Little Mix Shuts Down Critics Calling Their Tour Outfits ‘Too Sexy’
The all-girl band Little Mix has been receiving some heat lately for the new lineup of costume changes for their 2016 Get Weird Tour. A wave of criticism has come from internet users who have seen the new Little Mix outfits on social media platforms and have decided that the sparse designs of their glittery get-ups are too “raunchy” for their fans, which are mostly comprised of young girls.
Little Mix spoke with the Mirror to address the complaints that they’re becoming “too sexy” for their target audience. While the girls admitted they don’t shy away from the sex appeal that works for many pop stars, they make sure not to be overly sexual and shoot for a balance between “sexy” and “cute.”
Youngest Little Mix member Perrie Edwards insisted that the band would never wear something that makes any one of them feel uncomfortable in her own skin.
“We wear what we feel comfortable in. We’re not overly sexy in what we do anyway. We go for sexy/cute. We’d never want to be scandalous.”
Perrie’s bandmate Leigh-Anne completely agreed, claiming that the girls of Little Mix would not hesitate to turn down any proposed outfits that were overtly sexualized.
“If we weren’t comfortable we just wouldn’t wear it. It’s not about being overly sexy, but it’s showing off your assets that you want to show off and if you feel confident in it, then boom.”
Critics of Little Mix claim that the outfits for the Get Weird Tour have already crossed that line of “overly sexy,” but the members believe they’ve successfully walked the line.
Edwards also acknowledged that Little Mix is in a kind of in-between phase between adulthood and youth, wherein they realize they’re all still “girls,” but they know won’t be able to flaunt their figures forever.
“I think we’ve got the right kind of balance,” Edwards said. “Some of us are 24. We aren’t going to be able to wear stuff like this for the rest of our life, and parade around in little dresses and stuff, but at the same time, we are just girls.”
Little Mix includes Perrie Edwards, 22, Jade Thirlwall, 23, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson, who are both 24. In the few years since starting the band in 2012, Little Mix has released three studio albums, embarked on many tours, and made lots of television appearances. Known for blending music with choreographed dance in their performances, Perrie claims being slightly more scantily clad actually enhances the ability of Little Mix to put on a good show.
“We put on such a big show and there’s a lot of dancing and it gets really hot out there,” she said. “I like to feel free and have something I can move around in. Something pretty with lots of stretch in it.”
Little Mix have become another advocate for body positivity in the pop music circuit, along with musicians like Meghan Trainor and Lady Gaga. The girls were asked how they felt about Kim Kardashian recently posting a nude selfie and receiving backlash for it, including from fellow stars like Bette Midler.
“The way I see it, when I see Leigh-Anne in a bikini on holiday, I don’t think, ‘Oh God, Leigh-Anne, put it away,'” said Perrie Edwards. “I look at her and think, ‘Yes girl, you’ve got one of the most insane figures I’ve ever seen. You f***ing rock that on the beach, because I would’. Girls should be like that. We need to encourage each other and if you don’t want to have your body out then you don’t have to. I never used to want to get my figure out, but now I’m like, ‘Yes, here it is.'”
Teen Vogue also reported on the Little Mix controversy and claimed that the use of the word “raunchy” to describe the outfits is part of the problem, because words like that should be eliminated from the public vocabulary.
Do you agree with Little Mix, or do you think their new outfits are “too sexy”?
Another group of women had to address accusations of being “too sexy” recently, when a Lane Byrant ad full of nearly-naked plus-sized models was banned by networks for showing too much skin. Read more here.
[Image via Little Mix/Instagram]
