Beth Ditto
Critics agree: Arkansas-born Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto reigns supreme as the queen of voluptuous, feminist, lesbian rock. With band mates Brace Paine and Hannah Blilie, Gossip has toured with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the White Stripes, and Sonic Youth (to name a few), and appeared on the 2007 True Colors Tour benefiting the Human Rights Campaign. Ditto has posed nude for numerous magazine covers to promote size equality and body acceptance—and raised a few eyebrows. “As a woman, I think the media really wants to see you demonized for having a life outside your musical family,” she counters. “A woman has her nuclear family, and that’s supposed to be all there is; if she steps outside that role of wife, mother or daughter to become an independent personality, she’s immediately criticized for neglecting her motherly duty. That’s exactly how I feel about Gossip; like I should have that motherly duty to my band. If I were a man I don’t think it would be a problem.” In 2010, the band will hit the road for a European tour. -EI
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