With the earliest version of an official "Women's Day" surfacing in February of 1909 amid the global female suffrage movement -- it would only be right to examine whether or not women have come a long way since those darker days. According to Garbage singer Shirley Manson, the answer is a resounding yes, while acknowledging that there is still much work to be done.
Watch our International Women's Day discussion with Shirley Manson below, and check out Audacy's all-new stations like Women Of Alt, She Sings, and more!
"That's a complicated question," says Manson. "I think we're hitting a wall in a variety of ways. I think women can be our own worst enemies in many ways. We adhere still to a sort of male idea of what a society should look like. By that I mean we fuss a lot about our beauty, our youth, things that don't really concern men too much. That bothers me that we spend so much of our energy and our currency on things that we can not control. We've been taught to worry about those things that we can not control for deliberate reasons. I think that's a major hurdle."
Thoughts of growing older, or shifting sensibilities can weigh heavy on the minds of women in the workplace, with those stresses coming from both sides of the gender fence. "We are as guilty as our male compatriots are," Shirley explains. "I'm not saying it's anybody's fault; it's not a male or female fault. It's just the society that we have lived in for centuries and centuries, so It's time to unbuckle some of these weird, old ideas that we have."
The Garbage singer adds, "I do think women play a large role in making weird comments about other women a lot of the time, and I think as women we have to remember when we criticize another woman, we are essentially criticizing ourselves. When we laugh at another woman for putting on weight, or getting too skinny, or wearing too much make-up, or not enough... we're biting ourselves. I think the faster the younger generations have caught on to this, and don't make the same mistakes as my generation did, that's gonna be great for everyone!"
Whether or not those steps are actually being taken by the youth eludes Shirley at the moment. "On one hand, I feel like they're more switched-on and they're a wee bit more worldly than we were growing up," she says. "But similarly, they've got the pressures of social media and I know there's a lot of eating disorders, and depression amongst young people because they feel that they can't obtain the sort of Kardashian perfection that we've all come to believe is reality. Of course, we all know deep down, particularly as you continue to age as a woman, it's not real. I'm sure it's real for certain figures, like a Kim Kardashian. They spend a lot of money, they have a lot of money to make themselves look a certain way, and unfortunately, a lot of other people don't have those resources. So, they're left feeling lesser-than."
Manson adds, "All I want young women to understand is that ultimately, although it sounds like a cliché that you trot off to try and make somebody feel better: Your life will be designed by your brain... it won't be designed by how you look on the surface." That's certainly not saying that Shirley has found that place herself yet. "It's an ongoing dialogue you have with yourself. Every day you have to wake up and fight to close down that side of your brain that's telling you 'you're no good,'" she says. "Luckily, now that I'm so much older, I'm able to say, 'OK, I'm shutting that down, putting that away. It really doesn't matter that much."
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The unwavering belief in the concept of equality has been a major focus of Shirley and her band, highlighted most recently by the release of their latest offering, "No Gods No Masters." That notion carries into this very sphere of conversation, as Manson says she finds it "horrifying when everyone says things like, 'the future is female.' Because any imbalance in a society is not healthy, it's not fun for anyone. I don't think that men really understand that when we talk about trying to reach some sort of equilibrium, a lot of men get defensive and really upset -- and I understand why that would be the case."
"Neither do I think women should spend their whole time apologizing to men, saying 'I'm really sorry, but...' At some point, men have to put their big pants on and accept that things are not fair, yet. In the same way that they're not fair obviously with regards to Black, Brown, and Indigenous people, LGBTQIA. There's so many imbalances in our society that we have to be grown-up enough to say, 'This isn't right, and we need to fix it. And how are we going to fix it together?'"
Watch the full interview with Audacy's Nicole Alvarez and Garbage singer Shirley Manson above, or listen to the conversationy below.
This year, Audacy is honoring the incredible female artists of Alternative by highlighting their songs and sharing powerful conversations with voices who have shaped the genre - and are taking it into the future. Join our celebration on Tuesday, March 8 featuring further in-depth chats with WILLOW, King Princess, and more.
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Listen to even more of your favorite music on Audacy's all-new Women Of Alt, She Sings, New Wave Mix Tape, '90s and Chill, and ALT Roots stations -- plus check out our talent-hosted Kevan Kenney's Music Discovery, Megan Holiday's My So Called '90s Playlist, and Scott Lowe on the Go's Post Modern Music Box!
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