"The so-called feminist writers were disgusted with me. I did my thing, and so I guess by feminist standards I'm a feminist. That suits me fine"
About this Quote
Hynde comes out swinging, not with an apology tour but with the kind of prickly self-possession that made her a rock outlier in the first place. “So-called feminist writers” is a deliberate needle: she’s separating feminism-as-lived from feminism-as-policed, and painting the latter as a clique of gatekeepers with notebooks. It’s a classic musician’s move - distrust the press, distrust labels, refuse to be auditioned for ideological purity.
The engine of the quote is a quiet reversal. She doesn’t argue her credentials; she shrugs at the criteria. “I did my thing” puts autonomy ahead of affiliation, suggesting that the most honest political statement is a woman building a career on her own terms, regardless of whether the commentariat approves. That line also carries the gendered history of rock criticism, where women get evaluated not just on music but on attitude: too sexual, not sexual enough; too angry, not “likable.” Her response is: your standards aren’t my stage.
The subtext is defensive and strategic at once. Hynde wants the power of the word “feminist” without the obligation to perform feminism the way critics demanded at the time - especially in eras when second-wave and later debates turned musicians into symbols in someone else’s argument. “That suits me fine” lands as a final chord: she’ll take the label if it follows her life, not if it precedes it. Feminism here isn’t a club; it’s the byproduct of refusing to ask permission.
The engine of the quote is a quiet reversal. She doesn’t argue her credentials; she shrugs at the criteria. “I did my thing” puts autonomy ahead of affiliation, suggesting that the most honest political statement is a woman building a career on her own terms, regardless of whether the commentariat approves. That line also carries the gendered history of rock criticism, where women get evaluated not just on music but on attitude: too sexual, not sexual enough; too angry, not “likable.” Her response is: your standards aren’t my stage.
The subtext is defensive and strategic at once. Hynde wants the power of the word “feminist” without the obligation to perform feminism the way critics demanded at the time - especially in eras when second-wave and later debates turned musicians into symbols in someone else’s argument. “That suits me fine” lands as a final chord: she’ll take the label if it follows her life, not if it precedes it. Feminism here isn’t a club; it’s the byproduct of refusing to ask permission.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
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