FashionGuests

Janis Joplin, Adele, Joan Jett and more on

their inspirations and struggles:

Janis Joplin

"That's the good thing about women, man. Because they sing they fuckin' insides, man. Women to be in the music business give up more than you'd ever know. She's got kids she gave up, any woman gives up home life, an old man, probably, you give up a home and friends, children and friends, you give up an old man and friends, you give up every constant in the world except music. That's the only thing in the world you got, man. So for a woman to sing, she really needs to or wants to. A man can do it as a gig, because he knows he can get laid tonight." (February 17th, 1972)

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Madonna

"People have this idea that if you're sexual and beautiful and provocative, then there's nothing else you could possibly offer. People have always had that image about women. And while it might have seemed like I was behaving in a stereotypical way, at the same time, I was also masterminding it. I was in control of everything I was doing, and I think that when people realized that, it confused them. It's not like I was saying, 'Don't pay attention to the clothes – to the lingerie – I'm wearing.' Actually, the fact that I was wearing those clothes was meant to drive home the point that you can be sexy and strong at the same time. In a way, it was necessary to wear the clothes." (September 10th, 1987)

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Björk

"With Madonna . . . the fact that she made it look good to control your own life when that was something that was not supposed to be very sexy for a woman. She's one of the few women who has remained true to herself and been a character." (November 17th, 1984)

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Joan Jett

"Today women are making sexual statements all over the place: Women bands are taking their tops off and writing slogans on themselves, whatever. When we were playing, there was no support – moral or otherwise. It was us against the world." (March 24th, 1994)

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Courtney Love

"I always loved pop music and didn't really know why girls didn't participate in it more aggressively. Nobody ever told me the reason for that, because there isn't one." (November 13th, 1997)

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Melissa Etheridge

"The music business is hard, and it's a business, and as long as you make a product that the people want and your company wants to sell, then you'll be successful, whether you're male or female." (November 13th, 1997)

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Britney Spears

"At first [being a woman in the music industry] was kind of hard because I don't think people take you as seriously. They make you think that you have to be ballsy. But I think there's a way to balance the two – being who you are and saying how you feel but not going over the top with it. I'm trying to be a little more assertive." (October 31st, 2002)

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Pink

"I guess being a woman has been an advantage. You have to work much harder to get the respect you deserve, and you have to command respect and carry yourself in a certain way. But I've been able to be very outspoken and fight the good fight, and I think if I was a man, people might not have been as willing to hear me out." (October 31st, 2002)

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Christina Aguilera

"I think when a woman is very confident about how her body looks regardless of society's viewpoint of what a woman's body should look like, it upsets people. I'm unapologetic for the things I do, the things I wear, the things I say. You know it seems like they all want this pretty, perfect little America's sweetheart." (June 26th, 2003)

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Lady Gaga

"I don't know when or why you realize that you've become a woman, but I'm a woman. I think different. I feel different. And I care less and less about what people think as the hours go by. I feel very strong." (July 8th, 2010)

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Adele

"Even if I had a really good figure, I don't think I'd get my tits and ass out for no one. I love seeing Lady Gaga's boobs and bum. I love seeing Katy Perry's boobs and bum. Love it. But that's not what my music is about. I don't make music for eyes, I make music for ears." (April 28th, 2011)

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