Fifth Harmony on slut shaming: We’re women and we want to feel sexy

When you want to be uplifted, feel empowered and sexy at the same time, your go-to track is probably “Worth It,” “Reflection,” “Work from Home” aka ALL Fifth Harmony songs. So when we heard that the girls were slut shamed, we were like AHH HELL NAH.

Talking about everything from confidence hacks to slut shaming, GLAMOUR UK chatted with Fifth Harmony pop stars Ally and Normani about EVERYTHING.

On confidence Normani assures us that she has definitely struggled with keeping her self-image positive, and that women who struggle similarly are not alone.

"I definitely struggled, and you know what, sometimes we all struggle with that. Confidence does not come easy, that's for sure."

As for who are some of their biggest influences, we LOVE their answers.

“I still love Selena Quintanilla. I loved her personality and her heart,” Ally says. “She loved her fans, she loved her family and she was so passionate and so kind to everybody. And she was an outstanding performer – she knew how to command the stage and connect with the audience and she was just so graceful. She’s my biggest inspiration.”

YES. WE LOVE SELENA.

Meanwhile, Normani can’t name just one fave. “I have so many. I love Aaliyah, I love Brandy, I love Monica. Destiny’s Child I grew up on hard core, like I can’t tell you how much I love the three of them so much and what they had to offer. They changed the scene for girl groups and they kind of paved the way for us.”

Mmhmm.

Fifth Harmony open up about slut-shaming and why confidence matters https://t.co/WZhA5m92f5 pic.twitter.com/RfsiQ6R4jL

— British GLAMOUR (@GlamourMagUK) October 28, 2016

If Normani could be in one group that’s not her own, she says it’s a tie between Destiny’s Child and the Spice Girls. But on Mel C’s recent mention of the trend in young girls in the music industry being over sexualized, she agrees.

“I definitely feel like just society today, not just in the music industry – is a place where women are sexualized and that’s a problem with equality.” But, she continues, “I definitely think that women don’t deserve to be sexualized or torn down or judged on whatever it is that they wear or however it is they choose to express themselves.”

Like, can we please progress to a time when women can choose to be sexual and have it not be seen as a problem or a free pass to the male gaze, or worse?

“I know that we are women and we’re super proud to be women and we work really hard on our bodies,” Normani goes on. “We work every single day and we just love to be able to present that and show everybody that we’re proud of who we are.”

If you're feeling me, put your 🖐 high • #TMGOutNow https://t.co/d0H1J1PECp pic.twitter.com/lARA7B2YBR

— Fifth Harmony (@FifthHarmony) September 19, 2016

Fifth Harmony are very familiar with slut-shaming, and they’re not having it. When the Work From Home video got released, they received some negative comments about its content. (Which, true, is all about the male gaze, and the female gaze. We love it.)

"We got completely slut shamed. It was just unfortunate because we're women and we want to feel sexy and we like to look at ourselves with shorts and crop tops and whatever makes us feel confident. I don't think you should judge somebody on whatever it is that makes them feel good. Just let them be."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GL9JoH4Sws?feature=oembed

Let them be. Never were wiser said. Just let them be.