
25/07/2025
Sirens, witches, saints, sinners – and pop stars.
What do Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé or Charli XCX have in common with mythological sirens or the “wicked witch”? More than you might think. For centuries, women’s voices have been seen as dangerous, seductive, or in need of control – and that legacy still shapes how female artists are treated today.
Fitting with our music issue, Lisa Gardin explores in her article “Beyond the Binary: Reinvention, Resistance, and the Evolution of the Female Voice” how women
in music are still pushed into rigid roles: Madonna or saint, agreeable or threatening, “authentic” or “calculated.” She shows how artists from Taylor Swift to Chappell Roan challenge these expectations, reinvent themselves, and face intense backlash – much like men who question gender norms, such as Harry Styles or Sam Smith.
It’s about power, projection, and the freedom to be imperfect. And it asks why society still struggles to accept women as complex, contradictory beings.
👉 Read the full article online now: www.forum.lu/2025/07/18/beyond-the-binary-reinvention-resistance-and-the-evolution-of-female-voice/
© Lisa Gardin