Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry has grown tired of R&B songs depicting girls "victimised by love".

I was dead sick and tired of all of these songs by the R&B girls, the trios and stuff. They were all victimised by love. I was sick of it. I didn't want to portray myself or women as victims.

The Blondie singer is famed for pioneering a punk-influenced idea of feminism and empowerment, giving people sexual confidence through her own music - which see saw as a welcome break from the portrayal of women in other genres.

She told the Sunday Times newspaper's Style magazine: "That was one of the things that was really clear. I think I can take credit for having clarity about that.

"I was dead sick and tired of all of these songs by the R&B girls, the trios and stuff. They were all victimised by love. I was sick of it. I didn't want to portray myself or women as victims."

Leading a generation may not have been the punk icon's intention - she admitted to not having the "clarity" for such a defined purpose - and while she can be credited with forcing a chance in attitude, she feels her involvement was partly down to circumstance rather than destiny.

She added: "I don't think I tried to be an important feminist, I didn't have that kind of clarity, but I had a stubbornness and an independence and that came across.

"So that was good. I think that it was an idea that was bound to happen, I was just in the right place at the right time."


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