Entertainment

Annie Lennox: Women of my age don’t have to be invisible

The former Eurythmics singer turned 64 in December.
The former Eurythmics singer turned 64 in December.

Annie Lennox has said that women “don’t have to become invisible” as they get older, a month after celebrating her 64th birthday.

The singer, who continues to perform and record, said women in their 60s can “still thrive, be full of life and have fun”.

The former Eurythmics vocalist told Good Housekeeping magazine she wanted to convince people that women her age still have much to give.

Women of the World festival reception
Annie Lennox at the Women of the World festival in London (Yui Mok/PA)

She said: “I want people to realise that women of my age don’t have to become invisible. We can still thrive, be full of life and have fun. And we have so much to offer, after all.”

Lennox is an ambassador for Oxfam, a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump, and was involved in leading the 2018 March4Women event in London.

She said she was happy that the word “feminism” was no longer taboo. However, she said she now wanted the term “Global Feminism” to enter mainstream language.

She added: “My current focus is to bring the term Global Feminism into the zeitgeist. I’m so happy we can use the ‘F’ word now and talk comfortably about being feminists.

March4Women
Annie Lennox with Mel C and Emeli Sande at the March4Women event in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

“Not so long ago, you couldn’t even get the word ‘feminist’ published as people felt uncomfortable with it. But the word has come out of the shadows and everyone seems to be using it. Terminology is incredibly important.

“Global Feminism absolutely includes and welcomes men. We need men who are proud to identify with this issue. We are not criticising men per se, we are criticising negative and abusing behaviours.

“At the end of the day, Global Feminism is about the fundamental human rights of girls and women. Why should we continue to tolerate disrespect, abuse and disempowerment?”

Read the full interview in the March issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale January 30.