Kim Petras on female sexuality in music: “Everyone should be equal”

Kim Petras has opened up about her views on the representation of female sexuality in pop music, saying she believes “everybody should be equal”. 

• READ MORE: Kim Petras: “I want to become one of the songwriting greats. That’s my number one goal” 

In a new interview with the BBC, the German-born singer was talking about her latest EP ‘Slut Pop Miami’, which she released on February 14. The release contains several tracks that allude to themes of sex-positivity and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. 

“It’s something I feel strongly about. I’ve always been surrounded by incredible women,” she said on the topic. “Even at school, the people who stood up for me and understood my condition were female.” 

In February last year, Petras became the first transgender woman to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys, for her Sam Smith collaboration ‘Unholy’. She used her speech to pay tribute to the late SOPHIE. 

“I think men’s desire to control women’s bodies has been the plague of this planet forever,” Petras continued. “It very much goes hand in hand with being transgender. The people who wanted to forbid me to transition are the same ones who want to forbid women to have abortions or have sex and even make money from it. 

“I’m a big fan of Madonna’s work, and I feel like, when she celebrated sex in Erotica and her Sex book, people misunderstood it as just filth. But female sexuality isn’t filth, and it shouldn’t be written off like that. Neither is trans-feminine sexuality or anyone’s sexuality. I think everybody should be equal. 

“That’s not to say Slut Pop is a big political statement. It’s supposed to just be fun, but the conversation it stirs up is a good thing.” 

Last summer, Petras surprise-released the album ‘Problématique’, which she had previously shelved after some of it was leaked online. That arrived just three months after her debut studio record ‘Feed the Beast’. 

Reflecting on the album’s leak, Petras said: “It was shocking when I found out part of the album leaked — at the time — that it wasn’t ever going to come out, especially as I poured so much of myself into it. 

“I was heartbroken but, at the same time, it was really exciting to see my fans listening to the tracks and loving them.” 

In a four-star review of ‘Feed The Beast’, NME described the German star’s official debut as “pop that’s powerless to resist”, adding that it’s as “fun and daring as you’d hope it to be”.  

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