I am 100% behind #FlowsForFeminism. Whether or not feminism is a conscious, central part of the project and work of Florence and Florence + the Machine, I do count Florence as one of the contemporary figures who have influenced my evolution as a feminist and a person. Namely, she introduced to me the idea that women can be loud if they want.
Florence + the Machine's music is full of big sounds. Florence's voice is infamous for being particularly distinctive--- big and full, declarative, "witchy," full of octave jumps, shrieks, howls, and endless, drawn-out notes. Layers of choirs and drums build the dramatic songs. All together the sounds are noisy, loud, declarative, full--- there is no hiding them, and there is no hiding from them.
Women are so often expected to be seen and not heard, to speak only when spoken to, to hold their tongues, to let things go, to suffer in silence. If they must make themselves heard and visible, they should do it in a way that pleases others, in which they are cute, sexy, pretty, or attractive. Listening to Florence I realized that things could be different.
