Dua Lipa believes women have to “work a little bit harder to be taken seriously” in the music industry compared to men.
The 25-year-old singer has said she and many other female artists feel a need to “constantly prove” themselves to people, because they’re often brushed off as “manufactured”, even when they write their own lyrics.
She said: “That’s just being a woman in the industry. A lot of people see it, particularly in pop music, that you’re manufactured or whatever, so you have this underlying pressure or anxiety to constantly prove [yourself] to people, especially when you write your own lyrics.
“You have to work a little bit harder to be taken seriously.”
Dua added that whilst making her self-titled debut album, she felt she “needed to prove” that she "was not just going to sit there in the room and wait for somebody to write a song for me”.
The ‘Don’t Start Now’ hitmaker also spoke about standing up for herself against sexism in the industry, as she recalled one instance when a director asked her to wear a skirt during a music video.
She explained: “You’re on a music video and the director goes, ‘I definitely think you need to wear a skirt’ - because someone wants to see, you know, 'UK’s pop star in a cute outfit. I’m like, ‘Well, I’m going to wear trousers because it’s f****** freezing.' I know how to stand my ground and hold it down.
“We’re so used to pushing it away and saying something just to turn it off and be, like, this isn’t a big deal. I’ve always been someone to check [a person] straight away. If someone’s saying something [that I don’t agree with], ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do this.’ ”
And Dua said she feels it’s her “duty” to use her platform for good, especially when it comes to fighting for LGBTQ rights and freedoms.
Speaking to Attitude magazine, she said: “To be able to use my platform to spread awareness, show support, talk about it, to make people feel seen, heard and safe, [to] communicate with charities and try to do my part as much as I can … I see that as my duty.
“It’s entirely a right to be able to love who you want, not just because I have friends in the LGBTQ community, but because we’re all human and we deserve it. It’s something I feel very connected to and will continue to fight for.”
