WITH music comes passion and with passion comes a voice. Lauren Mayberry of Glasgow trio CHVRCHES has been using her voice as a weapon recently. Not only has the queen of pop (or the world?) Taylor Swift had many a music critic compare some of her recent ‘1989’ material to that of the Scottish synth-pop band, Mayberry’s spoken out against internet trolls and abuse showing herself as a strong, intelligent female who stands up to be heard. In the last week, she’s written an open letter for the new female empowerment media outlet Lenny leading with the statement: “My Life, My Voice, My Body, My Rules.”
Lenny is the brainchild of GIRLS writer and star Lena Dunham who works alongside Jenni Konner to produce the publication. Lenny cites feminism as their top topic amongst style, health, politics and friendship. Dunham is an award-winning actress, director, writer and all-round badass and she’s been inviting guest writers from the arts to put their issues from tissues to paper, voicing their opinions to the world. Mayberry’s taken another step to use her position in music and turn it to power and I can only guess she hopes to help other women feel they have power too in her pursuits.
In her letter, Mayberry talks of an abusive partner and highlights that abuse doesn’t have to cause physical marks, writing beautifully about the ugly subject of domestic abuse.
Mayberry talks about deeply personal experiences and feelings in her letter and I can only decipher that she’s done so as a means to help others to do the same. She comments: “Everything became my fault. I was careless. I was stupid. I was selfish. I was not trustworthy. I was a weak person who would fail at anything she tried so I shouldn’t bother. He hated me, but then he loved me and I was the best person in the world — until I wasn’t anymore.”
Signing off with: “No one gets to determine my narrative apart from me,” Mayberry hasn’t just stood forward for a very serious cause, she’s given people just like you and I a voice to be proud of. She’s taken music and made songs once before but with these latest lyrics, she’s created a symphony. I can only hope the music industry continues to be peppered with wonderful women. Women just like Lauren Mayberry.
