodies,” Eilish told the publication. “If you’re muscular, cool. If you’re not, cool. If you’re rail thin, cool. If you have a dad bod, cool. If you’re pudgy, love it! Everybody’s happy with it.”
“You know why? Because girls are nice. They don’t give a f*** because we see people for who they are!” she asserted.
Eilish’s remarks about men not having to face criticism about their bodies sparked a debate on social media, with many vehemently disagreeing with her and explaining why she was wrong.
One user wrote: “Yeah this isn’t correct. Women generally face more criticism from men because of abusive beauty standards, but to say men face NONE from women is incorrect. Sorry.”
Another said: “While I respect and acknowledge that as far as this subject goes, women undoubtedly have it worse but I have been mocked by women on several occasions for my height and baldness.”
A third commented: “I love Billie but men receive criticism all the time for their bodies. If a guy is too fat, too short, or whatever, they are criticized by both men and women.”
“I’m not gonna sit here and say it’s as bad as what women have experienced for decades because that would be an obvious LIE and a false equivalence, but men develop body insecurities all the time because of unrealistic attractiveness standards made by society. It’s just not as socially acceptable for men to speak up about it compared to when women speak up about it,” they added.
Eilish at the MET Gala. Credit: Kevin Mazur/MG21 / Getty
In the same interview, the ‘What Was I Made For?’ musician touched upon the time a picture of her sporting a tank top – at age 17 – led to an onslaught of comments about her body.
She stated that the one time she donned “revealing” attire, she was subjected to unwanted attention, which is why she preferred wearing her signature baggy clothes.
“You wear something that’s at all revealing, and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, but you didn’t want people to sexualize you?'” Eilish questioned. “You can suck my a**! I’m literally a being that is sexual sometimes. F*** you!”
