In 2013, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry wrote an incredible piece in The Guardian about online misogyny. In it, she talks about objectification of women, stating that she doesn’t understand how it’s something female artists should have to simply deal with. But the truth is, they have and they still do. Regardless of how adept a woman is, there will always be someone out there unable to separate her attractiveness from her talent. Some people (and to be clear I’m not saying men here) see these two aspects of a female as co-dependent when in reality, we don’t do the same for male artists.
Mayberry isn’t the only female musician who has spoken out about this, but she’s one of the most consistent voices on the subject. Aside from this Guardian piece, she also made a point to address 4Chan trolls who made disgustingly sexist remarks about her role in the band’s video for “Leave A Trace.” Now, she’s speaking out again and this time in a truly epic way.
The band was recently in NYC for their Central Park SummerStage gig, when in the middle of Mayberry’s banter with the crowd, a man yells out, “Marry me!” Annoyed and disappointed, she says “Oh, come on, do you actually think that’s… what’s the hit rate on that? When you go to public places and ask women you don’t know if they want to wed you?… Does that work out well for you, sir?” After the crowd applauds her rejection, she states “Thank you everybody else. Sorry for shaming that one person, but if nobody tells you, you’re never gonna know. And luckily for me right now, I have a microphone and you don’t, so it works in my favor at this particular juncture.”
In other CHVRCHES news, the band played “Leave A Trace” on The Tonight Show last night. Watch video of that below and Mayberry’s proposal response above.
