Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry has responded to misogynistic online abuse about the band’s new video “Leave A Trace”.
The video, which features Mayberry wearing a short black dress with wet-look hair, became the subject of a 4chan thread with anonymous users calling the singer a “slut”, “whore” and a “bitch”.
Other comments included users talking about their desire to “f*ck” the singer, with one writing: “I want to be Lauren’s little baby tampon boy. I want to suck on her breasts.”
Mayberry replied to one of the 4chan commenters on Twitter after the anonymous user sent her a link to the thread, writing: “Dear anyone who thinks misogyny isn’t real. It is and this is what it looks like.”
The 4chan thread began after users called the singer a “hypocrite” for claiming she is a feminist while not featuring the other two male members of the band in the video.
Dear anyone who thinks misogyny isn't real. It is and this is what it looks like. http://t.co/cLC97T8MxU pic.twitter.com/2bBZtw4yoL
— Lauren Mayberry (@laurenevemay) August 17, 2015
Others criticised Mayberry for complaining about the “casual objectification” of women while appearing in a music video in a short dress.
The comments came among other posts discussing Chvrches' musical talent, with one user writing: “Katy Perry’s last album was more interesting and listenable than this."
The Scottish singer spoke out against online misogyny in an interview in the Guardian in 2013.
“Is the casual objectification of women so commonplace that we should all just suck it up, roll over and accept defeat? I hope not. Objectification, whatever its form, is not something anyone should have to ‘just deal with’,” she wrote.
“But maybe it’s the personal side to online interaction that these men fail to grasp. It seems almost too obvious to ask, ‘Would you condone this behaviour if it was directed at your mother/ sister/ daughter/wife/ girlfriend?’ but maybe going back to basics is what the trolls of 4chan addicts need. To learn a little empathy. To have a little respect for other people.”
