Words & Questions by Georgia Cummings | Photography by Lexi Goodland
For International Women’s Week, we decided to chat with our favourite indie-pop duo Mia Tuesday. They released their EP ‘Shades of Blue’ back in January, showcasing their highly emotive, sad core songwriting vibe, creating atmosphere with powerful vocals and effective traditional arrangement. The pair of twins hail from Bristol, where they were raised on good music, their Dad and brother both talented musicians. Mia Tuesday’s vocals compliment each other like you could only dream of, a seductive, longed for blend of tones and textures that sound made for each other.
I went to discuss their views on femininity and any challenges they feel are still present in society, regarding women’s issues. Up in their flat in central Falmouth, I found the twins mid-shoot folded around each other, natural and shining. Feminine characteristics are so important in this world, and throughout the equally important push to empower women and embrace a strong voice, qualities like vulnerability and subtlety should be due the same respect. Mia Tuesday embrace femininity, through lyrics, their presence on stage, style and dress choices, it’s a gorgeous part of who they are. A softness, a hushed glow, a beauty that needs the beholder to step back and be quiet for. It exists within and shines through, a steady nurturing light.
Georgia: Do you talk about women’s perspectives in your music?
Mia: Yes. Our song ‘Shut Me Down’ is from a woman’s perspective, how she feels like a push over all the time and doesn’t always explain how she feels properly. Her want to be more in control of her romantic relationships. It’s about when she tries to talk about something, but is shut down or talked over. I like to describe and write about feminine things, I feel my lyrics are quite vulnerable which can sometimes be difficult to deal with, but I feel its where my best songwriting comes from, when I’m being pure and honest. ‘Draw the Line’ is about the woman asking the man what is going to happen to her, ‘so tell me where I’ll end up next, with my face pressed down to your chest, is this where we draw the line?’ With her face pressed down to his chest, the kind of imagery to show he is the one that gets to decide what will happen next and she’s just thinking, is this the part where you forget me now?
It’s a common struggle, a feeling of inferiority attached to our more fragile feminine characteristics, is still all too present. In some cases, it could be an issue of lack of space or respect for vulnerability or quietness, qualities all too often labeled negatively. Maybe there is a lot we should learn from each others vulnerability. In many situations, our femininity is criticised, judged as being too sensitive, overthinking. Maybe our femininity sometimes incurs greater investment in our emotions, but respecting and empowering that sensitivity is the right way to spread real equality and happiness. These generally feminine characteristics of sensitivity and emotional vulnerability should be more embraced. Great amounts of strength can be discovered through embracing sensitivity, the masculine and feminine when respecting one another can trigger truly powerful growth.
Georgia: What does femininity mean to you?
Mia: For me it means sometimes feeling very vulnerable and emotional but remaining strong. I think it’s beautiful to be honest about the way you feel and thinking deeply about things. I think thats what is lovely about a female mind, looking at things in detail.
Georgia: What does vulnerability mean to you?
Tuesday: Most of my songs are written around themes of regret and times where I felt most vulnerable. It’s been important for me to reflect on the situation and understand why I felt the way I felt, and why my feelings are so valid.
Seeking validation is a strange thing. From experience, we seek validation of our emotions and our femininity from people we view as strong. Society has conditioned us to believe that this strength only lies within masculine traits. We seek reassurance for how we feel, and we often let ourselves be persuaded that our emotions are ‘too much’ and we shouldn’t feel the way we do. Honestly, if another person allows you to feel insecure and unreasonable about your vulnerable or feminine characteristics, then they have a lot of growing to do. Validate yourself. Embrace your sensitivity. Love your feminine traits, let them be strong and let them help your personal growth.
Georgia: How has embracing your vulnerability helped you?
Tuesday: ‘Shades Of Blue’ is a song written whilst I was definitely at my lowest, I was getting to a point in my life where I knew I needed to drastically change something but I wasn’t sure where to start. As time has gone by, things started to fall into place and I definitely feel more like myself now. I guess a lot of my songs tell a story of my lowest times, but I always end up looking back and seeing how far I have come. I understand more and more everyday how things can get better if you just keep moving forward.
Georgia: With regards to the music industry, what attitude do you adopt towards the future of equality?
Tuesday: As a female artist, I think it’s important to get involved as much as possible with female gig line ups and female empowerment events, as its something I feel strongly about. It makes me happy to see more and more female musicians playing gigs, running events and becoming more involved with the music industry. When I play a gig, I feel proud to be a woman onstage. It makes me really happy to know so many brilliantly talented female musicians in Falmouth and Bristol.