Throughout her young career, Billie Eilish has been vocal when it comes to issues about body shaming and related topics. She made perhaps her biggest statement of all earlier this year, when she debuted a video during her tour, in which she takes off her shirt while reciting a monologue about how she is perceived by the public.
The clip was previously only seen on tour or through fan recordings, but now Eilish has shared the short film, titled “Not My Responsibility,” herself. In her speech, Eilish speaks about her clothes and her body, concluding, “If I wear more, If I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means? If my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?”
Watch “Not My Responsibility” above, and read a full transcript of the short film below.
“You have opinions
about my opinions,
about my music,
about my clothes,
about my body.
Some people hate what I wear,
some people praise it,
some people use it to shame others,
some people use it to shame me,
but I feel you watching
always
and nothing I do goes unseen.
So while I feel your stares,
your disapproval
or your sigh of relief,
if I lived by them,
I’d never be able to move.
Would you like me to be smaller?
Weaker?
Softer?
Taller?
Would you like me to be quiet?
Do my shoulders provoke you?
Does my chest?
Am I my stomach?
My hips?
The body I was born with,
is it not what you wanted?
If I wear what is comfortable,
I am not a woman.
If I shed the layers,
I’m a slut.
Though you’ve never seen my body,
you still judge it
and judge me for it.
Why?
We make assumptions about people
based on their size.
We decide who they are,
we decide what they’re worth.
If I wear more,
If I wear less,
who decides what that makes me?
What that means?
If my value based only on your perception?
Or is your opinion of me
not my responsibility?”