On its surface, Los Angeles singer Ella Vos' new single "You Don't Know About Me" fits comfortably alongside the current synth pop landscape. Its defiance and casual attitude could easily be read as a send off to a would-be lover; instead, it is a message from the mother of a young son to a world in which older male legislators are still making decisions about young women's bodies and rights.
In the spirit of helping facilitate the space for voices that should and must be heard on these subjects, read the statement Ella wrote to accompany "You Don't Know About Me":
"About a year after my son was born, my mom turned to him and said, 'We don’t want people in office who will make abortion legal, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.'
She had spoken as if we we’re back in 1972 when 70 year old male legislators were the ones making decisions about young women’s bodies.
Why has nothing changed?
Recently, I watched a staunch anti-abortion senator state that 'I don’t know [why women have abortions]. I’m not a woman, I’ve never thought about it.'
I am a woman. I am a daughter. I am a mother. None of us choose the first two, but don't we all deserve a choice with the latter?
What does pro-life really mean? What about the lives of refugees, what about the lives of innocent people killed in war, what about healthcare?
So I wrote a song about ignorance. About all those little comments we combat throughout the day. About choosing to replace those words with empowering statements. This is my body. About learning to be strong. About not letting anyone tell me who I should or shouldn’t be.
Because you don't know about me.
Listen to "You Don't Know About Me" below.
