Billie Eilish Can Change Her Mind
Nineteen-year-old Billie Eilish has become a world-renowned singer from some of her famous hits like “Everything I wanted” to “Your Power.” Recently she has been given backlash for showing off her body after previously saying how she wore baggy clothes so the media would not judge her on her appearance. This backlash stems from a Vogue cover that she was photographed in showing off her body.
Many fans have created an image in their head that she must be dressed a certain way. They are holding her accountable to an old standard that is no longer relevant to Billie’s art or personal life. Just because she said it before does not mean that she is not able to change her mind. This is something that people seem to forget, that anyone and everyone can change their mind.
When comparing her old fashion and what she wears today, she has changed. While she used to wear baggy clothes to conceal her body, she has now slowly learned to be confident within it. This is something that should be normalized for everyone. It made me think of that phase as a teen wanting to dress or act a certain way due to the influences around me. It also reminds me of having a favorite snack and as you grow, you realize you prefer salty popcorn more than barbeque wavy chips. Like a change in snacking taste, a change in taste of fashion is completely okay.
Everyone changes the way they want to look or dress, and that is completely understandable. I was disappointed and angry seeing how Eilish received backlash for showing off her body and was called a “sellout.” It made no sense because she is still a young woman who is learning and growing into what she does and doesn’t like.
Just because Eilish is popular doesn’t mean that she isn’t human, and she can’t allow herself to be who she wants to be. Seeing her embrace herself and have the confidence to model the corset and just feel good about herself, made me so happy for her. More than only Eilish, I feel proud seeing people who embrace their bodies, just allowing themselves to exist.
I still struggle with the many expectations and ideals we as a society have of how a person should look on social media. Often it feels there are two choices: of be judged or judge. This isn’t just for Eilish who gets the critiques but as well as other famous and talented people that are admired.
An example of one celebrity is Megan Fox, throughout her life she has always been oversexualized due to her appearance. Having some people cast her as the ‘hot girl’ or marketing movies by using her appearance. Movies such as Transformers, and Jennifer’s Body. In an ET Live interview with Diablo Cody, the writer of Jennifer’s Body, spoke about how Megan felt when it came to her career in acting and how she would be cast.
“Hey, these things are happening to me and they’re not OK,’” Fox explained. “And everyone was like, ‘ We don’t care, you deserve it.’ Because everybody talked about how you looked or how you dressed or the jokes you made.”
Fox also mentions how she didn’t feel as supported as other women either due to her appearance and thought that to get that support she had to look ‘non-threatening.’
Another artist who faced criticism was Selena Gomez who announced that she had lupus in 2015. She did not receive surgery until 2017, and while she was able to recover there were still expectations weighed upon her. People had started to notice that she began to gain weight due to the medication she was taking for her lupus.
“So for me, I noticed when people started attacking me for that. And in reality, that’s just my truth. I fluctuate. It depends on what’s happening in my life.”
This affected her mental health and made her even more private with her life. She was in her early 20’s, too young to receive this harsh attention that she didn’t deserve.
The same goes for Eilish. She should feel free in her decisions. In the long run, the weight of judgment can damage a person’s mental health, as well as ruin any confidence they have as they get older. Right now Eilish is close to her 20s and should not have to go through what Fox nor Gomez went through. While each celebrity situation is different, they are still given the light with the constant ray of eyes on them.
I hope as time passes by that some media news outlets realize that what they are doing is wrong. There are different ways of reporting the news for celebrities and grabbing the audience’s attention. Bashing people will not give them a good reputation. And it never will.
Some ways of supporting Eilish, as well as other celebrities, include showing them that whatever decisions they make from appearance to music genre, to still encourage them. As much as we all say “I support you” it has a lot of meaning for a person. Even celebrities are still human beings with emotions, opinions, and values.
I understand that ‘cancel culture’ is a thing as well, but that isn’t a way to defend the artist or person you admire. If anything it can cause more damage. But as much as there are some negative aspects to social media and media in general there are still good people supporting one another. After Eilish came out with the Vogue cover, some fans/celebrities defended her on her change in style and confidence.
There is much badness in the world, but there is also still good, and I think that Eilish’s fans have allowed her to form confidence. The people in her environment, like her older brother Finneas, have helped as well. As long as Eilish is happy with who she is, she is capable of changing and being herself… even if that means some people don’t like her. And that’s okay.
