Little Mix wishes girl bands weren't seen as a “guilty pleasure” amongst music fans.
The four-piece – featuring Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson - were the first girl group since the Pussycat Dolls to reach the U.S. top five with their debut album, and have won a Brit and two MTV EMA's since they formed on The X Factor U.K. in 2011.
In spite of their evident popularity, the group believes a stigma still exists around girl bands, but hope this changes for female musicians of the future.
"I hope every headline isn't about what they're wearing!" vented Jade during an interview with Glamour U.K. "I also hope they don't have to deal with as much sexism within the industry. And hopefully, they're not seen as a 'guilty pleasure' and are seen as credible artists."
Little Mix has become increasingly vocal about their experiences of sexism and recently revealed that they still had to fight to convince critics that they are responsible for writing their own tracks. And though suggestions of inauthenticity may grate on them, that is still not the worst thing they could be asked in an interview.
"'Are Little Mix actually friends?'" Perrie scoffed. "'How can you be about empowering women when you wear sexy outfits?' Basically, anything sexist!"
Luckily, the band has learned to brush off any negativity that comes their way and perfectly exemplified their newfound confidence by posing nude as part of the music video for their new single Strip, in which their naked bodies are scrawled with nasty insults.
"I think we've come a long way since the time when the negative comments would get to us," smiled Leigh-Anne. "I think for us, it felt brave to finally be able to speak up on how the negativity made us feel. This is our way of letting people know they are not alone."
