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| Patti Smith |
Patti Smith’s ‘Horses’ is Still Teaching Me How to Be Free
On her iconic debut album, her refusal to fit into the cookie cutter version of womanhood legitimised my own sense of self.
This article originally appeared on Noisey UK.
By Daisy Jones
Dec 15 2016, 9:59 am
According to strange, societal laws, there are certain things boys and girls are "supposed" to do based on their gender. When you're young, it can be easy to internalize these ideas, as though law has decreed that all interests must fall neatly into one gender defined box. But the older you get, the more you realize this is bullshit. Men can enjoy glitter and lipstick; women can become race car drivers, or you can choose to opt out of either. We're all made from oxygen, bones, muscle tissue—and everything in this world should be open to any human who possesses these elements.
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| Patti Smith |
Before that bullshit detector shifts into gear though, there has to be a catalyst. For me, that was Patti Smith. I was born in the early 90s in Britain, an entire two decades after she released her first album, so for me to discuss her legacy within the context of 1970s New York is akin to my nan writing a thinkpiece on Lil Yachty. But what I can say, is that being exposed to her glorious web of weirdness as a teenager informed the way I thought about gender, freedom, and certain tenants I'd like to apply to my own existence. And since then, I've found the necessity of those tenants refreshing themselves all over again.