Shania Twain has said she does not consider herself to be a feminist in a new interview, saying that ‘vulnerable men need as much protection as vulnerable women’.
The country pop legend, 60, is known for her empowering anthems, including her 90s chart-stormers Man! I Feel Like a Woman! and That Don’t Impress Me Much.
But she has now revealed that she has struggled with the term feminist and never labelled herself one, even though she does share the ‘values and morals’ of feminism.
‘I don’t see myself as a feminist. I see myself as a very independent thinker and not necessarily because I’m a woman,’ said the hitmaker, who is currently on tour with Harry Styles.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Canadian continued: ‘I am referred to as a feminist. I think I have a lot of feminist points of view because I am so defensive of the vulnerable woman, I really am.
‘I just feel that I’m strong as a person. It’s like saying, “You look great for your age”. I’m not strong for a woman. I’m not independent for a woman. I’m not self-sufficient for a woman. I just am a woman.’
Twain turned the conversation to men and the preconceived notion that they need ‘less protection’ than women, adding: ‘That is so not true and it’s not fair. Vulnerable men need just as much protection as vulnerable women.’
She went on to speak about how feminist, as a word, had ‘so much negativity and confusion around it’ that it had not been something she embraced, even though she aligns with the values.
Elsewhere in the interview, Twain spoke about body image struggles she faced while going through menopause, which led her to stop looking in the mirror and left her ‘malnourished’ in the quest to slim down.
In 2019, she was carried off a Las Vegas stage with two torn thigh muscles, admitting she was doing ‘very unhealthy things’ and overworking her body on little food.
She continued: ‘In menopause you lose control of your body. So all of a sudden I’m bloating and I’m definitely not in control. I can’t just lose five pounds.
‘I stopped looking at myself in the mirror. I hated my body. I’m like, “Oh, I cannot stand this changing body”. But that was so unhealthy. Who cannot look at themselves in the mirror?
‘Now I’m like, “Bring on the mirrors, I’m going to look at myself all day long!”
‘Menopause has been very good for me because I’ve learnt that some things you cannot control.’
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