FUSE TV - Grimes Lashes Out at Sexists: "I Don't Want to Be Molested at Shows"

Earlier this year, indie electro-pop musician Grimes went on the defensive after posting her favorite songs of 2012. The abridged version: Indie singer has the gall to like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber; gets flack from holier-than-thou hipsters.

The outspoken singer took to her Tumblr last night to discuss a more serious issue than pop music, deriding "creeps on message boards discussing whether or not they’d 'f-ck' me" and "men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to 'help me out' (without being asked)."

In a post entitled "I Don’t Want to Have to Compromise My Morals in Order to Make a Living," the singer gives a litany of things that piss her off, including people who betray her for money, people who refer to her as "cute" and people that "infantilize" her. The entire post (reprinted in full below) is worth a read:

I don’t want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living

i dont want my words to be taken out of context 

i dont want to be infantilized because i refuse to be sexualized  

i dont want to be molested at shows or on the street by people who perceive me as an object that exists for their personal satisfaction 

i dont want to live in a world where im gonna have to start employing body guards because this kind of behavior is so commonplace and accepted and I’m pissed that when I express concern over my own safety it’s often ignored until people see firsthand what happens and then they apologize for not taking me seriously after the fact… 

I’m tired of men who aren’t professional or even accomplished musicians continually offering to ‘help me out’ (without being asked), as if i did this by accident and i’m gonna flounder without them.  or as if the fact that I’m a woman makes me incapable of using technology.  I have never seen this kind of thing happen to any of my male peers 

I’m tired of the weird insistence that i need a band or i need to work with outside producers (and I’m eternally grateful to the people who don’t do this)

im tired of being considered vapid for liking pop music or caring about fashion as if these things inherently lack substance or as if the things i enjoy somehow make me a lesser person 

im tired of being congratulated for being thin because i can more easily fit into sample sizes from the runway 

im tired of people i love betraying me so they can get credit or money

I’m sad that it’s uncool or offensive to talk about environmental or human rights issues

I’m tired of creeps on message boards discussing whether or not they’d “fuck” me

I’m tired of people harassing my dancers and treating them like they aren’t human beings

I’m sad that my desire to be treated as an equal and as a human being is interpreted as hatred of men, rather than a request to be included and respected (I have four brothers and many male best friends and a dad and i promise i do not hate men at all, nor do i believe that all men are sexist or that all men behave in the ways described above) 

im tired of being referred to as ‘cute,’ as a ‘waif’ etc., even when the author, fan, friend, family member etc. is being positive 

(fyi)

waif |wāf|

noun

1 a homeless and helpless person, esp. a neglected or abandoned child: she is foster-mother to various waifs and strays .

• an abandoned pet animal.

cute |kyoot|

adjective

1 attractive in a pretty or endearing way: a cute kitten.

• informal sexually attractive.

I’m tired of people assuming that just because something happens regularly it’s ok

i have so much love for everyone who has been cool and amazing.  I have the best job in the world but I’m done with being passive about any kind of status quo that allows anyone to suffer or to be disrespected

Grimes world tour is officially over, the visions album cycle is officially over, and I’m now taking the time to overhaul everything and make it better 

much love to every fan - stuff can be lame sometimes but its really cool to have this support <3

After the initial round of positive feedback from the post, Grimes followed up with:

i wrote what i wrote below not to complain or make anyone sad, but because i feel like if its possible to not accept stuff i hate and live a comfortable life then i want to do it :) in a broader sense, ideally stereotyping of any kind is something that can eventually be overcome or at least minimized. the fact that the response to this has been almost entirely positive is amazing and really nice and yeah.

Grimes has quickly become one of our favorite musicians, unafraid to tackle sociological issues in a thoughtful way without resorting to knee jerk reactionism. More of this, please.