Bjork speaks out against sexism in music and film industries

Singer calls music industry ‘a boys’ club’ but says acting industry is worse.

Bjork has spoken out against sexism in the entertainment industry, saying that both music and film have problems with gender equality.

Speaking at the Australian launch of her art exhibition Bjork Digital, Bjork said she feels she’s been “very lucky” but has faced sexism herself in her career.

Bjork said: “The fact I’m a woman and I can do what I do, it’s kind of unique, really. I’ve been really lucky. But I have been hitting walls. What’s really macho, for example, is music journalism. It’s really like a boys’ club. They like music that is… well, a lot of it is for boys.”

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But Bjork said her only acting appearance, in Dancer In The Dark in 2000, was more dispiriting. Directed by Lars Von Trier, Bjork played a woman going blind in a performance that won her Best Actress at Canne Film Festival.

“I couldn’t believe what it’s like for actresses,” Bjork said. “It’s just a nightmare how they’re treated. They have so little say in their career or roles they play as they get older. Guys can get older, but not women.”

Bjork Digital opens at Sydney gallery Carriageworks from June 3-18. It features videos, apps and other installations from her ‘Vulnicura’ album. The album was inspired by the break-up of Bjork’s relationship with artist Mattthew Barney, father of Bjork’s 13-year-old daughter Isadora.

Recalling filming the videos for the song ‘Black Lake’ in Iceland, Bjork said: “It was really, really cold and I was barefoot walking around just singing this song over and over again. The easiest thing would have been to press record and just have a nervous breakdown in front of the camera, which would have been very boring and predictable, just guts and vulgarity for the sake of it.”

Despite, her reputation for being innovative, Bjork insisted: “I actually think a lot about my music is quite conservative. People think I’m taking the piss, but I think I have my voice and that’s it.”

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