Billie Eilish On Body Image Struggles: 'Why do You Think I've Been Dressing The Way I Have?'

Billie Eilish spoke candidly about her struggles with her body image, which has been caused by a hip injury that hurt her chances of pursuing a dancing career.

The 21-year-old singer-songwriter was unveiled to be Vogue's video cover star this month, where she explained how she is now on her way toward fully accepting her body.

"I felt like my body was gaslighting me for years," Eilish said. "I had to go through a process of being like, my body is actually me. And it's not out to get me."

According to reports, the singer got injured on her hip right after she worked on her breakout single, "Ocean Eyes."

The "Happier Than Ever" singer is known to sport oversized clothes during the start of her career, apparently, this was not simply because it was the kind of fashion she preferred, Page Six reported.

"Big dresses were my favorite thing when I was a kid," she continued. "I had so many dresses; I would wear a dress every single day. It's really body image that tore that s**t down. Why do you think I've been dressing the way I have for years?"

The "anger" she felt towards her body began when she was 13 years old, and blamed it for "how much [she's] lost because of the things that happened to it."

Recovery

This isn't the first time Eilish has opened up about her struggle with body image.

In her 2021 interview with The Guardian, she explained that it was not just the internal factors that caused her discomfort, but also the external factors like the media, audience, and the ridiculous standards put up by society.

"When I'm on stage, I have to disassociate from the ideas I have of my body," she explained.

"Especially because I wear clothes that are bigger and easier to move in without showing everything-they can be really unflattering... I have such a terrible relationship with my body, like, you would not believe."

She continued that the struggle with following the standard only clips her wings to express herself, "It's such a loss to always try to always look good. It's such a loss of joy and freedom in your body."

In May 2020, Eilish advocated for body acceptance by releasing a video titled "Not My Responsibility."

It is a spoken word performance that shows the singer taking off her clothes while she sinks into a dark liquid.

"We decide who they are. We decide what they're worth," she said. "If I wear more, if I wear less, who decides what that makes me? What that means? Is my value based only on your perception? Or is your opinion of me not my responsibility?"

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Billie Eilish, Health